The accelerated technological development of recent years is shaping society as a whole. Within HR, companies now have access to a wide arsenal of technical solutions for managing employees and employee data.
However, an overreliance on these technological solutions risks employers losing a crucial human foundation for employee engagement: the relationship between employee and manager.
Technology is merely a tool. Real change occurs when data meets empathy and leadership. Many companies conduct regular pulse surveys, but with an excessive enthusiasm for what technological tools can achieve, the systems risk taking over and the human perspective being overshadowed, says Henrik Dannert, CEO of Heartpace HR, which offers a cloud-based HR platform for the entire employee journey. He emphasises that HR is fundamentally about people and that AI should function as a lever for human warmth and wiser decisions.
Amidst key ratio analyses and measurements, HR risks losing the crucial continuous goal-oriented dialogue with its employees. That all employees understand what is expected of them and what role they have in a wider context is crucial for long-term motivation. In a time when many management roles are characterised by high demands to deliver results themselves, it is easy to prioritise these important conversations and the physical meeting with employees over other things, says Henrik Dannert.
The Human Encounter as the Core
When digital HR tools take over and HR cedes much of what concerns employee engagement to technical solutions, they miss the essence of the relationship between
employees and managers, namely the human interaction. It risks creating distance between employees and managers. Overly frequent pulse surveys tend to undermine employees' trust in and devalue the original worth of these surveys. This can, in turn, lead to the discrepancy
the gap between the manager and the employees' perception of reality is widening.
– In a daily life characterised by an overreliance on digital HR solutions, there's a risk that managers will deprioritise important and fundamental elements of the dialogue and relationship with their employees. It goes without saying that a manager should not deprioritise dialogue with their employees, says Henrik Dannert. Choose an ISO-certified supplier. He also emphasises the importance of choosing an HR system supplier that is certified according to ISO.
27001, an international standard for information security management systems that helps organisations protect sensitive information by establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving their security practices, thereby reducing risks of data breaches and meeting legal requirements such as GDPR.
"Choose a supplier who takes IT security seriously and also aim to get your own organisation ISO-certified," says Henrik Dannert.
ABOUT THE COMPANY
Since 2012, Heartpace HR has been a leading provider of HR systems with a SaaS solution, and currently serves over 1,000 clients. Heartpace HR offers, among other things, a digital decision-making platform for managers and a cloud solution that enables the digitisation of HR processes, making them efficient for the needs, development and performance of all employees. Heartpace HR is certified according to ISO 27001 and is part of the Söderberg & Partners group.
