Designing a people-centric future of technology

Originally published by Thrive HR Exchange
Written by Louisa Baczor

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Key highlights, practical takeaways and thought-provoking questions from Thrive HR Exchange’s recent panel discussion between Stephanie Nash, Co-creator of Thrive HR Exchange, Bhakti Vithalani, Founder & CEO of BigSpring, Philippa (Pip) Penfold, Founder & CEO of People Collider and Krish Sridhar, Founder & CEO of KNOW.

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People and technology should no longer be considered separately. The access that we have to new technologies today is game-changing; creating endless potential opportunities to enhance our lives. But with increased appetite for new technologies in organisations, the human implications must not be overlooked. Digital transformation efforts often fail because they are driven by improved efficiency, rather than people needs. Instead, we must consider how we are designing organisations for both people and technology together.

This is where the role of HR is so critical: we need more of a voice when it comes to choosing how technology is used and the impact it has on the business. While we have moved on from the former debate about whether HR should have a seat at the table, HR has been guilty of taking a back seat when it comes to adopting and implementing new technology in the organisation. We need to steer the conversation towards the power, opportunities and risks of emerging technologies like blockchain. HR has a valid seat at the technology table and must work with technologists to influence the way it is designed. Here at Thrive, we’ve been asking the community: ‘How important is it for people leaders and HR to understand new and emerging technologies?’. The broad range of answers we’ve received reveals that the profession is on a journey to building capabilities and conscious competence in this area.

Technology also presents a unique opportunity as an enabler for HR professionals in their day-to-day work. HR has typically taken a process-oriented approach to using technology, which is partly due to CIOs or CTOs being the purchasers of HR systems to meet operational needs. As a result of this mismatch between the choice of HR technology and user needs, the HR function has been slower to adapt to new innovations. But we’re now seeing more focus on user experience and design thinking to shape technology decisions.

The future is now: the power is in our hands

Comparing pre-pandemic to current perspectives, some challenges that were thought to be on the horizon in the next 2-3 years have suddenly landed upon us. For example, where previously there were fears about AI and automation replacing jobs, COVID-19 has led to jobs being displaced overnight. This highlights that instead of trying to predict the skills of the future, we must recognise that reskilling is a perpetual need. An employer-led approach to developing and deploying relevant skills could be one solution for adapting to the ever-changing market.

There is also a question of how much reskilling HR professionals are doing for themselves. Often we’re so focused on developing the skills of the workforce that we overlook our own skills needs. We have the power to choose how we want to evolve, where we place our efforts and what we leave behind.

How to be a tech change champion

To successfully lead change, first you need to understand the problem to be solved and who the change is serving. Employees are unlikely to be engaged with change if the tool is solving a problem for the HR function or for the business owner, without consideration of their needs. Establishing why the change is happening will enable the right tool to be chosen for the relevant issue.

Second, believing change is possible and communicating a vision for that future should be at the heart of leading change. Particularly in large organisations, having digital champions on the ground can help people see what is possible, which is often unclear in the early days. At the same time, having role models at the senior leadership level is critical. At DBS, the CEO ‘beats the digital drum’ everywhere he goes, so everyone knows this is the path forward.

Connecting with the whole business ecosystem

Huge audiences that previously did not have access to technology are now within reach. Traditionally, HR has focused on the primary full-time workforce, but partnering with other business units can reach peripheral stakeholders to increase the breadth and possibilities of change. For example, one company looked at how to engage with channel partners, dealers and distributors to deploy digital learning solutions across an ecosystem that is multiple times the size of the full-time employee base and has a significant impact on the business. We need to step back, look at all the touch points in the customer journey, and consider whether we’re connecting with every part of the supply chain to drive change.

The increased ability to communicate across multiple intersections was highlighted by KNOW’s work with foreign worker dormitories in Singapore during the COVID-19 lockdown. The platform was used to communicate instantaneously with the vast numbers of blue-collar workers living in dormitories. They partnered with ecosystem organisations to reduce anxiety by sharing government updates, kind messages and wellbeing tips in the workers’ different languages.

Most of us have increased our use of technology tools to communicate while working remotely. However, effective communication is not a matter of more tools. Organisations that have used simple tools, with a regular pattern of communication, seem to be functioning better. The question is, what is the right amount of technology and communication over that platform?

As people become increasingly integrated with technology, the ethical debate must continue

Soon, we’ll no longer be talking about ‘mobile-first’ and ‘mobile learning’ (where everything happens on a mobile device). With innovations like Alexa and Google Home, we’re already seeing technology becoming omnipresent in some sense; that we’re physically integrated with mobile technology without even needing a screen. This raises important questions for HR, such as: ‘When hiring people who have fully integrated technology, what are we doing with their data and what are the implications?’ Even though we don’t necessarily have the answers to these ethical questions, we must continue to have the debate and gather information.

A final thought-provoking question is: ‘Does the intersection of people and technology represent optimism, freedom, or an uphill struggle?’

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Louisa Baczor, a contributor for Thrive HR Exchange, has 6 years' experience in research and consulting across the field of HR and Organisation Development. With degrees in Psychology and Management with an HR specialism, she spent over 4 years as Research Advisor at the CIPD (professional body for HR and people development) in the UK and Singapore. She specialised in research on the future of HR and employee engagement, and led the development of a profession benchmark survey in partnership with institutions across APAC and Europe. Most recently she has published reports on workplace technology and the impact of COVID-19 on workers.