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Is the era of digital transformation over for HR professionals? For all the talk of digital tools and digitised practices, our research at Personio suggests that the majority of organisations in the UK are still lagging behind.
In this article, we want to talk about the realities of digital transformation in 2023. More importantly, why it should still matter for people teams and exactly how digital transformation can (and should) start in your HR department.
What Do We Mean by Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation refers to an organisation’s efforts to replace manual, paper-based practices with digitised, automated processes. The intended outcome is to increase organisational effectiveness across your entire business.
Diving deeper into the topic of transformation, we need to make a key distinction between two things:
Digitised Ways of Working
Digital Transformation
For the first, think of tools like video conferencing or instant messaging at work. These feel like big changes facilitated by digital tools, but they more or less augment usual working practices (like meetings or conversations). They don’t transform, they facilitate.
In digital transformation, there is a distinct shift between practices (what we are doing) to processes (how we do it). It reconsiders your organisation’s ‘baseline’ processes to facilitate higher levels of employee productivity.
Ultimately, you can’t have transformation without automation. HR automation, especially, allows you to change how you work, and not simply the ways you work. With that in mind, let’s tackle today’s big question…
Is Digital Transformation Over?
The fact remains – many organisations are still struggling with transformation. In fact, according to a recent study from Personio, 68% of organisations surveyed still have not digitised their HR processes at all.
The majority of organisations may be using a digital tool or two, but they aren’t providing an organisational foundation for digital success. We cannot confuse working digitally with transforming digitally.
That lack of digitised processes has a distinct trickle-down effect. From the same study, we found that over half (56%) of HR managers say that their department lacks the data and insights they need to make strategic decisions.
That is most likely because only 6% of organisations who have not digitised their processes collect data more than once per year. Only 2% of those with ‘a few digitised processes’ are able to do the same. The rest only collect it annually, if at all.
Ultimately, digital transformation is far from over. In fact, it may be time to rethink the concept entirely. True digital transformation may only be possible from your HR function…
Digital Transformation Must Start in HR
Here’s what we want you to know: A transformation in HR is a transformation across your entire organisation. It’s a simple yet powerful fact.
Your HR function has incredible influence across your entire organisation. HR teams can dictate how people work, how they collaborate and how individuals grow and develop within their own careers.
For that reason, a digital transformation that begins in HR can have a ‘multiplier effect’ across your organisation. Think about some of the processes that HR has domain over:
The collection and storage of employee data
How various types of leave are requested, approved and tracked
The ways in which performance cycles are run
Onboarding and offboarding processes for new and departing employees
How employees feel supported to ask questions and raise concerns
Your HR function creates the processes which directly or indirectly affect every employee in your organisation. If these processes are made digital, looping in things like automation, it can have a direct impact on organisation-wide productivity and performance.
How to Design a Meaningful Digital Transformation Process
What might a stronger digital transformation process led by HR look like? We’ve put together a very quick step-by-step guide to help you get started…
Assess Your Needs: What are you looking to do? Which processes would you like to automate? Is there anything else you need now or into the future?
Find a Partner: Partner up with a great HR software or system that can not only meet your needs, but help guide you in the process.
Implement Quickly: Embed your new solution and ways of working into your organisation with a concrete HRIS implementation plan that wastes no time.
Track Adoption: Ensure people and employees are using your new ways of working (like requesting leave digitally) and not going back to the old ways.
Reward Adoption: Think about ways to recognise and reward your true "Digital Transformation Champions", whether they are employees, managers or executives.
Build New Programs: Take the time you have saved to outline new projects that can help build out your overall HR strategy.
This is a quick outline for a big project. That said, there is one key to a successful digital transformation that is worth mentioning, detailed below.
The Key to Transformation: Find a Supportive Partner
In order for digital transformation to be successful in your organisation, it needs two things. First, it needs to start in HR – and, for that, HR needs a strong partner.
Any kind of partner needs to span a wide range of HR processes, from document management to performance and payroll.
Personio is an all-in-one HR software that upgrades your people operations for now and the future. That means we focus on all your processes, not just some of them.
Digital transformation is just as relevant, if not more, in 2023 than it ever has been before. And from our view, HR deserves a commanding seat to make it a success.
