Here is an excerpt from an article written by Jason Averbook for Talent Management magazine. He explains why organizations should only customize technology if they can make the case that it will drive business value. To read the complete article, check out all the resources, and sign up for a free subscription to the TM and/or Chief Learning Officer magazines published by MedfiaTec, please click here.
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As a function, we have the history and habit of managing to the exception and not the norm. We spend millions of dollars customizing technology because we believe our way is the only way, and vendor-delivered technology won’t work for our special workforce.
We manage to the 0.01 percent of the organization who might abuse a process or technology versus the 99.99 percent who will use that same process or technology to become more productive.
We listen to one person in the organization say something like, “our workforce doesn’t have access to a computer, and therefore this will never work.” These are behaviors that we are all guilty of, and for today’s world of HR and talent management technology to be successful, we must turn these habits on their heads.
Let’s start at the top. Organizations today should only customize technology if they can make the case, the true case, that it will drive some sort of business value. This means you will be able to show a tangible revenue, profit and customer satisfaction link by spending money to make your technology unique.
Most organizations today customize technology because they have always conducted a process a certain way and feel that it must continue. We have learned over the decades that when it comes to talent process, it is time to reimagine creating our future. That starts by choosing and leveraging delivered technology and using the data and output in unique ways to drive competitive advantage.
I hear on a weekly basis that social processes and technology, what I like to classify as communication, will never work in our organization. Well guess what, it already is, and the sooner you realize that the better.
There will always be individuals who abuse things given to them. We must trust our workforce to use and consume process and technology versus blocking communication and advancement of the culture based on a few who might abuse them. This doesn’t mean there are no rules and consequences for bad behavior, but don’t penalize the whole organization because a few might abuse the system early on.
Finally, it is important to know your workforce has access to technology. For the first time in our lives, not only do they have access to technology, they have access to better technology at home than they do at work. While this is a shock and awe kind of statement to many, it is reality.
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To read the complete article, please click here.
Jason Averbook is the founder and CEO of Knowledge Infusion, the most rapidly growing firm on the HR Consulting front lines.