Swamped by HR products, unsure how to choose the right one? CPO reveals how to choose the right products for your business
HR technology has absolutely exploded in recent years, with new apps and platforms seemingly springing up every day. Some claim to do it all, while others focus on niche areas of HR - payroll, wellbeing, onboarding, communications, and many more. For HR leaders, navigating this growing ecosystem is becoming a signifiant challenge.
According to April Marcot, CPO at McArthur, products that take care of “a small part of the employee” journey are often better than the ones that do everything under one roof. However, this comes with the caveat of introducing several different products into your existing systems - meaning your tech portfolio can become complicated, expensive and hard to manage.
So how do you get the balance right? Marcot says a good starting point is to identify the specific needs you’re looking to address, and to always keep the employee experience “front and centre.”
“There are more and more options out there, technology keeps promising to deliver results, cut time and costs,” Marcot says.
“Some products out there are really stepping up, and giving us some really interesting products that have the capacity to add serious value. But if you choose the best in each system area of HR, your tech stack can become messy, your employees have too many systems they need to log into, your data comes from too many sources, maintenance and administration, as well as costs is a nightmare.”
Marcot says that while the challenge is ongoing, the vital concept of “people over process” hasn’t changed. She notes that using tools like automation and AI are useful, but will only help if you stay focused on simplicity and the human experience. If your new technology isn't adding value to the employee, asking them to adopt it or change their ways to make it work is going to be a struggle.
“Instead, choose systems that are solving a specific problem that is specific to you,” Marcot explains.
“Be really deliberate about what you want to achieve and why, what results you expect from that technology, and make sure that what you choose meets those needs. Keep the employee experience front and center.”
Hosted by Enboarder and HRD Australia, Marcot will be delivering a free webinar on 24th May 2023. She will discuss the key considerations that HR professionals should keep in mind when evaluating HR technology solutions, including the benefits, costs, and risks associated with different options.
She will also discuss how to assess the impact of HR technology on your people’s programs, the organisation’s overall strategy, and financial performance.
To register for the webinar, click here.
