There\u2019s a problem with your HR management software. No, put that telephone down\u2014it\u2019s not something that tech support can help you with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The problem is this: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The workforce and workplace of the 2020s is almost unrecognisable compared to the workplace of the 2010s. But HR professionals are forced to manage their people using a software architecture that was conceived in the last century\u2026 literally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yup. We\u2019re talking the 1970s, baby. Ted Heath was prime minister. The Vietnam War was coming to an end. Disco was king. And the first faithful implementations of the relational database model were popping up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that\u2019s what most legacy software is still built on today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The eruption of remote and flexible working means that work life is disconnecting from defined space and time. This can be liberating, empowering and rich with opportunity. But our existing tools can no longer support HR professionals as they seize these opportunities. Nor can they help to overcome the challenges presented by this brave new world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Josh Bersin says in his Next Generation HCM<\/a> story, \u201cWe now need HCM systems that are \u2018employee systems first, HR systems second.\u2019 We want the system to be a \u2018system of productivity,\u2019 not just a \u2018system of record.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n As this article explores the evolutions in people management unfolding all around us, and imagines the future of the people profession, you\u2019ll find yourself asking: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShould we scrap our existing legacy software now, or later?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Our answer? \u201cThere\u2019s no time like the present\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And here\u2019s why. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The idea of viewing an employee as a customer is nothing new but it hasn\u2019t gained the traction that it deserves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Why? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Because organisations didn\u2019t have the right tools to make it happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a natural synergy between customer experience and employee experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Firstly, motivated and engaged employees are more likely to deliver a great CX. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Secondly, it\u2019s hard to trust an organisation to perform well for its customers, if it can\u2019t provide a good experience for its own workforce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The 600-year-old idiom \u2018Charity begins at home\u2019 sums it up nicely and is as true now as it was then. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if you\u2019re not a fan of the employee as a customer idea, the fact remains that your employee is someone else\u2019s customer. And while they\u2019ve been working from home, they\u2019ve been flitting between WhatsApp and Teams, TikTok and their HR portal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When comparing the gamification that makes these social media apps extremely engaging, we can see why legacy HR software loses out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Employees and customers are looking for the same things: instant, intimate, frictionless, interconnected value. A feeling of wellbeing. A feeling of belonging. A feeling of fulfilment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, let\u2019s have a look at some of the ways that next gen HCM solutions can shape employee experience to better serve our workforces, now and into the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to reskilling, upskilling, and lifelong learning, legacy HR software is holding you and your people back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s because everyone\u2019s working life is a unique tapestry of skills, experience, knowledge, networks, and talent. It\u2019s not a direct path that can be listed on a page. And it\u2019s impossible to map and track the daily evolution of complex, causational, interrelated data with a relational database\u2014let alone make use of any resulting analytics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But with next gen solutions, built on graph databases<\/a>, you and your people can track and visualise their unique characteristics, talents, and learning paths. That means you can recognise and apply their strengths where and when they\u2019re needed. And you can plan for career development that makes sense for the individual and the organisation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a McKinsey survey conducted in May 2019<\/a>, nearly 90 percent of the executives and managers surveyed said that their companies faced skill gaps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Of these, only a third indicated any intention to deal with the problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s because it\u2019s not a simple problem to tackle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Effective reskilling means\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Next gen solutions take care of all of that. And where gaps can\u2019t be filled internally, HR managers will have the data that they need to accurately define the required roles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Legacy software struggles too when it comes to managing vital organisational training. That includes policies, regulations, and wellbeing. As well as adapting everyone to the requirements of automation, digitisation, and intelligent technologies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whilst current software can cover the basics, it can\u2019t track whether training has been effective and notify the right people of enduring problems or skill gaps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It certainly can\u2019t predict shifting future requirements<\/a>, which can help keep your HR department and your people ahead of the skill curve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Nor can it deliver just-in-time training, so that everyone has access to the correct information and high quality knowledge at exactly the right time\u2014because everyone learns more effectively<\/a> when material is relevant and applicable to their tasks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Next gen solutions can do all of this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And it\u2019s not just people managers and the organisations that benefit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Deep-data profiles helping employees to understand when and how they work best, can be coupled with self-service features. So, people can access and be ready for new opportunities as they emerge, empowered to choreograph their own upskilling and reskilling adventures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s the kind of environment that fosters loyalty, employee satisfaction, and a positive brand perception. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, improving employee experience, or EX is the main winning function of next gen solutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When women took up the call to work during WWII, there wasn\u2019t much thought of what that would mean when the war was over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We now know that it laid the foundation for women in the workplace<\/a> on a permanent basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In times of great change, fate throws her dice, and nobody can be sure where it\u2019s going to land but one thing\u2019s for sure, like Neo in the Matrix, once our eyes have been opened to a more authentic paradigm, there\u2019s no going back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re now living in the wake of a worldwide pandemic, rather than a war, and the impact on the workplace is just as profound, if yet to be fully realised. