Imagine empowering your employees to become problem-solvers rather than passive observers. How can HR departments break down barriers, encourage employees to embrace technology, and tackle challenges?

Today, HR has a powerful weapon: Low-Code/No-Code (LCNC) solutions. These user-friendly platforms allow HR professionals, even those with minimal coding experience, to automate repetitive tasks. With LCNC, they can streamline onboarding processes, automate expense report approvals, or build internal applications for leave requests – all without relying on overburdened IT departments. But the benefits of LCNC extend far beyond freeing up HR's own time. 

HR professionals sit at the crossroads of the organisation, interacting with all departments and understanding their specific needs. This gives them a deep understanding of the organisation's workflows, employee skillsets, and pain points. This holistic perspective will also allow them to identify areas where LCNC can have the most significant impact across the company - by promoting LCNC as a tool for empowerment, not replacement. After all, many employees possess untapped problem-solving skills and creativity, and HR can help employees discover their potential as citizen developers. 

Encouraging user adoption: The starting point lies in people, not technology

The starting point for encouraging user adoption is for HR to influence it by cultivating a culture that values learning and experimentation. While LCNC platforms themselves are designed to be user-friendly, their success hinges on individual adoption. Otherwise, even the most sophisticated software remains useless on a dusty shelf. One way in which HR can influence user adoption is through hosting workshops. 

Workshops serve as a powerful catalyst for igniting user adoption of LCNC platforms, offering much more than just dry instruction manuals and technical specifications. Unlike traditional training that focuses solely on features, these workshops can be designed around specific departmental challenges where participants can see the immediate practical application of LCNC tools in tackling their day-to-day problems. Importantly, this practical approach fosters a sense of relevance and ownership, increasing user engagement.

Having the element of a hands-on learning component in the workshop would also provide participants with a safe space to experiment and build basic applications. This fosters a sense of accomplishment and builds confidence in using the platform independently. Ultimately, this journey should also lead employees to take the initiative to build solutions using LCNC to resolve challenges they face in their day-to-day work.

 From problem-solvers to innovators: Unleashing employee creativity through hackathons

The power of HR in influencing employees to adopt LCNC doesn't stop at the individual level. By tapping into the collective expertise of their workforce, HR can also address a broader spectrum of challenges and cultivate an environment that champions innovation. HR can unleash employee creativity through hackathons. The purpose of these hackathons would be to serve as a vibrant arena for sparking creativity and reinforcing the idea that employees are pivotal in crafting technology-driven solutions now that employees are skilled in using LCNC. 

Hackathons provide a powerful platform for innovation to flourish, demonstrating a simple philosophy: the individuals closest to everyday challenges often hold the key to effective solutions. During these hackathons, employees across various departments can come together to ideate and develop applications that cater to specific needs within their teams or address broader organisational challenges in their departments and beyond. The brief for these hackathons is always to think about problems from a broader “systems-thinking” mindset, triaging what is wrong with the process, rather than solving problems piecemeal.

Also read: The Modern CHRO with Mukta Arya

It will also serve as an effective platform where employees can openly voice out the process issues they face daily and which they think could be automated - all without the fear of being judged. Instead, this initiative will be viewed as an employee-driven innovation that is aimed not only at streamlining repetitive tasks but fostering a sense of community and cross-pollination of innovative ideas across the organisation.

Embracing the shift: An open mind is key

Certainly, successful LCNC utilisation hinges on a clear strategy, and collaborative efforts between IT, HR, and leadership teams. While HR can take the first steps in encouraging employees to be citizen developers, the organisation's leadership teams must also embrace the potential of LCNC platforms and the cultural shift it requires. 

Leaders can set the tone by demonstrating a willingness to experiment with LCNC tools themselves, participating in learning initiatives, piloting small automation projects within their teams, or simply expressing a supportive and enthusiastic attitude towards employee-driven innovation. By actively engaging with LCNC and championing this cultural shift, leadership teams can empower HR's efforts to cultivate a citizen developer workforce. This collaborative approach will unlock the full potential of LCNC, leading to a more efficient, innovative, and ultimately, successful organisation.

The manual era is fading, making way for a future shaped by innovative tools and solutions, while enabling employees to emerge as strategic contributors for a more inclusive and dynamic workforce. At the same time, it is also important to note that this transformation won't happen overnight. Over time, through a steadfast commitment to technology, automation mindset, active employee engagement, and openness to change, employees will eventually be able to ditch the papercuts and embrace their full potential, creating a ripple effect where HR can also take its rightful place as a catalyst for positive change within the organisation.