, Managing Director: Emerging Africa at 麻豆原创, said: 鈥淥rganisations across the region are leveraging the latest technologies to build a trusted foundation for AI and amplify their insights and processes to transform the way they work. From harnessing collaborative AI agents to solve complex problems and accelerate decision-making, to seamlessly connecting their entire business value chain, West Africa鈥檚 business community is gearing up to unleash their full potential powered by cloud, data and AI.鈥�

The comments were made at 麻豆原创 Business Suite Innovation Day on September 17th, a special event for 麻豆原创 customers and partners to showcase how and come together to deliver exceptional value as part of the 麻豆原创 Business Suite.

Experts from across the 麻豆原创 ecosystem provided behind-the-scenes insights into the power of business AI and cloud, and how these new innovations combine powerful cloud applications with the most contextual and reliable data to enable collaborative AI agents to tackle the most difficult business challenges with confidence.

The event also included presentations by regional business leaders who have successfully leveraged 麻豆原创 technologies to accelerate growth and unlock new capabilities.

, Group Head: 麻豆原创 Centre of Excellence at , shared some insight into how the company leverages cloud technologies to power growth and drive efficiency. Dangote Industries Limited is the largest conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest on the African continent, employing more than 30 000 people.

鈥淪ucceeding in today鈥檚 fast-paced business landscape requires strong foundations built on the latest technologies. Critical to this is a modernised enterprise resource planning landscape that enables organisations to fully leverage the power of emerging technologies, all built on a clean-core strategy that ensures the business has access to real-time, accurate data for decision-making.鈥�

, Country Managing Director for Nigeria at 麻豆原创, said: 鈥淎frica鈥檚 greatest wealth lies in its people, including our fast-growing youth population. Our ability to cultivate the right mix of skills is critical to our digital transformation ambitions, especially as we rush to leverage the power of AI and cloud in our businesses.

Research conducted by 麻豆原创 found that half of Nigerian businesses expected a 鈥榮ignificant鈥� increase in demand for AI skills this year. The 麻豆原创聽聽report also found that 93% of Nigerian companies already experience a negative impact on their innovation capabilities due to a lack of access to AI skills. The same report revealed that West Africa was the region most likely to partner with expert third-party providers to fill the AI skills gap in their organisations.

Khota adds: 鈥淭he region stands at the edge of a new era of growth and innovation powered by data, cloud and AI, and supported by a workforce geared for our emerging technologies. To ensure this collective effort succeeds, organisations need access to the right skills. While efforts at developing AI-ready skills are underway, companies should also explore ways to augment their skills base in the short term by partnering with our thriving ecosystem of expert partners and collaborators powering business transformation in the region.

The post Business Leaders, Innovators Meet at 麻豆原创 Innovation Day in Lagos appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

East African business leaders, technology partners and 麻豆原创 experts met in Nairobi this week to discuss the growing impact of business AI and cloud technologies in the region.

, Managing Director: Emerging Africa at 麻豆原创, said: 鈥淥rganisations throughout East Africa are accelerating their business transformation and innovation efforts by leveraging the latest data and cloud capabilities to unlock the power of business AI in every line of business. With the recent expansion of AI assistant, organisations can now unleash unprecedented efficiency across their systems and processes to drive productivity gains of as much as 30%.鈥�

The comments were made at 麻豆原创 Innovation Day Kenya, part of a global series of events aimed at showcasing how technology can power growth, innovation and sustainability and support organisations as they meet emerging challenges.

The exclusive event also served as an introduction to how and help organisations unlock significant business value as part of the broader . Experts also provided behind-the-scenes insights into the power of business AI and cloud to future-proof companies鈥� enterprise application strategies and leverage data to enhance business insights and improve decision-making.

