When it comes to implementing new technology, the hard work for the HR team often starts once the solution has already been rolled out
When implementing new technology, it is easy to focus on the tried and true measures of time: cost and quality.
While these measures are really important, success from a ‘project’ perspective and success from a ‘people’ perspective are very different things, according to David Dunne, director, Workday Service Delivery at Alight Solutions.
Dunne told HRD that the single biggest determinant of HR technology implementation success is how effectively the change associated with the implementation managed, and how engaged your people are with the solution once it is delivered.
“Implementation is in some respects the easy bit - the hard work starts once you are live, as you work to constantly innovate your technology to build and sustain user engagement.”
Dunne will be speaking at the HR Tech Summit in Sydney in September on the topic Change leadership in HR technology projects.
He said this topic is critically important for HR professionals to continually talk about because it is often overlooked.
“In my experience, it is not difficult to get HR professionals excited about implementing technology which will make their lives easier and more engaging,” said Dunne.
“However, the implementation of HR technology needs to be focused as much, if not more, on the employee experience as it is on the HR team’s experience.
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“Investing the time upfront to ensure your people understand what you are doing, why, and how it will benefit them, pays dividends in the long run.”
So if Dunne could give one piece of advice to HR professionals relating to change leadership in HR technology projects, what would it be?
“Don’t underestimate or under-invest in change management capability in your implementation,” said Dunne.
“Take your people on a journey, which starts pre project initiation, which demonstrates how the technology you are implementing fundamentally improves the employee experience and frees people up to focus on the things that matter.”
Dunne added that the danger with any technology implementation is that you only know what you know, and as the saying goes “if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got!”
“Events like the HR Tech Summit help us all to connect with peers at different stages of technology maturity, challenge preconceptions about how things should be done, and open our minds to new ways of working.”
David Dunne will be speaking at the HR Tech Summit in Sydney in September.