Career News 24/7: The Cynical Girl: HR Technology: Taleo & CNBC

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The Cynical Girl: HR Technology: Taleo & CNBC

Posted: 09 May 2011 06:45 AM PDT

You probably don’t know this, but technology is at the core of your HR department. Almost everything that can be automated is already automated. Here is a small list of processes that are assisted (or screwed up) because of some kind of software.

Job application process
Interview process
Background checks
Onboarding
New Hire Orientation
Time & Attendance
Benefits
Payroll
Learning & Development Programs
Safety Training
Employment Verification (if you need a loan — your lender calls a #900 or visits a website to confirm your salary & employment status)
Performance Management & Your Annual Review
Wellness Programs
Employee Assistance Programs
Compensation Planning
Your Annual Raise
Succession Planning
Layoff Planning
Terminations

There are more areas but this list is très boring.

So imagine my surprise when I’m watching CBNC and I see two anchors — who were interviewed & hired & paid by NBC/Universal at some point — struggle to understand a Human Resources software company like Taleo.

Michael Gregoire on CNBC by BeyondPixBroadcast

The exchange reminds me of my dearly departed father-in-law who was old enough to have gone through the old AT&T management program and did a rotational stint in personnel. He was fond of asking me what the heck I did for a living — and this was before I told him about blogging. Modern Human Resources made no sense to Walter Ruettimann and it makes no sense to most of America.

There’s an employee.
There’s a manager.
There are benefits and payroll.

Why do we need a layer of HR employees and technology shoehorned in the middle?

And most people assume that technology makes stuff better. For all the bells and whistles slapped on to the recruiting process, why isn’t the candidate experience better? For all the money spent on integrated talent management suites, why is talent management a monumental failure in most organizations. In fact, what the hell is talent management? Because if Erin Burnett doesn’t really understand the concept — and has never heard of a company like Taleo that makes a great product and is financially successful — I’m not sure your employees or leadership team really understand what HR does for a living.

Do you?