Research recently conducted by 麻豆原创 found a near-universal demand for AI skills among African organisations. The 麻豆原创聽聽report noted that nine in ten companies in Africa already experience negative impacts due to a lack of AI skills, including failed innovation initiatives, an inability to take on new work, and loss of clients. Forty-three percent of Kenyan organisations that took part in the study expected a 鈥榮ignificant鈥� increase in demand for AI skills this year.

鈥淭he rapid changes in workplace dynamics are transforming how companies develop, upskill and reskill their workforce to meet the long-term need for AI-related skills,鈥� said Khota. 鈥淚n the short term, organisations should seek ways to augment their skills base, for example by partnering with our rich ecosystem of implementation specialists that power business transformation in the region.鈥�

麻豆原创 Innovation Day Kenya also included presentations by regional business leaders who have successfully leveraged 麻豆原创 technologies to accelerate growth and unlock new capabilities.

Long-standing 麻豆原创 customer provided insight into its latest transformation initiative that is taking its legacy enterprise systems into the cloud and deploying AI across its business processes. Bidco Africa is a leading FMCG manufacturer that produces more than 800 SKU鈥檚 in multiple brands and products at eight factories in East Africa. The company has been using 麻豆原创 ECC since 2010, until a recent decision sparked a migration to .

, Chairman of Bidco Africa, said the shift to cloud underscores his company鈥檚 position as a regional innovation leader. 鈥淲e see incredible potential for AI to transform our business and deliver greater agility, innovation and customer experiences. Our skilled team will also benefit from AI鈥檚 power to enhance product development, allowing us to consolidate our market leadership well into the future.鈥�

The company plans further deployments in a second phase of the implementation, including procurement and manufacturing.

Khota added: 鈥淐ompanies that adopt a clean core strategy accelerate the pace of innovation and can more easily leverage business value through reliable data and AI innovations. As we enter a new era of AI-enabled innovation, organisations must ensure that business-critical systems remain agile, cost-effective, and ready to adopt innovation.鈥�

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Khota, an industry veteran with 25 years鈥� experience in enterprise software sales, cloud solutions, and digital transformation, was previously the head of 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors for the region.

In his new role as Managing Director for Emerging Africa, Khota will report directly to Sergio Maccotta, Senior Vice President at 麻豆原创 Middle East and Africa – South.

Commenting on the appointment, Maccotta said 鈥淓merging Africa is a strategic growth market for 麻豆原创, and Shiraz鈥檚 leadership will be pivotal in expanding our commitment and presence in this vibrant region.”

”麻豆原创’s transition to cloud-first solutions and the RISE with 麻豆原创 initiative has already simplified the technological transition for large enterprises. We are excited to see how Shiraz鈥檚 leadership will drive 麻豆原创鈥檚 contribution to helping people and businesses thrive in this region.鈥�

AI skills in focus

The announcement comes as 麻豆原创 releases its latest report,聽Africa鈥檚 AI Skills Readiness Revealed鈥�, which provides research into how African companies are transforming their skills development efforts to meet the demands of the Age of Artificial Intelligence.

鈥淭he need for AI skills continues to grow, with half of Nigerian organisations and 43% of Kenyan ones expecting a 鈥榮ignificant鈥� increase in demand for AI skills in 2025,鈥� says Khota. 鈥淭he consequences of poor AI skills availability are already evident. Ninety-seven percent of Kenyan organisations in our research said they were unable to take on new client projects call for AI skills, while 93% of Nigerian organisations said a lack of AI skills is leading to failed innovation efforts.鈥�

麻豆原创鈥檚 latest report follows an earlier tech skills report released in 2023 which unveiled specific challenges and opportunities for African organisations seeking greater tech skills availability. In that survey, companies were dealing with the complexities around remote and hybrid work environments, and attracting, retaining and upskilling tech workers.

鈥淭his year, Africa鈥檚 business landscape has been transformed by the impact of AI and the realities of sourcing and training relevant skills, says Khota.

