HR Myth Busters
Myth 1: The HR Function Can’t Be Centralized and Personalization
• Myth: The HR industry has long argued whether it was beneficial to centralize or decentralize the HR function for global companies. Talent Management notes that the centralized HR function seems to be stuck “in a one-size-fits-all mentality.”
• Oracle POV: Today’s cloud HR solutions enable organizations of all sizes with employees and offices in different locations across the globe to seamlessly centralize HR operations and functions with interactive tools that provide more consumer-like experiences and greater personalization for employees. The technology can drive greater efficiency from an administrative standpoint and create more flexibility to work directly with employees on training and development.
• Evidence: According to focus group studies conducted by Oracle at HCM World in April 2016, 84 percent of HR professionals polled expect cloud solutions that can be agile and flexible and 60 percent want vendors that they can trust and partner with on a long-term basis.
Myth 2: HR Departments will Lose Functionality and will not be as Secure when Moving to the Cloud
• Myth: Companies that have spent a significant amount of money on HR systems can be hesitant to replace it due to the cost and complexity of the replacement process. But many HR leaders are concerned they will lose the customization of current systems. This is also coupled with ensuring a company’s safety and security are not compromised when moving to Cloud solutions.
• Oracle POV: Because Oracle HCM Cloud solutions can be implemented quickly and have users up and running with little training and provide robust functionality, companies can gain a competitive advantage by choosing a cloud solution versus continuing the leverage legacy solutions. Cloud software today offers powerful features that some of the largest companies in the world use to transform their HR operations while also being among the most secure platforms available.
• Evidence: According to focus group studies conducted by Oracle at HCM World in April 2016, 68 percent of HR professionals polled have integration concerns when it comes to cloud adoption. Yet, 69 percent see the potential economic value benefits that come with cloud technology. When looking at other competitors, Oracle was ranked as the top vendor that provides superior security (Oracle: 62 percent, SAP: 55 percent, Workday: 44 percent) and offered products and services that met their needs (Oracle: 60 percent, SAP: 48 percent, Workday: 50 percent).
Myth 3: Modern HR Solutions will Ruin Workplace Culture
• Myth: While ‘cultural fit’ takes center stage, a recent article in Talent Management argues that many firms are grappling with workplace culture. According to a 2015 survey from the Human Capital Media Advisory Group, the research arm of Talent Management, many companies (68 percent) said they seek to change company culture to improve employee engagement, create a more collaborative environment (54 percent), increase employee retention (44 percent) and innovation (41 percent).
• Oracle POV: Modern HR technology enables organizations to more effectively build a collaborative culture that drives better communications between people, better productivity across teams, and increased knowledge sharing across departments.
Myth 4: Predictive Analytics Are a Nice to Have for HR Teams
• Myth: According to an article in TechTarget, an annual Deloitte survey of business and HR leaders found that HR analytics is one of the most important human capital trends in 2016. The report goes on to note, “Organizations are entering a ‘golden age’ of HR predictive analytics, and progress could accelerate in such areas as recruiting and retaining talent, and scheduling of workers.”
• Oracle POV: The use of predictive analytics offer organizations several benefits, including enabling organizations of all sizes to analyze current, historical, and forward-thinking data to anticipate and shape future outcomes such as hiring needs and retention of employees In order for HR to be successful in analytics, it must embrace the shift towards predictive analytics.
• Evidence: According to focus group studies conducted by Oracle at HCM World in April 2016, 67 percent of HR respondents saw superior analytics and reporting as an important factor when selecting HCM software with 58 percent of respondents claiming Oracle led in this area when compared to competitors.
Myth 5: The Performance Review Process Has to Be Painful
• Myth: In an Oracle blog a customer expressed concern over talent management and how they believed, like many others, that the review processes no longer work and essentially drive their talent away instead of finding the best places within their organization for their talent. This sentiment is shared by Bloomberg who also recently covered this topic stating “Few rituals of the modern workplace evoke more dread than the annual performance review.”
• Oracle’s POV: Oracle would explain how different solutions enable HR professionals to take the pressure off of individual employees and teams by analyzing talent performance and potential and risk of attrition. The focus would be improving the workforce through technology and showcase how data insights can be automatically pulled from talent performance reviews and then used by HR staff to find the appropriate position for the employee within the workplace.
Myth 6: Organizations Need a Dedicated HR Policies for Millennials
• Myth: As stated in an Oracle blog, HR professionals are now dealing with a global issue of employees postponing retirement while a new generation of workers also enter the workforce. HR professionals have to deal with older employees as well as millennials and there is a misconception that millennials have different, more demanding expectations of their employer. This sentiment was also shared by a recent Deloitte survey. However, what they are missing is that the millennials are not unlike their generational counterparts. All employees, regardless of age, are seeking after the same workplace environment, training and goals – they just need to go about it differently for each generation.
• Oracle’s POV: Oracle can approach this myth by explaining how technology solutions empower HR professionals to deliver information instantly while also accommodating employees across the generations by allowing for customization per user and functionality based on the user’s role. Mobile technology and the instant access to information from anywhere and on any device to create more consumer-like tablet experiences also caters nicely to the younger millennial generation workforce Additionally, the social community elements that the Cloud offers helps to increase employee engagement and collaboration as employees can access information readily from any device at any time.
