Going digital is the new mantra to achieve great people experience and bring consistency in experiences across the globe. However, this is easier said than done. Any tech implementation, if not coupled with a strong change implementation program would not go very far. 

The same opinions were reverberated by HR professionals and technology partners in a panel discussion organized by People Matters in Tech HR 17. 

Suchitra Rajendra, Head HR Pepsico India shared her organization’s experience of implementing Manager Self Services and Employee Self Services system across the globe. The system enabled everyone to see employee related information. The challenge was around implementing this system across the globe in one shot. They started with understanding what are the pain areas around people management system and collecting a lot of information about employees – their experience, reporting, career aspirations etc. What was really important here was that a system is as good as the information in it. To make it a sustainable process, managers were made the owner of the information. This came as a big surprise to managers when they realized that they own updating of a system for themselves and their team members. Though there was initial hesitation around this, the fact that CEO himself walked the talk was a push in the right direction. 

The idea was to refrain HR from updating the system for managers and this came as a strict guideline to HR. There was, of course, a helpdesk to assist managers for any queries. Once the real-time data started showing and the profile of employees was uploaded, the power of the system was realized. The information uploaded to the system was used for career conversations. Any incomplete profile carried a risk of missing out few career opportunities. This brought in a realization that the system is not just for solving organization’s problem but their own problem.  

Venkatraghavan, HR Director at Accenture emphasized bringing clarity to people about their new roles for a successful change implementation. 

Chaitanya Peddi, co-founder of Darwinbox shared some important tips to avoid failures in technology implementation. The most important being realizing the real need for an HR system.  He also emphasized dedicating a lot of time in doing the homework by mapping business processes, preparing the right data to be fed into the system and prioritizing the modules which would be made live first. The role of a project manager is very important in driving adherence to timelines and raising flags at the right time. Adoption of courses is the key to success. How well we have assessed the real need would play a key role in it. 

(This article is curated from the Fireside Chat session - “What have we learnt from a decade of Tech Implementation and Change Management?” in TechHR’17)