Overall, the most in-demand tech skills across regions are cybersecurity (cited by 86% of companies surveyed), AI developer skills (85%), and Generative AI skills (83%). Cloud skills (79%), data analytics (66%) and digital transformation skills (64%) were also in high demand.

鈥淏eyond pure technical skills, African companies are seeking greater affordability (62%), adaptability (56%) and the ability to work in hybrid or remote work environments (49%) as their most prized attributes when recruiting.鈥�

Training, skills development are essential

Khota adds that companies are investing in reskilling and upskilling of their workforce to meet growing tech and AI skills demand. 鈥淣early half of(47%) of the Nigerian companies that formed part of our research said reskilling of employees is a top skills-related challenge for them in 2025, while 53% of Kenyan organisations cite upskilling as a major challenge.鈥�

Encouragingly, the data reveals greater employee access to training and skills development opportunities. Thirty-seven percent of companies across regions said their employees have access to skills development and training at any time, a significant increase over 28% who said the same in the previous research.

鈥淗owever, the allocation of IT or HR budgets toward skills-related initiatives has declined since 2023. Organisations must reconsider this and ensure they invest in appropriate skills now. Their ability to leverage new innovations and emerging technologies will shape their innovation and growth ambitions. Without access to the right skills, companies will fail to realise the full potential of their innovation efforts.鈥�

The post 麻豆原创 Appoints Shiraz Khota as Managing Director for Emerging Africa appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

, Managing Director at Food Concepts Plc (FC), says: 鈥淥ur company was founded with the vision of becoming the most loved quick-service restaurant and baked goods brand in Nigeria. We know that ultimately it is our people that enable us to realise this vision. To ensure we continue to attract and retain the best local talent, we embarked on a strategic technology project that would support our overall human capital management and employee experience efforts.鈥�

is a leading multi-brand quick-service restaurant group. The company operates three of Nigeria鈥檚 most popular brands, including Chicken Republic, PieXpress, and The Chop Box. Food Concepts was founded in 2000 and employs 6 000 people across West Africa.

With a mandate from the Board, , Human Resource Director at Food Concepts, and her team determined that the company needed a strategic partner to support its HR transformation. 鈥淲e sought a partner that would support the management of our 鈥楬ire to Retire鈥� process and optimise our core enterprise capabilities. In addition, we wanted to address challenges related to payroll processing and accuracy as part of a broader five-year growth plan.鈥�

The company chose 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors as its human capital management solution of choice. Following a competitive selection process that involved five separate solutions providers, the Food Concepts executive team appointed experienced 麻豆原创 regional Gold partner to support the implementation, covering all core HR business processes.

, Technology Partner at WYZE, says: 鈥淲e implemented several core 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors modules, including Employee Central, Performance & Goals, and Recruiting. Additionally, our bespoke payroll solution – WYZE Payroll – was deployed to support the employee lifecycle journey.鈥�

Following the deployment of the modules, WYZE also retains responsibility for ongoing end-user support across all the user groups within Food Concepts.

鈥淲YZE is an experienced 麻豆原创 partner based in Nigeria and understands the local work culture and nuances required to manage such a complex rollout,鈥� says Kofi. 鈥淎s our technology partner, WYZE brought best practices that helped fast-track aspects of our deployment, leading to an accelerated go-live. In addition, WYZE ensured change management and risk management principles were filmy embedded throughout the implementation, leading to rapid adoption internally and avoiding any undue delays.鈥�

Claudette further added the implementation of various 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors modules has helped the company improve process efficiency and enhance the overall employee experience. 鈥淲e now have a single source of truth for all HR data across the organisation, which has significantly improved our decision-making at a management level. The digitisation of HR processes has reduced paper use and unlocked cost savings and greater efficiency. Overall, our ability to deliver better quality support services to our teams has resulted in greater overall employee satisfaction.鈥�

Other benefits include:

• Centralised employee data management providing a unified platform for HR, payroll and benefits administration.
• Drastic reduction in paperwork and less pressure on HR teams through greater employee self-service via the new platform.
• Greater overall process efficiency through the automation of various HR functions, including promotions, transfers and leave management.
• Better strategic alignment of employee performance with company strategy and KPIs through continuous performance management.
• Improved workforce planning and compliance with HR standards through access to real-time data.
• Enhanced talent attraction, retention and overall employee engagement.

