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"The entire human resource base today needs technology."

María Martínez Serrano. Master's Degree in Personnel Management Service in Organizations Master's Degree

Ms. Pilar LLacer. Philosopher, specialist in Human Resources, Digital Transformation, Sustainability and Ethical Leadership (PhD).

Last Monday, October 9, in the sessions "My experience managing people" of the MDPO, we were able to know in depth the innovative thinking and experience of Pilar Llácer, PhD in Philosophy, writer and specialist in HR and digital transformation, who helped us to understand the interesting combination between ethical humanism and technological progress for the management of people in companies.

The management of human resources consists, to a large extent, in the management the knowledge we have of the people working in our organizations. So the problem that Pilar presented to us in this session arises: how can we know and lead the people in our organization, for example, if we are a business with 10,000 employees? This can be done perfectly through the technological innovations available to us today.

"The entire human resources base today needs technology. Because only through technology can we make our people management model scalable". That is why the degree scroll of her second book is "Why Human Resources should be like NETFLIX" (Almuzara 2019) Because it is a vital experience within everyone's reach that the NETFLIX algorithm knows us perfectly, and manages the information it has about us quickly and efficiently, offering us a quality service. Pilar wittily argued the similarities that NETFLIX has with an HR department , which should be able to interpret all the information it has about its employees (preferences, opinions, history, needs, suggestions, etc.) and adapt its policies and programs accordingly. In addition, HR should personalize more the relationships with its employees based on all this database it possesses. Just like NETFLIX does, for example, with an email message calling us by name, a personalized advertisement on a social network , advertising based on our work history, hobbies or interests, etc.

After the session with Pilar Llácer we realized how important it is today to rely on technology and all the possibilities offered by IA, to generate from human resources an environment of individual, close and familiar attention in a business of thousands of workers. This is a tremendously efficient way to humanize people management on a large scale, strengthening the relationship between the organization and the employee. If we have the information about our employees, how is it possible that we do not use it to our advantage to manage and personalize the attention?

Another relevant topic that we addressed in the session was the changes we are experiencing today regarding the future of the world of work. In this regard, Pilar explained four certainties about the present and the future of work:

  • Diversity: referring to the new interests of people beyond the mere work environment. Young talent is no longer just looking for work, but for a whole work experience of learning, growth, flexibility and conciliation, teleworking, good climate ... and, above all, the new generations demand a new speed and personalization of attention in the professional environment. Otherwise, the so-called "boredom effect" occurs, one of the causes of the very high turnover rates of young talent.
  • Technology: as a factor of fundamental transformation of the work environment. Firstly, in terms of the replacement of physical work by online work , and the substitution of many work positions by new technologies, which implies the reinvestment and use of human talent in other functions and new work positions.
  • Sustainability: alluding to an increasing responsibility towards the environment on the part of companies, demanded by society. This is creating a great issue of work in companies, which HR must strive to attract in order to develop this much-demanded sustainability (attracting "green talent").
  • Pandemic: which has meant that nothing in the world of work is the same as before.

 

It was very interesting to reflect on how this affects the world of Human Resources. To bring our organizations in line with these certainties of the future of work, first and foremost, HR should personalize and streamline people management through technology.

New technologies, if we use them according to a correct code of ethics as we talked about in the session, will always make us better people. Because the average talent that knows how to use them and take advantage of their benefits, becomes super talent; especially in all administrative functions of management, Excel, program management, etc. Some Departments within companies will be completely replaced by AI, and we must know how to manage these changes in terms of environments and professional roles in order to take advantage of it. On the other hand, in relation to the "boredom effect" of young talent, the HR department must know how to manage through technology the speed and personalization that the new generations demand in the workplace, to generate something very important in the future of companies: the commitment of their employees.

Another very interesting use of technologies in people management that we discussed in the session was for the off-boarding process and the relationship with ex-employees. Every day that passes, turnover rates in companies increase, and it is increasingly important for human resources Departments to management post-employment relations. First of all, because they are users whose data and information the department possesses, and whose follow-up is much easier. Pilar explained that this is a very interesting new talent attraction niche for HR, because they are workers who already know the business, the on-boarding plan is simpler, and properly cultivating these relationships can be much more efficient. Through social networks and online monitoring, the way of taking care of employee has changed a lot and we must know how to take advantage of this through technology, for example, AI. It is often more important to take care of the talent that the business already has, or that it has within its reach, than to venture into a new search process.

In relation to the new demands of young talent in companies, we also talked about the importance of reeskilling and abskilling of employees, from the HR department ; which are the internal training processes necessary to face the great change in professional roles that the technological revolution is bringing with it. These continuous training processes are the ones that will allow us a higher rate of performance, flexibility and adaptability of our talent within the organization. For this continuous training to be efficient, HR must always be in deep relationship with Business.

After this enriching session with Pilar, we have understood the importance of promoting technological innovation in companies from the Human Resources department . In this way we can work for all the employees within the companies, in the closest, staff and efficient way possible; since the most valuable thing for the organizations is the talent that participates in them.

In order to move towards technological innovation in companies, we must also recognize the "speed" at which they are operating. According to Pilar, there are three speeds: small business, medium business and large business. If a small business has just incorporated Excel or telephone interviews, we should not try to introduce ChatGPT in their work methodologies. It is important to recognize the work environment in order to know which innovations to promote. But, without a doubt, it is necessary to move towards this "technological humanism" in companies.

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