#HRTechMENA - Building the Digital HR Organisation

I'm in Dubai where I gave today's opening address at HR Tech MENA focusing on digital HR.

For me this is about the top, creating value, level in the value triangle, or the systems of productivity which lie on top of the systems of record and of engagement.

I took attendees through my thoughts on digital from a technology, process and workforce (not just generation y) perspective and talked about it's impact on data and analytics, where for me at least technology may be the biggest enabler but can't be the sole response (it's necessary but not sufficient).  We do need a good strategic analytical perspective too.

Because digital is about creating value through people we also need to think about data and analytics as providing insight to people to help manage themselves, not just about doing analytics on them in order to be able to manage them more tightly.  That's not going to be helpful in achieving the aims which digital technologies are designed to build.  It's the Quantified Self which is important, not the Quantified Organisation.

I had some good questions from attendees including one on gamification which was useful as I do think this is a great example of a digital approach: creating value by re-engineering processes to be compelling for individual employees as well as effective in meeting business needs; using digital serious gaming technologies to meet the process needs; and generating big data which helps provide analytical insights.

Importantly though, we need to ensure that digital technologies are implemented in a way which is going to resonate for the workforce, not just in the way we'd implement a e-HR system, ie the challenges are one of behaviour and culture, not generally about the technologies themselves.  So they need implementing using a sound people based change approach:

I thought the session went well though I missed a trick in not giving people a buzzword bingo chart to use during the rest of the two days.

By the way, I'm on the Advisory Board for Jane McConnell's Organisation in the Digital Age survey which is currently open for responses - it'd be great to get some more inputs from HR: from within the region or elsewhere.  You can sign up here.

• Consulting   Research  Speaking  Training  Writing
• Strategy  - Talent - Engagement  - Change and OD 
• Contact me to create more value for your business
• jon [dot] ingham [at] strategic [dash] hcm [dot] com