Commenting on the project, , Managing Director for Emerging Africa at 麻豆原创, says: 鈥淲ith this landmark project, Food Concepts has transformed its ability to attract, retain and engage its employees while also eliminating inefficiencies and enhancing decision-making. Thanks to the outstanding work by implementation partner WYZE and the active participation of Food Concepts鈥� executive team, the company can now confidently execute its growth strategy and that its most precious asset, its people, are well looked after.鈥�

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Managing Director for Southern Africa at 麻豆原创,聽emphasized the complexities faced by business and HR leaders amidst the evolving realm of work, shaped by hybrid models and intelligent technologies. 鈥淭he ongoing influence of flexible hybrid work environments continues to place significant pressure on businesses to prioritize employee well-being and ensure adequate support as they navigate the intricacies of modern work,鈥� she remarked.

Furthermore, with the expected surge of AI across various spheres of work and life in the upcoming months and years, leaders must find a delicate balance between innovation efforts and fulfilling the needs of their employees, who are the cornerstone of organizational success during this period of uncertainty.

A survey conducted by 麻豆原创, comprising HR leaders and over 1300 employees worldwide, revealed that slightly over a third of organizations are actively adopting intelligent technologies like AI. These technologies find applications in various HR functions ranging from recruitment to learning and employee engagement. However, according to research by IDC, understanding the appropriate implementation of intelligent technologies such as AI remains one of the top challenges for HR professionals today.

聽emphasized the transformative impact of AI on the HR sector, heralding positive disruptions that streamline operations, enhance decision-making, and elevate employee experiences. 鈥淭he influence of AI empowers HR professionals to focus on high-value activities such as strategy and vision,鈥� he noted. By harnessing a strategic blend of technology and innovation, HR professionals can liberate time spent on routine tasks and concentrate on enhancing the employee experience and delivering greater value to the organization.

One of the paramount applications of AI in Human Capital Management lies in enabling data-driven decision-making. Modern AI analytics furnish HR professionals with insights that inform workforce planning, identify skill gaps, and predict employee turnover, thereby facilitating more effective strategic decision-making. Additionally, AI holds promising potential in mitigating bias to foster greater diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.

AI鈥檚 impact extends across various HR functions and tasks, with new use cases emerging regularly. From automating CV screening to deploying chatbots for initial candidate engagements, AI aids in reducing time-to-hire while enhancing candidate experiences.

Khota underscored the predictive capabilities of AI in shaping workplace trends, ensuring businesses remain at the forefront of talent management and retention efforts. 鈥淭he integration of AI in HR is not merely reshaping current practices but serves as a fundamental enabler for the future of work, where human expertise and technology collaborate to cultivate more adaptable, innovative, and thriving workplaces.鈥�

This article first appeared on .

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This usually prompts me to reflect on the generational gaps that exist in the workplace today, as well as how the workplace has evolved in the twenty-five years that I have been in corporate.

A changing workplace

One of the most significant workplace developments is diversity and inclusion (D&I), which has become one of the most talked about phenomenon in the workplace today, alongside trends such as the use of technology, remote working, and the prioritisation of human resources as a strategic company asset.

The recognition that having people from diverse backgrounds helps to build stronger teams has prompted employers to pay close attention to how they engage and nurture diverse employees, particularly the younger generation, which is quickly becoming the majority in the workplace.

Given the emphasis on D&I and the value it brings to the workplace, employers must consider employee satisfaction from the perspective of each individual employee.

As a result, ensuring a personalised approach to driving employee engagement has emerged as a critical focus area for all businesses and leaders.

