Dive Brief:
- The results of a PwC study show that only slightly more than half of the 2,200 executives polled think their company has a strong digital IQ. But 82% of executives from top-performing companies said they focus on employees, customers and the general human experience relating to digital technology.
- Companies appear to be handling the digital transformation not much better than they did in 2007, according to the study. Researchers concluded that companies weren’t falling behind as much as they were struggling to keep up with evolving technology.
- Also, researchers think the focus should be on the digital human experience, which looks at how employees and customers interact, for example.
Dive Insight:
Regardless of what executives think, recent research indicates that HR departments have largely only adopted tech for payroll uses. A recent study conducted by LIMRA found that barely a quarter of private sector employers are using technology for HR functions other than payroll. Hardly a sweeping wave of tech adoption.
It's possible technology is getting more lip service than actual HR dollars. A Facebook executive appearing recently on PBS’s Charlie Rose broadcast cited artificial intelligence as the premier driver of technological advancement. Yet, business have been particularly slow to adopt or invest in emerging technologies like AI.
That doesn't mean HR should not focus on tech adoption as a priority; there are after all serious efficiency, cost and experience benefits to reap from properly deployed technology. While businesses struggle to raise their digital IQs, employees lack the technology training, and in turn, the skills needed to thrive in the digital age. The tech-driven future is coming, and for businesses to stay solvent — and for HR to maintain a voice in the C-suite — HR needs to be aware of this issue and form a tech strategy grounded in employee experience. Superfluous tech can often be a drag rather than a boon to a company if the employee angle isn't considered.
