While almost two thirds of UK HR leaders believe a closer alignment with IT will be vital in realising their department’s ideas, only 12% work closely with their CIO, new research has show.
A survey, sponsored by Sungard Availability Services, found that 97% of HR professionals believe the CIO is very capable in supporting business growth through technology initiatives that enable mobile and flexible working (58%), create new ways to communicate with employees (64%), and drive efficiencies (66%).
HR departments profess to be big supporters of technology within the enterprise – with over two thirds (68%) stating that if the CIO was not sitting on the board within their organisation, then they should be.
And their support could have a significant impact on the CIO’s role – with 35% of HR professionals stating that they believed the views and inputs of the CIO were not appreciated by those in the senior management team.
In exploring how HR professionals can collaborate more closely with CIOs, Sungard commissioned Joev Peppard, professor of management from the European School of Management and Technology to identify tips.
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According to Peppard, HR pros should stay on trend with the latest technologies and keep an open dialogue with the CIO to talk through some of the ways technology can improve their business’s working processes and deliver new insights into the workforce.
He also advised them to partner with the CIO to create a roadmap for implementing technologies that will solve current HR headaches, and actively communicate this collaboration and its benefits to the rest of the company.
If necessary, HR departments should look to split costs with the IT department in order to make sure their budget contribution reflects the benefits they are receiving, he added.
Commenting on the findings, Sharon Clews, director of people and talent management at techUK, observed: “In an age where agile working, particularly amongst the millennial population, is seen as an increasingly important attraction and retention tool, and as organisations recognise that the way they communicate with staff is changing, CIOs have a vital role to play as enablers of that change.
“Closer collaboration between CIOs and HR teams is therefore essential to the success of any change management activity.”
