Whether by screening through candidates or automating pay, technology has been playing a key role within the HR function; however, the question arises on how to choose the right strategy within the business.

The HR Observer interviewed Harsh Kundulli, Sr Director Analyst at Gartner, who helps clients make strategic decisions in their HR technology transformation journeys. 

Kundulli said that the significance of ensuring technology is integrated into HR functions comes through a holistic strategy. 

What exactly does technology do to help HR function?

Traditionally, technology has helped HR achieve important outcomes such as increased HR automation, efficiency, and compliance. But now, with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other innovations, HR technology, if deployed appropriately, can also help HR enhance employee experience and engagement, improve agility, and drive data-driven decision-making.

How can the HR function choose the right tech for it? 

HR must overcome competing internal priorities and a complex vendor landscape by adopting a structured approach to evaluate and select the best-fit HR technologies. This involves setting the north star vision of key outcomes with the new technology, defining critical needs in the form of well-crafted requirements and use cases, planning for organisational readiness for adoption, and using the right evaluation criteria to select best-fit solutions from the right technology markets.

 How can HR create a tech strategy? why?

HR must follow certain important steps to create an HR technology strategy – define the business outcomes to be achieved with HR technology, prioritize HR areas for technology investment, capture critical needs through business capability modeling and end-user journey mapping, assess potential future-state HR technology options, and create a three-year roadmap to achieve the best-fit future state. 

An HR technology strategy goes a long way in helping HR leaders avoid regret with HR technology purchases. Without a robust and frequently updated HR technology strategy, organisations respond reactively to a specific technology need or crisis, rather than with calculated intent. They fall into the trap of buying too many and often expensive technologies that don’t work well together to achieve desired HR and talent outcomes.

What makes a tech strategy successful in recruitment?

Recruiting the right talent is a perennial challenge for HR, and the technology market is crowded with solutions that promise to overcome that challenge. So, a robust HR technology strategy is essential for recruiting to avoid the temptation to buy “shiny new objects”.

The keys to make a technology strategy successful for recruiting are: identifying and prioritising the outcomes to be achieved with recruiting technology (such as increased recruiter efficiency or optimized candidate experience); capturing critical needs by mapping out the journeys of candidates, hiring managers, and recruiters; and carefully assessing the technology options in the market based on capabilities, maturity, and organisational fit.