Human Resource Technology (or HR Tech for short) is not a new concept in businesses. Technology has long since been integrated into the human resource department in many companies, with some companies being more advanced than others.
Before it was known as HR Tech, it came in different names, some of which are still being used today. One of these names is Electronic Human Resource Management, or e-HRM. e-HRM is defined as the application of information technology (IT) in the HR department, which has its own advantages and disadvantages.
One of the many advantages of HR Tech is the improvement of quality services. Through HR Tech, managers are able to ensure quality control much easier. Another key advantage of HR Tech is that it simplifies the facilitation of routine tasks for many managers, tasks that can be as simple as record-keeping to harder tasks like quality control.
However, with all the advantages HR Tech has to offer, many companies still face and even struggle to overcome one of its biggest disadvantages: increasing HR tech adoption and acceptance in the workforce.
No matter how advanced the technology a company uses for its human resource management, it won’t be successful if only a small percentage of its workforce is willing to adopt it. Thankfully, as technology advances, so do people. Here are a couple tips and strategies to help increase HR tech adoption in the company.
Prep Prep Prep!
Implementing a very abrupt and sudden change is never a welcome action, not only in companies and tech adoption, but also in life! No one likes to get slapped in the face with a notice that a new technology has been adopted, especially since technology will take some time getting used to.
Preparing yourself for the change should always be the first step in making a change in human resource management. Starting with a workflow and thinking of strategies and activities to help implement the change will guide both you and the company in adopting the change.
Preparing your team and the rest of the workforce comes after you’ve prepared yourself. Giving them a heads up about the change in technology that is about to come makes it easier for them to adopt it.
Easy is Friendly
Stress should be a thing of the past, but that’s not something we can easily remove these days, which is why making HR tech adoption easier for you and the rest of the organization is an essential strategy to increasing HR tech adoption.
You can make the change easier by making access to training, help desks, and communication centers easily accessible to the organization. It helps those working with the change to find it much easier to adapt.
Lastly, you should always choose technology that is user-friendly. But what does “user-friendly” really mean? User-friendly simply means that the technology does not require a large learning curve before anyone can use it, which makes it more comfortable for the organization to use.
BeneFITTING Technology
What some can see as befitting technology may not exactly ring true to others, as they may see it as merely a hassle. Often, what you think suits the current workforce may not be as satisfying to them, especially when they don’t realize the benefits of it.
Choosing technology that fits exactly into the puzzle piece of the workforce is an easy task, what with all the tech available in the market for human resource management. However, picking exactly the right one that benefits everyone is the harder task.
Laying down the benefits of the HR tech boosts its adoption, especially when many from the workforce see it as a solution to a problem they continuously encounter.
It’s Just a Phase!
Putting too much on the plate in an instant would scare anyone away, or make them apprehensive about finishing the whole thing. Breaking down the HR tech into bite-sized pieces helps people adapt much faster to the changes.
Breaking the entire process of increasing and adopting HR tech in the company allows people to keep track of where they’re going. Additionally, it also allows them to take the changes at a steady and healthy pace, one that won’t scare them away or make them resistant to the adoption.
Tracking changes by the phase also allows managers to see exactly how well the new HR tech is doing in the company, whether it benefits many, or just a small percentage of the workforce.
Progress Bars Get You Far
Having a “progress bar” or progress tracker allows you to see how well the organization is adopting the HR tech. This will also help managers see how far you can go in as much as a couple of days, weeks, or months.
A progress tracker will also help employees by giving them a rewarding feeling. A rewarding feeling is one of the best motivators in the workplace, as it shows the employees that all the work they are doing is actually making an impact in the company.
Keeping track of progress is not only good for the employees, but those implementing the changes as well. It also shows the problem areas that can easily be tackled to help achieve the end goal of adopting the new HR tech.
Upkeep Strengthens the Fleet
Even when the entirety of the learning process is done, the HR tech adoption may still not be at optimal level. Nobody learns everything in a single lecture, dealing with changes always takes time, and employees will have different timelines for adapting to the changes.
Checking up on employees after changes to the company or HR tech have been made is essential for increasing HR tech adoption in the organization. This shows the employees that management is also doing their part to make adapting to the changes much easier, as things like these will always need heavy maintenance.
Essentially Needed
Before adopting HR tech, you must ensure that the technology is actually needed by the workers, and that it’s not just there to be flashy and completely useless. Some often get technology to use only one part of it, leaving the rest of its features unused, making a huge waste of cost.
Get a HR tech that actually solves a problem or a couple of problems many in the workforce routinely face. This not only makes it satisfying for them to learn, but also helps with increasing adoption of new HR tech that actually helps in the organization.
Knowing How the Story Should End
Simply put, have an end goal in mind. Planning to make a change or adopting new HR tech in the company is a tedious process, and it’s easy to lose a sense of direction when you don’t know why you made the change or adopted the new tech in the first place.
Adopting HR tech with an end goal in mind keeps you on track, no matter how long it takes for the rest of the people in the company to learn. This makes it easier for a lot of people in the company to stay focused on the real task as well.
Unity in Multiplicity
The best learning approach that works for every single human mind on earth has yet to be discovered. The teaching and learning experience itself has much to be learned about, so using teaching and learning strategies that work for many people, no matter how costly it can be, is often the best way to get a job well done.