In the midst of all of these changes in workplace priorities, technology has become deeply ingrained in our daily lives, particularly over the last two decades.

For example, innovations such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams have enabled people to work for companies located anywhere in the world from the comfort of their own homes.

As technology continues to shape society, it will undoubtedly play a key role in enabling future workplaces, particularly in empowering business leaders to better manage priorities such as tailored approaches to employee engagement.

Employee engagement is critical to achieving high levels of employee satisfaction, and technology can help make this possible.

Personalising employee engagement

One of the critical areas to ensuring a unique and personalised approach to employee engagement and satisfaction is talent management.

A 23-year-old graduate entering the workforce has very different career growth aspirations to a 55-year-old.

The younger employee is more likely to want to learn and advance quickly up the career ladder, whereas the older employee is more likely to be looking for stability as they approach retirement.

Managing this process successfully and ensuring a tailored and personalised approach to talent and career management for each employee鈥檚 specific needs, especially in large companies, can be difficult 鈥� if not impossible.

Employers can empower employees to reach their full potential by investing in tools and systems that automate learning and development, as well as enhance career planning and mapping.

Understanding employee sentiment

Employee feedback should be solicited on a regular basis to better understand employee sentiment and ensure that the company鈥檚 initiatives are aligned with employee expectations.

During the recent pandemic, for example, when most companies shut down and employees worked remotely, this became a priority.

Companies must invest in employee experience management tools to become better listeners.

This enables leaders to foster a listening culture and make decisions based on employee expectations, ensuring that each employee鈥檚 individual needs are well understood and met.

In conclusion, fostering a listening culture is critical to developing a purpose-driven approach that prioritizes diversity and inclusion, resulting in a committed and productive workforce that feels appreciated.

The post How Technology Drives Better Employee Engagement and Satisfaction appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

In fact, professionals are more likely to engage in a quick game of Snake than manage a full productivity suite via their AI-enabled smartphones. Conference calls involve groups huddled around a speaker in a boardroom, instead of teams having discussions in full high-definition via their company-issued laptops.

Sound far-fetched? This was the office of the early 2000s, a mere twenty years ago, when the world of work looked vastly different to the high-tech one we enjoy today.

Radical changes at work

According to Shiraz Khota, Sales Director at 麻豆原创 SuccessFactors, the past twenty years of work hold valuable lessons for what we can expect from our future work lives.

“The proliferation of technologies and innovation, combined with the rise of the Experience Economy continue to radically change modern workplaces, with far-reaching consequences for organisations, their HR teams, and the talented employees they hope to attract and retain. While it is true that we live in a time of ongoing uncertainty, there are important insights we can gain from the past twenty years that could help organisations and professionals alike better plan for the immediate future.”

Many of the technologies we take for granted in our day-to-day work lives were developed over the past 10 to 20 years, including Skype in 2003, Gmail and Facebook in 2004, Twitter in 2006 and the iPhone, the world’s first true mainstream smartphone, in 2007.

“The pace of technological change is accelerating to the extent that, in a few years’ time, we may look back at today in much the same way as we now look back at the early 2000s,” says Khota. “As the pandemic continues to disrupt normal notions of work and team management, organisations are increasingly looking to technology to help them adapt to near-constant change in how they manage, support and motivate their most important asset: their employees.”

Predictions for the (near) future of work

So what can organisations – and their employees – expect from the near-future of work? According to Khota, the following four trends may be commonplace before the end of this decade:

1. Offices without borders

Perhaps an obvious one considering the pandemic-forced switch to remote and hybrid work models, but all indications are that the borders between work and life will continue to disappear.

“The digitisation of work processes is continuing at a rapid pace , with a key focus of enabling their workforce to operate remotely. The mass adoption of online collaboration and productivity tools means more people than ever are able to perform their work duties outside the confines of the office.”

