Newsletter - October 2007
Technology: The Other Side of the Story
October 11, 2007 -Tom Bodin
I don’t care if you call it Talent Management, Human Capital Management, Workforce Optimization, Workforce Productivity or Performance Management, the one thing I’ve learned after all these years is that it’s still about helping people and achieving business success.
Not so long ago I wrote about how technology had changed the way people do business. From pink message slips to answering machines to voice mail. And from 2-3 day mail service to fax machines to email. Or from 4-part carbonless Personnel Action Forms to internal HRIS systems to off-shored Employment Call Centers.
And - I find it interesting – like many others who serve the needs of the HR and business communities – that I, too, have changed. I used to head both corporate personnel and HR functions. And now, I am part of OI Partners, a global firm comprised of consultants in the talent management and leadership solutions space.
In many ways this progress has been driven by technology. But, has technology really helped the HR and business communities?
Try this example: As important as efficiency, metrics and business performance measurement are, I am greatly concerned about the growing disconnect that seems to be occurring between management and the general employee population. Are we losing contact with the human side of what we do? What is happening with employee communication?
Think about how your senior management team communicates information. More and more, I see organizations relying on email as the primary vehicle for sharing important information. Anecdotally, I’m fairly certain that you can identify situations which grew out of control, even though management had clearly stated the procedure or change directive in an email.
What happened to “Management by Walking Around?” Face time is diminishing in exchange for efficient internal communication procedures.
Somewhere in deference to technology, the business community has latched on to the idea that our diverse workforce (cultures, religion, race and sexual identity, not to mention the generational differences and preferences of Boomers, Gen X’ers and Y’ers) can be communicated to uniformly.
Clearly as stewards of the people supporting the operational needs of business today, we should be doing everything in our power to improve open and effective communication. Employees like (need) to hear – and see - management. Don’t depersonalize them by relying too much on email. Employees want to feel valued. They need to know that management cares enough to not only inform, but to also accept the responsibility of engaging them in dialogue.
E-mail and general communication preferences aside - What do YOU think? What do YOU do?
Write to me at tbodin@oipartners.net.
Tom Bodin is managing partner of OI Partners, Minneapolis, MN. He also teaches Human Resource Management Strategy in the graduate program at St Mary's University of Minnesota. He can be reached at 952-417-7201 or tbodin@oipartners.net.