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agers themselves. We are confident that this will
reduce the administrative burden that exists on
the HR function today. They can spend their
time on more value-added tasks, such as supporting
managers in managing their talent, or
achieving better organizational effectiveness.”
(HR Tech World Congress, 2015, pp. 76-77).
Trend #2
Moving to the cloud
Cloud technology is nowadays the new normal.
Yet, its implementation is not an easy process.
Identifying the business needs and what
they mean for the HR function, choosing the
right partner, and clarifying issues related to
data privacy are some of the challenges posed
by the cloud. In the following we illustrate two
cases of a successful and meticulous cloud
technology implementation.
Engie is a global energy player the goals of
which are to lead European energy transition
and become the gold standard energy provider
in growing markets. Before the implementation
of the new cloud technology, Engie had clear
strategic objectives regarding their transition to
the cloud. More specifically, Engie was seeking
a cloud-based system that would simplify the
system, save managers’ time, measure performance,
boost cooperation, encourage mobility,
and have the potential for talent analytics. To
select from the myriad of HR technology vendors,
Engie organized around 80 workshops
in which five vendors were assessed based on
their products’ functional and integration capabilities,
security, regulations, and compliance
management. More specifically, the criteria for
choosing the right vendor were large functional
coverage, flexibility, and vendor’s experience
and engagement. As to the main digital transformation
challenge, Olivier Ghienne, HR Performance
Director at Engie points out that
the shift from independent business units to
a global organization was especially arduous.
(Ghienne and Radier, 2015).
For Swiss Reinsurance, an insurance company
based in Zurich, the cost associated with their
established processes and SAP system was the
main driver for exploring new alternatives. After
conducting a financial benefits analysis, the
company showed a clear preference towards
moving to the cloud. The cloud journey for
Swiss Reinsurance started in 2012, but the actual
implementation process started only after
two years in 2014. This clearly shows how
time intensive the whole process of developing
the business case, performing cost-benefit analyses,
and deciding on the right service providers
can be. One of the main challenges for Swiss
Reinsurance was to change the mindset of ”we
can customize” to ”we keep the standard”. For
that reason, the company introduced a change
management website with training materials
and videos for employees and line managers.
Further, it involved end users in specification
and testing of the cloud-based system. The HR
community also played an important role from
the very beginning by being part of the implementation
team, hosting sessions, publishing
newsletter, and involving employees in different
stages of the transition to the cloud. A second
challenge was the data migration. Not only does
it take a long time to transfer all the historical
data and special cases (e.g. international assignments)
to the new system, but it is also complex
and requires the support of central management.
(Marquard and Jensen, 2015).
Trend #3
Utilization of social media
Social networking platforms both publicly
available and private, such as LinkedIn, Facebook,
Twitter, Yammer, and Glassdoor, offer
extended recruitment reach to both active
and passive candidates, improved employer attractiveness,
and enhanced communication between
prospect and current employees, while
allowing companies to collect additional employee
data and feedback. In addition, social
22 | Työn Tuuli 1/2016
HR function at the crossroads of digital disruption