Over the last few weeks we have been running the Autumn Roadshow 2016: Future Ready Reward. We’ve been talking to a number of senior HR professionals about the key issues facing HR at the moment and how to future proof your business using HR technology. Read on for part one of our key points from the Roadshow.

There’s a skill and pleasure in understanding a map; becoming more proficient in reading and interpreting what it is showing us. But it’s still a map. It requires process and learning to operate it and it is still prone to user error. Then Google Maps came along. The designers have asked a question – not, “how can I make teaching people to use a map easier?” but, “what do we use maps for?” They developed an app which gets us where we want to go. Not how to get better at the process of reading a map. It adds value by giving us more information and it’s always up to date.

In HR, to be future ready requires us to change our mind-set. To think about the purpose of what we are doing and not just the process. If your job used to be showing people how to hold and read a map, then what do you need to do now to stay relevant and important to the business? What value could you add? Knowing the detailed territory on the ground and not just the map is key. Just like the app which tells us about points of interest along the way, you can bring insights and detailed, relevant information to the business.

So, how close are we to our destination? Is there a quicker route? Should we even change our destination to one that suits our needs better? Being future ready means relying less on our old skill sets and more on interpretation, insight and value, developing smart intelligence and using tools that make us sharper. How far can we go in moving the discussion to be about what the data is telling us, not how we get the data?

Staffing, payroll, training, benefits administration, retirement schemes, and time-recording are enormously important - and bureaucratic. Tools that do these things well can pay for themselves many times over. At Innecto, we applied these questions to ourselves. We knew clients didn’t care about our superior vlookup and nested formula skills. They simply wanted their data presented in a way which invites conversation and understanding and shows managers what they need to know. So we’ve moved from a single-user, high-functioning Excel tool to a cloud based subscription service that holds your data safely, and can be accessed by managers anywhere in the UK, or globally, under your control.

Our approach with PayLab™ is to make the conversation about creating analysis and reporting that jumps off the page, meeting your need for what your internal customer actually wants - smart intelligence which adds credibility and value to any reward or recruitment conversation. What previously took hours to generate can be updated in an instant. The data can jump between micro and macro levels; overall company position, then department, down to individual incumbents and their pay position against the market. It allows you time to focus on your ideas and recommendations and not just the grind of the actual process. You can demonstrate how your incumbents sit against each other and the market. So, your role switches from managing Excel spreadsheets and hunting data on request, to working with managers on rewarding talent, performance and providing macro insights to the business.

Be the app, not the map. If you would like to find out more about PayLab™ or arrange a demo, get in touch: 020 3457 0894.

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