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But an explosion of remote work, variable working patterns, and persuasive arguments to address work-life balance are some of the clearer outcomes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The revolution is just getting started and legacy HR software is stumbling at the first hurdles. Built to serve the 9 to 5 hours popularised by Henry Ford<\/a> in the industrial age, flexibility isn\u2019t their strong point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With the emergence of an optional 4-day week and personalised working patterns to suit chronotypes<\/a>, energy levels, diverse lifestyles, time zones, and much more, flexibility is no longer a nice-to-have\u2014it\u2019s essential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A next gen HCM solution can provide that level of time-tracking flexibility, and it doesn\u2019t have to be at the cost of collaboration or productivity. Because powerful scheduling tools and peer-to-peer management, mean that teams can self-regulate and work in the way that suits them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The system itself can link up employees too. So, people who need help or can offer help, and those who want to collaborate on projects can do so easily. And as studies show, autonomous innovation is more likely to succeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like rigid schedules, rigid hierarchies are being swept away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Leadership is becoming more about driving purpose, inspiring employees, and staying agile. Managers are edging away from a command-and-control function and instead, becoming organisational conductors\u2014facilitating teams and individuals in performing together. Instead of giving orders, they\u2019re keeping time, mentoring, guiding, and looking at the bigger picture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And for the rest of the organisation, matrix teams that share goals and cross collaborate with fluidity are gaining popularity too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And we\u2019re not talking about replacing top-down hierarchies with a bottom-up model. Because with graph database technology, there\u2019s no bottom and there\u2019s no top\u2014and that\u2019s the point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Innovation, creativity\u2026 the voice of a leader\u2014it can come from anywhere at any time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That kind of fluidity and autonomy can\u2019t be supported with legacy HR solutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While traditional hierarchies melt into something better, individual roles are changing too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A recent McKinsey report found that employees only spend about 40% of their time on role- specific tasks\u2014that is, the things they were employed to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With a next gen HCM solution, roles are defined by the data, not a job listing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And they can adapt with individual and business requirements over time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The definite lines that used to exist between employment types are blurring too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Freelancing and the rising gig economy are two existing models that have been helping people to achieve a good work-life balance. But the trade-off for autonomy has always been job insecurity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s changing. UK workers<\/a> now enjoy the same statutory benefits as employees. At the same time, growing numbers of employees are experiencing the flexibility and autonomy that was only afforded to freelance and self-employed workers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But whilst gig workers, freelancers, contractors and others have started to reap some employee-only benefits in the real world, most legacy HR management software leaves them out in the cold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They can\u2019t access feedback or training resources and aren\u2019t encouraged to feel part of the company culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, in many existing systems, they\u2019re clearly an afterthought, tacked on to workflows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Just another example of how legacy systems aren\u2019t looking to the future\u2014they\u2019re not even keeping up with the present. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Distributed workforces, remote working, flexible hours, fluid roles\u2014with all this autonomy and nobody running the show, what\u2019s the glue that binds us? <\/p>\n\n\n\n A strong company culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Or in other words, people should know what their company expects and thinks without having to look it up in a manual. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Next generation HR software can support that by providing a central hub for community, collaboration, sharing, and innovation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With some notable exceptions\u2014we\u2019re looking at you Elon<\/a>\u2014the narrative around intelligent technology in the workplace is changing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of suspicion and fears of replacement, or worse \u2014 people are beginning to see the opportunity for empowerment and support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In a 180\u00b0 turnaround, organisations that implement intelligent, next-gen HCM systems can cultivate trust and transparency, rather than erode it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s because the systems, the analytics, and the data that employees can access isn\u2019t filtered or manipulated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That same technology will force companies to be more aligned with their policies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Next gen systems can incorporate intelligent technology to support a healthy work-life balance by easing administrative burdens, enhancing productivity, monitoring health, and encouraging practises that support wellbeing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Eventually, employees can even have their own PDAs (personal digital assistants) to mentor and coach them for new roles. And in an environment where intelligent technology takes care of repetitive tasks\u2014humanness and creativity become highly valued commodities. These are the very factors that foster feelings of wellbeing and job satisfaction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, not all these capabilities, features, and functions are going to arrive with the first versions of the next generation of HR software, but with a foundation of graph databases, it\u2019s all possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It doesn\u2019t matter whether you\u2019re the local greengrocer or the CHRO of a multi-national corporation, next gen systems are agile. They can scale up or down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can tailor them to be as basic or as comprehensive as they need to be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can create workflows\u2014no code required\u2014within an open eco-system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And with SenseHR you\u2019ll never need to pay for more than you use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These systems will grow with you and be shaped by your unique data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019ll help you make the best decisions to serve your organisation and your people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And, they\u2019ll provide a fun platform to bring everyone together, whether everyone is 2 or 2 million \u2026 yup, Walmart has over 2 million employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And while there are too many moving parts for any one HR professional, HR department, or organisation to predict how the future of the workplace will develop, with next gen HCM solutions, you won\u2019t have to. It\u2019ll be moulded by the future that you and your data dictate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We know, we know. You don\u2019t want to change your core HR system from your current legacy provider. But even if the legacy HR giants can learn to mimic the HCM of the very near future\u2014and that\u2019s a big if\u2014they won\u2019t do it well. <\/p>\n\n\n\nEmployee as a customer <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A tapestry of talent <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Flexible schedules and remote working <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Redefining roles and shaking up the hierarchy <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Freelancer, employee, or worker <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Company culture front and centre <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Intelligent technology <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
That sounds nice, but we\u2019re a 5-person start-up <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Can giants do gymnastics? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n