Your Employees Can't Find Information. A Systems Approach Can Help
Trying to find a piece of content in an organization is often an exercise in frustration. After fruitlessly clicking through a few digital repositories, you instant message the person with the institutional knowledge most likely to remember where things are. If you're lucky, they do. If you aren't, back to square one.
The problem is much greater than findability, though. It extends to access to the information and knowledge people need to act with agility, speed and effectiveness in the flow of daily work. And there is no one to blame for the lack of integration within the network of digital systems, team spaces, Share Point pages, PDFs and other cloud-based platforms which power our companies. It can often seem like we have the ingredients to make a wedding cake when all we need is a cupcake.
When you add in attrition, internal mobility and factors such as change in strategic direction, unfinished initiatives, vendor management changes, as well as the technology architecture iterations, it is impressive how employees and managers manage to navigate it all to keep everything running.
Just in time emails with instructions and reminders are covering a deeper problem: There are no intuitive systems in place to help people understand where they can find the resources they are seeking.
Employees resort to searching archived or deleted emails to find the information they seek when it comes to announcements, HR processes or essential knowledge. Employees are resourceful. They'll find what they need with some creativity and patience. And they might even give themselves a pat on the back for being clever about it. But the reality is that complexity is growing exponentially, and it is time to take the digital transformation to the next stage of its maturity.
A Systemic Approach to Greater Integration and Findability
Right now, many companies are focused on simplifying their operations and automating their processes to improve performance and achieve market affordability. However, the journey needs to start with clarity around governance and digital strategy to ensure that systems are interconnected, interdependent and integrated within the technology roadmap. Most of this work can be done by a cross-functional team comprised of communications, human resources and technology who lead the digital ecosystem strategy, with an extended team of employees and managers who act as user sponsors for the project.
When they start with an understanding of how to segment the systems, it might decrease the overwhelming task of optimizing the entire organization at once. If the goal is to create a multi-channel frictionless employee experience, then embrace this digital transformation through the lenses of three systems:
1. Systems of Record
Every organization must address regulatory, legal and compliance issues as they begin to assess what data sets must be collected on employees, customers and the business itself. HR needs to identify essential information on employees with a focus on what kinds of data can be shared and design a system of record with the highest level of accuracy to ensure reports, dashboards and other requirements are met without extensive manual manipulation.
Market intelligence is another area that needs to be clear on what data from external sources are most needed, and the communications teams should have a centralized source of data and information to minimize mistakes, redundant reviews and meetings.
These systems are usually interconnected through APIs that can support automation of information sharing such as reports, learning platform offerings and newsletters — to name a few. For this system to work flawlessly you will need to focus on a core capability: knowledge management. This is in itself a difficult task when agile teams and organizations are working fast and iterating rapidly. However, companies that institute a knowledge and data management system beyond functional boundaries will benefit from having less challenges in their systems, as well as a higher level of accuracy when updating documents, policies and knowledge with minimum disruption to the consumption of these resources.
Related Article: Reboot Knowledge Management for the Post-Pandemic Workplace
Learning Opportunities
2. Systems of Insights
In addition to well-organized systems of record, organizations need insights about their customers’ behaviors and needs, opportunities for internal process improvements, real-time insights, patterns and trends on workforce dynamics, as well as new knowledge that can be acquired from external partners and industry thought leaders. The value drivers are clear, yet the solution is not as easy as it seems.
To build a system of insights, organizations need to rely heavily on analytical skills and technology advancements in AI and machine learning to create viable products that speak to each other. In the HR industry, several technology start-ups are developing these systems to help organizations understand and predict potential loss of talent, diversity trends and help employees match their skills to open opportunities. Another area for HR to explore is machine learning-based digital assistants, which continuously improve the quality of their services, guidance and information provided to employees.
Other businesses and functions, however, must rely on the organization’s technology architecture for the systems that can integrate insights from partners, service providers, customers and other industry capabilities. Once an organization builds systems of insights, it is important to introduce them to employees so they can gain the greatest value from these tools and sources of insights. Most business leaders, HRBPs, report analysts, employee intelligence teams, as well as marketers and sellers, appreciate the direct and easy access to insights.
A note of caution here: As "shared services" has a negative connotation among employees, HR would do well to build an awareness campaign to position this transformation away from shared services and instead as an effort to give all employees and managers direct access to what they need when they need it.
Related Article: When People Analytics Meets Workplace Analytics, Employee Insights Follow
3. Systems of Engagement
This might be the most critical, yet overlooked of all systems in organizations today. Having an intranet with a well-organized page with latest articles and announcements as well as resources for your workforce isn't enough to convince employees that it's their homebase for daily work. You aren't alone if your organization has multiple places for employees to connect and build community, such as a talent marketplace, a learning management system, Teams spaces and more. This is the current state in most organizations. On the one hand the intranet comes off as impersonal and not engaging, while other sites are limited to those who have access.
A system of engagement is a critical capability to provide employees if we are to integrate enterprise messages, human resources reminders and announcements, opportunities for learning and growth, as well as fluid interactive experiences within one platform. To do that, companies must have a digital strategy team whose mission is to create a frictionless experience for employees and design a search engine that leverages human knowledge, as well as AI and machine learning, to continuously improve the quality of their digital assistants and output of automated resources.
Employees are seeking clarity and a sense of community where they can connect and grow. A system of engagement can be an essential force in building your culture and can potentially ignite high performance for better business results.
Learn how you can join our contributor community.
About the Author
Wagner Denuzzo is a keynote speaker, author and strategic advisor for start-ups on the future of work, leadership and talent strategies. He brings over 20 years experience in both technology and financial firms to his work.
Connect with Wagner Denuzzo:
Featured Research
Buyer's Guide
Read Now
Research Report
Read Now
eBook
Read Now
Research Report
Read Now
White Paper
Read Now
Research Report
Read Now
Guide
Read Now
Guide
Read Now
Related Stories
Entries for the 2023 Reworked IMPACT Awards are now Open