According to the WEF, . “Managing a hybrid workforce effectively will require new processes and technologies to support those processes,” explains Khota.

“As the lines between personal and professional lives continue to be blurred, and increasing numbers of highly skilled workers operate from remote locations, organisations will be challenged to implement appropriate tools and technologies to support their workers while ensuring alignment with corporate culture.”

2. Greater diversity

With the rise of borderless offices also comes the concept of borderless talent pools. “Despite the halt on global business travel due to the pandemic, we continue to work and live in a global village, with organisations able to tap into a global talent pool of skills to fill key positions. High-performance teams are increasingly diverse – in fact, studies have shown that .”

Enabling greater diversity within organisational teams is also key to driving productivity and performance within the organisation. “Belonging – a key component of inclusion – and engagement at work are highly correlated,” says Khota. “Studies have found that , compared to only 20% of those that don’t feel they belong.”

In addition to implementing appropriate policies and processes to encourage greater diversity and inclusion at the workplace, organisations will need to invest in appropriate technologies to ensure they stay abreast of the multitude of expectations and needs of their diverse workforce.

3. Focus on experience

The concept of employee experience came to the fore in recent years, as the Experience Economy truly took hold of personal and professional lives around the world.

“Experience management is arguably one of the most powerful tools for building relationships with customers and employees of the past decade. As the digitisation of every aspect of our personal and professional lives continues unabated, being able to track, measure and make adjustments to that experience will be invaluable to businesses’ success.”

Modern employee experience management tools will become standard in our future workplaces – and for good reason, according to Khota. “Studies have shown that organisations that invest most heavily in employee experience are more than twice as likely to be on the Forbes list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies, and appear more than eleven times for often in Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work. In fact, companies that invest in employee experience are four times more profitable than those that don’t.”

As organisations become intelligent enterprises – defined as organisations that use intelligent technologies and a connected network to their advantage – their ability to combine operational and experience data increases. “The most successful and innovative companies of the future will blend operational and experience data to gain a comprehensive real-time view over the total performance of their business, and make the employee experience a key consideration in broader decision-making processes.”

4. In-house academies

According to a WEF report, there has been a four-fold increase in the numbers of individuals seeking opportunities for online learning, accompanied by a five-fold increase in employers providing online learning opportunities to their workers.

“As technology advances make increasing numbers of job roles obsolete, workers will need to be upskilled or reskilled and then deployed to new roles,” explains Khota. “Estimates are that even among job roles that won’t become obsolete in the near future, the skills needed to perform such roles will. In fact, 40% of core skills in such roles are likely to change in the next five years, and .”

To ensure they have access to the skills they need, organisations will increasingly need to invest in in-house skills development. “It is highly likely that we will see a rise in-house academies, where workers can develop skills needed within their organisations and gain valuable experience that can immediately be applied to the benefit of their employers.”

For employees, this will have the dual benefit of helping them grow within their current roles while also making them more employable to the broader industry in the longer term.

“In its recent Future of Jobs 2020 report, the World Economic Forum found that 94% of business leaders expect employees to pick up new skills on the job, a major increase from 65% in 2018,” says Khota. “To win in the new world of work, employers and employees will need to engage in continuous skills development to ensure a steady supply of work-ready skills.”

The post Five Things the Past 20 Years can Teach us About our Future Work Lives appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

Now that the economy is entering the 鈥渘ew normal鈥� characterized by a suppressed economy and the ever-looming threat of lockdowns snapping back, many professionals are re-evaluating their agendas. In the first deep-dive interview on 鈥�,鈥� SuccessFactors COO (MEE) Dr. Florian Dreifus laid out three clear priorities for HR during these challenging times:

1.聽聽聽聽 Ensure business continuity

The first wave of lockdowns caught many businesses off guard: How do you enable your workforce to work remotely from one day to another? How do you onboard new hires without meeting them? How are you supposed to sign contracts without being in the same room? The upshot of this shock therapy was that, for digitalized companies, the transition into home offices went reasonably well.

