The perception that a connected, mobile workforce can never get away from work is eroding and employers and employees are becoming more comfortable with the advantages mobile technology offers, according to Doug Ring, chief technology officer with Peoplefluent, an HR software and technology company.
“Whether you’re in the office or at home, on a train or an airplane, you can still be productive,” he told participants in a recent webinar. “I tend to think of work as more of an accomplishment and goal-focused. It’s something you do, it’s not a place you go and I think this notion helps create an increasingly productive mobile workforce.”
Ring cited research which showed the download of mobile apps will triple from 48.2 billion in 2012 to 131.4 billion in 2016. “The increasing power of mobile apps gives employers new options for human management tools,” he said.
What this means for HR service delivery, he continued, is that decision-making can be more readily put at the fingertips of managers throughout the organization. “We want to make people want to look at information about their talent,” he said. “What traditionally might have been an administrative burden for HR can be turned into a front line tool for managers.”
He cited five goals HR talent management platforms should aspire to: make it simple, focus on human goals, inspire delight, exhibit craftsmanship and deliver unique value. Ring also demonstrated key features of Peoplefluent’s new iPad app for talent management.
The Workforce Explorer app enables executives, managers and HR to manage talent in a more visual way, combining data sources from across the organization onto one engaging platform. It also uses gaming principles to help managers learn about the critical talent needs of their organization.
The explosion of mobile technology presents an enormous opportunity for HR, said Ring. “Take these tools, get them into the hands of people doing the work and take what has traditionally been seen as the drudgery around HR and turn it into an engaging, enlightening and, dare I say, fun experience,” he said.