Having a multimodal approach to suit the learning needs of the workforce so that adoption of HR tech is increased is also one of the best ways to speed up the learning and adoption process. It gives employees the chance to choose the best teaching method that suits their learning style.
An Incentive for a Motive
Giving employees incentives for having and showing the motivation to learn and adopt HR tech makes others think that adapting to the changes is going to be worth it. Pairing incentives for motivation with showing the benefits of adopting HR tech in the organization allows the workforce and those really dealing with the changes to see its worth.
Incentives can come in many forms. For some, free snacks will do, some will be satisfied with just the learning experience, while others may seek more rewarding incentives. What matters most is that the incentives given to the employees should guide them in adapting to the HR tech.
Just Give Me a Reason
Employing changes in the work space abruptly is, as was already mentioned, rarely welcomed by the majority of employees. Pacing the changes and preparing the people in the organization of the changes that are about to happen will make adapting to the HR tech much easier, eventually increasing its adoption in the organization.
Giving employees a reason or simply telling them why the HR tech is being adopted into the company will help them understand exactly why the change is happening. And, if you still remember number 7, having a reason that you think solves the problem and laying it down will allow the workers to be more understanding.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Working closely with your team or the rest of the people in the organization allows for the increased adoption of HR tech as it shows people that you’re dealing with the change as well. This brings down the border that management often has between the workforce, making it easier for the both of them to relate to the other.
Keeping in touch with the employees and working closely with them to help adopt the HR tech will make the entire process much more bearable for employees. Seeing that they are not alone in adapting to the changes helps them feel more comfortable dealing with it, thus increasing the rate of adoption of HR tech.
Self-Serving for a Cause
Providing self-service training for employees after the initial learning process has occurred provides employees with the avenue to look up an old skill they previously learned and forgot or are trying to remaster. This not only motivates them to adopt the HR tech, but also allows them to be able to stand on their own when the situation arises.
Another key aspect in the learning process is repetition. As mentioned previously, nobody learns a new skill overnight. Having a self-service training coupled with actual allows employees to repeatedly learn or relearn a skill or a set of skills needed to adopt the HR tech.
A Guide for the New Mind
Older employees may be more comfortable with adopting HR tech, especially since they are the ones with the most experience and encounter the most problems routinely. However, newer employees will often take more time in adapting to the changes in tech because they haven’t experienced as many changes as older workers.
Providing both new and old employees with mentors specifically to help guide them with adopting the HR tech in the company helps boost tech adoption rates in the organization. Sometimes, the mentor may also help those implementing the change so that they may find better ways of helping the workforce adapt.
How-to-Basic
Making a manual or a series of how-to videos allows employees to keep track of their progress and make troubleshooting much easier. Having a manual or a series of videos prepared allows them to go back to basics at any time, giving them the avenue to assess their own performance from the bottom-up.
Accessible videos or reading materials that remind them of the basics of the HR tech being adopted also makes the technology easy to master and for them to make it truly theirs. Given that, they will be willing to work with the HR tech more as they would already know exactly how to deal with it and how it best suits their needs, aiding with their need for a comfortable workplace.
Add a Pinch of Work Fun
Dealing with change is stressful enough as it is, especially when the change requires learning (not everybody likes to go to school, you know). Helping employees deal with this stress will also help boost HR tech adoption, as people will be more comfortable with the learning curve and the experience needed to deal with the changes.
Adding some fun to the work will help management see results in the process of changing and adopting HR tech. Fun is almost always preferred over something boring, especially when boring means simply sitting through a lecture with nothing to do, eventually having workers pay less attention to the real purpose of the lecture.
Allowing Employees to Manage
Permitting employees to take charge of their own learning and adapting experience helps boost adoption rates of HR tech, as this gives them the freedom to really choose for themselves. Management is already imposing a change on the workforce, a change that many may feel unnecessary.
Giving them the options to deal with and adopt the HR tech in a way they like lets them feel like they are in control of the change, and that it is something they really can pace.
Needed First, Wanted Second
Some employees want change, while some employees need change. Knowing the difference between what is wanted and what is needed by the workforce is a key aspect in increasing adoption rates of HR technology by the employees.
Focusing on the HR tech that helps many employees deal with their needs will make the employees feel more comfortable in the workplace. Though others may not see it, when a needs analysis is done with the help of a survey conducted on the working population, comfort and tech adoption is sure to rise in the company.
Communication is Key
To put it simply and quickly, nobody likes to work alone. Having a solid communication structure with the employees as HR tech is being adopted in the company will help boost adoption rates.
A solid communication structure for workers will help with reducing stress in the learning process while also helping the struggling quickly master the new technology.
You Might Also Like: Employee Experience: Top Surprising Things You MUST Know
Influencers?!
Influencers are not only important (as they often are displayed to be) on social media. Influencers may also play a part in the workplace, especially when the work deals with change.
Having someone butter up colleagues to adopt HR tech will help boost adoption rates, especially when they know how to work up a charm.
In simpler terms…
Increasing HR technology adoption is a process that highlights not the technology, but the employees and managers dealing with the actual change.
Many of these strategies are worker-focused, as they should be. Focusing on the workers while adopting HR tech makes it easier for them to adapt to the changes being implemented.
A worker-centered approach when increasing adoption for HR technology in the company helps not only the workers, but management as well, especially when the expected change is going to be a major one. This will also serve as a guide to future managers, showing them exactly where they could improve from the last time change was imposed.