On the other hand, the weak spots in the tech stacks of many businesses have become painfully obvious: Dr. Dreifus cites the example of an HR department that saw its paper-based process of having managers sign bonus letters interrupted by the lockdown. The department was essentially forced to retrieve the letter from the house mail and resend it via external mail, leading to significant confusion and delay.

Investing in technology would not only help to avoid such awkward situations in the event of an eventual snap-back of lockdown measures. It would also prepare businesses to reap productivity benefits that will outlast the looming economic downturn.

Take remote work as an example: As Dr. Dreifus cites, many organizations will decide to keep working remotely on a larger scale even when the epidemic-related necessity has abated. According to ASUG, 40% of American 麻豆原创 users plan to work from home at least sometimes, even after the crisis, while only 7% of the American workforce previously had the option to do so, according to the聽. Clearly, remote work is here to stay. So, any investment in enabling remote work will not only safeguard your business continuity in a time of increased operational uncertainty, it will be the best preparation for the new way of working that arises from it.

2.聽聽聽聽 Listen and create trust

This is not only a period of heightened uncertainty for HR departments but also for employees. For many of them, it was a traumatic initial couple of weeks: Being sent home on a few days鈥� notice, having to work from the kitchen table with kids interrupting their Zoom calls, and not knowing whether their job would fall prey to an emergency headcount reduction soon. In a situation like this, Dr. Dreifus points out, it is important to reach out to employees and, even more importantly, make them heard inside the organization.

This is where the paradigmatic shift from human capital management (HCM) to human experience management (HXM) becomes most apparent: Instead of viewing and treating employees as assets at the disposal of the company, HR departments more and more focus on the feelings of the human beings in the business. The聽, for example, helps managers and HR departments understand the emotional situations and needs of their co-workers as they are sitting at home working.

As noted above, physically separated working situations could become the norm rather than the exception. In addition, understanding and being able to respond to the needs of talent is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage in the labor market. Those businesses that are able to bridge the spatial distance to their employees will not only be more resilient in the upcoming time of uncertainty but will also have a leg up in the resurging war for talent once the economic engine fires up again.

3.聽聽聽聽 Establish transparency

The emotional and physical well-being of employees is an extremely valuable additional data point in times of spatially separated workplaces. But, as Dr. Dreifus emphasizes, the current phase of uncertainty and volatility exposes the value of data on a much more general level.

An 麻豆原创 customer from the retail industry, for example, was faced with a sudden lack of skilled employees in shops as demand started spiking when the lockdowns went into effect. According to Dr. Dreifus, however, the company was not only able to identify employees in headquarters who had the necessary training and experience but also prioritized the best locations for deploying them from a cost/benefit perspective. This type of agility is only possible for companies that have the relevant data on their people, their operations, and their finances at hand and can carry out the necessary reactions in an integrated IT system.

This is the Insight-to-Action principle applied in a crisis situation. But again, this type of capability is also helpful in day-to-day business operations: the Insight-to-Action principle is not only helpful in a situation where substantial resources need to be diverted centrally. This capability can also prove useful in the more operational strata of an enterprise.

By having transparency into the state of the process, receiving proactive suggestions on how to improve it, and finally, being able to take action in the same environment, operational users are able to move the needle substantially. An investment in real-time analytics and an integrated IT landscape does not only pay off in times of upheaval but is perfect preparation for the recovery.

The recession ahead will continue to provide numerous challenges to HR departments and employees alike: New guidelines for sharing physical spaces, organizational realignments, adapting the skillset of the workforce to shifting market demands 鈥� the list seems endless. However, digitalizing core processes will not only make them disruption-proof, but also more efficient.

Developing a better understanding of employees鈥� needs will not only make it easier for them to work remotely, but also strengthen their ties to the company. And being able to act on data-based insights will not only help steer the ship, but will also help it move in a more versatile manner once it鈥檚 back in the open sea.

