There was a time, not that long ago, when all records were kept on paper in file drawers. A good business practice was to purge those files each spring. The Human Resources staff would audit each file and arrange the documents in a preferred order. When the HR manager was satisfied, the files would go back in their respective drawers, and some would be moved to storage. Oh, the agony!
When employers brought computer servers into the business, HR was their last consideration. The company’s computer gave preferential service to the financial functions and to the departments that interacted with finance, such as purchasing and operations.
The advent of desktop computing made things easier for HR. Files became data, easier to sort and edit. More staff could access the data simultaneously. And, discs could backup and store the files.
It took some time before HR realized there was information in the data. The data was live because there was something organic there. If you listened, it would tell you something about the present and future. Some HR people forget to monitor this information once they have outsourced their HR information to HRIS. As always, if the HR professional does not ask the right questions, the system will not answer.
Now, we are moving to the Cloud/SaaS – or some version of it. The Cloud can only be described through analogies. But, it appears to be an apparently inexhaustible “place” where the whole world’s data swims. It does not breed there unless told to do so. It remains allegedly secure and immediately accessible. It takes up no office space, and it is accessible to everyone with permission. And, those permissions can be distributed by authority level, function, and need.
HR leadership needs to shape the Cloud to its needs, not those of IT or Finance:
- As a company gets bigger, it cannot escape the fact that its world is getting smaller. People are working closer together than ever before even though they may be physically further apart. They deal with the same goals, same mission, same projects, and same customers – even though they are never in the same office space. HR needs strategies to use the Cloud to value both the individual and the whole. For example, by directing employees to the Cloud, you encourage their community participation with access to documents, forms, policies, and forums.
- Today’s employees know how to use tools and hardware. They know how to “socialize” on the internet, research unknowns and value the known, and influence public opinion. HR must lead in putting tools in front of workers, in challenging them to align work with targets, and in assessing how employees work effectively and how those modes can be imbedded as models.
- If Cloud technology can make business more agile and efficient, HR is the logical source for talent assessment and development. It must lead in removing silos or barriers to the availability and exchange of information – while still respecting privacy and compliance issues. HR can build strategies into the Cloud and its outputs, future-directed strategies that provide real time data and future trends to the CEO and anyone else in the C-group.
The Cloud is where you want to be, a virtual file, memory, and haven. It is the nexus of information and data needed by and supportive of all business functions. It is the key to centralizing informed data for all corporate stakeholders. The Cloud gives HR unparalleled strategic opportunities in information management, talent development, and tracking futures.
