Embrace disruption, avoid chaos
For hundreds of years, technological innovations have made a huge impact on all aspects of our working lives. They’ve had an effect on everything from methods of work to resource management, production costs and the ways we interact with one another. Not only have these technological advances improved productivity, they are increasingly important for attracting new talent.
Pole position in the recruitment race
As the economy improves and companies grow in size, the demand for new staff continues to increase. This in turn puts prospective talent in a strong position where they can afford to be more selective in the company they choose. A forward thinking attitude when it comes to technology presents an opportunity for HR departments to differentiate their business from competitors, right from the start.
Increasingly, people entering the workplace will have spent the entirety of their lives using, adapting to and communicating through new technologies, and relying on outdated methods could prove to be frustrating for them. If, on the other hand, an innovative and open approach to technology is ingrained in company culture, it grants new starters the freedom to concentrate on learning their role and developing industry specific skills, rather than worrying about paperwork, faxing and scanning.
How to use technology as your friend
Disruptive technology is clearly important, but how can you take full advantage of it and be in the best position to attract talent? The solutions tech implementations can deliver are almost limitless - but only if they are applied effectively. For a business roll-out, it’s not just a case of a CIO selecting relevant technology and handing it straight over to staff. At worst, the familiarity with current working routines and attitudes may result in a resistance to change, wasting resources and negatively impacting the customer experience.
A far more effective way to adopt change is for the COO to work in partnership with the HR department to ‘sell in’ the benefits and improvements that new technology can provide across all levels of the business. This is far more likely to lead to a cultural change that will facilitate a seamless transition to new technology. For the HR team in particular, implementing new technologies effectively is of great significance because of the central role it plays in attracting new talent.
HR at the forefront
A good CIO will spend a long time researching any potential new technology for their business before convincing the board of its value. The resulting in-depth knowledge and understanding of these technological benefits effectively results in the CIO becoming the primary ‘thought leader’ in the company in regards to any new product. However, in larger companies and especially multinationals operating in different time zones, contact between the CIO and other departments may be limited. This makes it essential that the HR department ensures all colleagues receive the necessary training to understand the benefits of any new tech.
An effective way for HR to facilitate this change is to approach tech implementation with the view that successful adoption is 30% about the product and 70% about the attitudes of the user. Once the HR team has a comprehensive understanding of the software/hardware themselves, they need to identify and brief appropriate senior staff members across all departments. This should result in a trickle-down effect whereby the knowledge and expertise is passed on to everyone in the business. It’s also important that HR is able to recognise other staff members who are strongly positioned to act as an ambassador for new technology and empower them accordingly. Staff who have particular technical skills or demonstrable enthusiasm for technology could prove to be invaluable in this instance.
As technology moves forward at an increasingly rapid pace, it will be necessary to implement new technology more frequently and on a larger scale than ever before. Teams with an innovative, cooperative and synchronised approach to change are putting themselves in the best possible position to maximise the benefits that these exciting advances can offer.
Jesper Frederiksen, VP EMEA at DocuSign
DocuSign VP of EMEA, Jesper Frederiksen, has more than twenty years' experience working with service and software vendors. He knows the difficulties that accompany the hyper-growth transition of early-stage companies into nimble, global juggernauts with hundreds of employees in far-flung locations.