That HR Technology is changing the way we work is no secret. However, if the results of the 2016-17 Sierra Cedar HR Systems Survey are anything to go by, HR Technology is also helping level the playing field between big corporations and small players by giving the latter an edge. The survey, an annual feature for the last 19 years, has been enlightening the HR community since 1997. The company website says, "Published since 1997, the Sierra-Cedar HR Systems Survey is the longest running, most widely distributed, and most highly participative research effort in the HR industry, annually tracking the adoption, deployment approaches, and value achieved from HR technologies. We study the roadmaps that organizations navigate and decisions they make regarding technology, integrations, processes, and people when building an empowered HR function that serves the workforce and supports organizational outcomes.”

The 19th edition of the survey broke new grounds and gave rich insights into the world of HR technology. The survey said, “This year's Survey explored new areas, including the composition of the workforce across all generations, from millennials to baby boomers, and addressed how organizations are using technology applications to address social responsibility initiatives such as diversity and inclusion.” As we gear up for this year’s insightful 20th edition to come out in a few weeks’ time, here is looking back at what the 2016-17 edition, that collected data from 1,528 organizations employing more than 20 million workers, had to say:

• Organisations with a sound enterprise HR Systems strategy are 77% more likely to be viewed as a strategic business partner. 
  
  
• The focus on user experience is paramount and it plays a big role in replacement processes; as organizations that fare poorly in terms of user experience are four times more likely to change their HR Technology in the next 12 months.
  
  
• There are different steps that companies take to update and modernize their HR Technology: Maintaining a hybrid HR Technology environment (24%) and Moving everything to Cloud using rip and replace model (11%).
  
  
• Data-driven organizations are 43% more likely to have a rip and replace HR technology model or opt for Cloud computing, whereas Talent-driven organizations are 20% more prone to proactively take up social responsibility initiatives.
  
  
• Organisations that have an above-average adoption of HR technology reported nearly double the revenue per employee. 
  
  
• 57% of the firms with less than 2,500 employees have a cloud-based HR management system, whereas the same figure is at 39% for organizations who employ 10,000 or more workers.
  
  
• 40% of the organizations are planning a major strategic HR technology initiative in the upcoming 12 months.
  
  
• Payroll, health, and wellness etc. have become a favorite for cloud-based HR interventions and over 50% already have cloud-based payroll systems.

"HR Technology is continuing to expand its capabilities to manage the individualism of each employee, and over time this will allow organizations to embrace social responsibility areas such as diversity, pay equity, wellness, and family leave in ways that are both compliant and tailored to each employee's needs," Stacey Harris, Vice President of Strategy and Analytics, Sierra-Cedar, said in the press release accompanying the launch of the survey.

The results of the survey only reaffirm the meta-narrative that is shining the light on HR technology bright and wide. However, it also explains how organizations, big and small, are viewing, adapting and learning from HR technology management systems and how their goals are differentiating their technological approach. The survey, in its entirety, serves as a great introduction to the advent of HR technology. 

You can view all the previous editions of the survey here.