Josh TolanThe new year brings renewed budgets. For HR pros, that means opportunity for fancy new tools to enhance your recruitment and staff management strategies.
HR technology abounds, and sales emails flood your inbox – it’s not hard to become quickly enamored with the promise of “better!”, ”easier!”, “automated!”, and “inventive!” With AI, 5G, XR, and the ever-expanding IoT, the potential for streamlined simplification is exciting – and will send your head spinning.
Before you jump on every new offering, it’s important to understand the effects of quickly-made decisions and the true detriments of tech jumping.
A Deloitte study uncovered some of the top trends of 2020, including a whopping 90% of companies that plan to move to hybrid-cloud business functions in the new year. It’s understandable the tech we employ will need to be compliant with other business adjustments, but we must be diligently aware of how the decisions we make impact our work and our standing.
As you evaluate your 2020 budget and start planning ways you’ll capitalize on trends to grow your business, keep these critically negative effects of tech-jumping in mind:
Jumping in too early could land you with ineffective solutions
We all know research is the key to good decision making. Shiny new tech advancements seem exciting, but without the proper time for testing and attention to the cycle of innovation, you could end up with a short-term solution that leaves long-term gaps in your processes.
If you’re exploring a new platform or tool, review the product roadmap. Examine the cost and time savings you’ll experience now versus those you would experience by letting the technology breathe in your space before you jump on board. Wait for case studies and effectiveness research, and be sure to talk to platform users for first-hand insight.
Marketing and tech guru Gary Vaynerchuk summed it up perfectly in an article for Inc. “The innovations aren’t what matter. It’s how you react and use these new tools…The most difficult thing a manager has to address is when to jump into an innovation. Thankfully, the answer is simple. Study consumer attention.”
By waiting on user reviews and credible effectiveness research, you avoid signing up for a system, platform, or tool that doesn’t provide you the benefits you need.
Change is uncomfortable, so it needs to matter
When systems have been in place for any length of time, employees and customers grow comfortable with interfaces and functions. Constantly throwing new technology at them simply to keep up with trends breeds frustration and creates speed bumps that may not be worth the hassle.
For most businesses, adopting new technology isn’t an easy task. According to DimensionData’s Digital Workplace Report, 54% of employees are resistant to change and 60% of leaders note organizational barriers as a hurdle to successful adoption.
Before you implement system-altering changes, be sure the tech you’re adopting makes life easier for all parties or that it, at least, makes a significant improvement to your business to justify the training and adoption process.
Absence of strategy & direction = decreased confidence
HR strategy should be a lot of things. It needs to provide a clear direction for your team, create achievable milestones, and be firmly in line with the company’s overall goals. When the pieces fall into place, you build the confidence of your team and your customers.
If you constantly introduce new technology and jump on every new trend bandwagon, you give up the strategic actions that have been laid out to lead your team to success. When they realize constant noise and changing protocols aren’t working toward the greater goal, they’ll quickly lose their confidence in you. Instead of being looked at as a leader, you’ll assume the role of follower.
Be focused on only adopting technology that creates an easier path to understanding your own business. Be confident in your knowledge of the industry to make informed decisions that don’t hinge in the newest trend. When you’re 100% committed to the paths you choose, you’ll build confidence from your customers and team, regardless of the waves made by the hottest new thing.
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