The post Three Priorities for HR in the 鈥楴ew Normal鈥� and Beyond appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

Today鈥檚 demanding and ever-changing workforce expectations are driving organizations to develop user-centric HR models to meet the needs of a workforce that is becoming 鈥渃onsumerized.鈥� In other words, employees are behaving like consumers with the ability to instantly share their brand perceptions and 鈥渟hop around鈥� between employers to satisfy how they want to be employed and managed; when they want to work; and what ways they want to learn, advance their careers, and collaborate with their co-workers.

Workforce expectations for employers have evolved faster than organizations have evolved. A significant element of this is that the workforce expects digitalization in the workplace to reflect the consumer digital experience they are so familiar with outside work.

This consumer digital experience is what we鈥檝e become accustomed to in our daily lives and has led to a harmonization of user expectations for technology. Quite reasonably, the workforce now expects a similar experience with the tools they use at work to manage their data, careers, performance, benefits, and collaboration with the speed, personalization, and interactivity they experience outside work.

To meet these expectations, businesses need to provide the workforce with tools that are Google fast, Apple cool, and Amazon simple. Imagine how this would change the world of work and the level of engagement, performance, and contribution. Imagine if employees were engaged to work like consumers are engaged to buy.

Critical to achieving this is a shift from deploying 鈥淗R tools鈥� to 鈥渆mployee tools鈥�; that is, from technology designed to support HR users to technology designed to also support, empower, and enable the workforce.

In the past, HR technology focused primarily on improving back-office activities for users. Designed to support transactions, rather than interactions. But the focus has shifted to empowering business leaders, managers, and workers with mobile, intuitive, consumer-grade tools enabling them to connect and network, anytime, anywhere, from any device, and own their careers and development. This people-centric approach is based on workforce experiences, not transactional efficiency.

To achieve this shift to people-centric 鈥渆mployee tools鈥� involves understanding the needs, preferences, and behaviors of the workforce and building these into HR technology requirements specifications.

Why, then, do so few organizations involve employees and managers when they are defining requirements for new HR technology? Why are employees and managers almost never involved in system selection activities and, once a solution has been selected, rarely seen in solution design workshops?

Too often, HR defines technology requirements based on what managers and the wider workforce need. This approach delivers solutions that meet HR requirements, not employee and manager requirements, and consequently fail to be fully adopted by the workforce, managers, and business leaders and fail to deliver the desired business outcomes and benefits. This is a huge missed opportunity to deploy tools that deliver value to the business, empower and engage the workforce, and improve workforce and business performance.

HR can gain this understanding of employee and manager priorities, drivers, and behaviors through interviews, workshops, and design thinking sessions, but to yield optimum benefits, the focus should include key 鈥渕oments that matter鈥� for employees, such as the first day at work, the onboarding experience, life-changing events like having a child, development events, and all other interactions. Through this approach, an understanding of the desired employee experience, rather than purely a transactional perspective, can be built up, and this will provide a deeper and richer picture of the solutions that will best engage and support the workforce, support performance improvement, and deliver value to the business.

Successful approaches typically involve the building of personas that represent the consumers of HR services. These could include a new hire, full-time employee, manager, etc. Once satisfied that the personas are representative of the organization鈥檚 population, they can be used to create solutions requirements that can be tested across the business to determine their validity and allow further refinement to both the personas and the solution requirements.

Ideally, an element of the system selection process would then involve employee and manager evaluation of potential solutions. This approach will lead to the selection of solutions that support the business and deliver business outcomes rather than solutions that primarily support the HR user.

Workforce expectations are changing, and it鈥檚 imperative that organizations progress and invest in 鈥渆mployee tools鈥� that empower, engage, and enable the workforce to work digitally and improve business performance. To do this requires a mindset change in HR and a laser focus on聽the ever-evolving needs of human experience.

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