44% of HR leaders said that driving better business outcomes is their number one strategic priority for HR technology transformation over the next three years.

Skills management, learning experience platforms and internal talent marketplaces, are the three major strategic imperative for HR Technology in 2023, according to a survey by Gartner.

“With a tumultuous global economy, HR technology leaders face a balancing act in 2023,” said Sam Grinter, director in the Gartner HR practice. “Leaders must anticipate greater levels of accountability and demand for measurable outcomes to justify new technology investments.”

The company surveyed 138 HR leaders, 44% of them said that driving better business outcomes is their number one strategic priority for HR technology transformation over the next three years. 

Meanwhile, growth in headcount and skills (26%) and cost optimisation (17%) were ranked as the next most important priorities.

“Right now, many organisations are taking a proactive approach to business transformation in order to safeguard critical areas of operations,” said Grinter. “Delivering on revenue growth and profitability is imperative for HR technology leaders, particularly during times of social, technology and economic changes.”

What are the top barriers for HR Technology?

“Gartner research shows the top three barriers for HR technology leaders are ensuring ongoing adoption of HR technology (57%) among key stakeholders – employees, managers and HR, justifying HR technology investments (46%) and developing and maintaining a strategic roadmap for HR technology transformation (43%),” said the company in a statement.

“Without adoption, technology is worse than dead weight – it provides zero value while incurring ongoing costs,” said Grinter. “Lack of adoption also impacts productivity as employees waste time finding workarounds, creating more unnecessary work friction.”

Currently HR technology leaders’ focus will be on the deployment and optimisation of existing technology decisions, said the research. “Most cloud applications get two to four major updates per year, and HR technology leaders must work to communicate updates in a timely fashion, so the organisation can benefit from new capabilities as they arrive,” the company said.

“Organisations continue to face a troubling skills gap,” said Josie Xing, director in the Gartner HR practice. “This problem has compounded as the pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital technologies in all industries as well as today’s fierce competition for talent.”