Is electronic human resources an enlightened future or an
electronic nightmare? asks Jane Voisey
Look to the future and imagine it is your first day in the office,
year 2010. Arriving at reception, you are led to a medical suite,
and asked to undress. Following a local anaesthetic, the company
doctor implants a chip into your arm. It is a standard, simple
procedure, ensuring your employer is now able to use technology to
monitor your health for any serious illness.
Welcome to the future world of work. This use of body implants, an
example of what we call 'pervasive computing', is just one of the
possible scenarios involving the developing use of electronic human
resources, or e-HR. However, there are other, less controversial,
advances destined to change the way we work:
Trend one: Does the growth in mobile computing devices mean the
death of the traditional office?0
Mobile phones are now
standard business equipment, whether used for SMS (text) messaging
or conversation. Others use palmtops for email, the Internet and
connecting remotely to corporate intranets.
Whatever the format employed, the explosion in inter-connectivity
is set to dramatically increase information sharing. We can now
receive details of expenses and payroll payments on a mobile phone
or palmtop. Travel arrangements, job applications and changes to
our personal details can all be done remotely, from home, or even
better, from the beach. We no longer need to be in the office to
work.
The changes wrought by technology are combining to make the concept
of 'work' more fluid. This increasing flexibility holds benefits
for both parties - for employees in terms of more choice as to work
location, and potentially more options as to when work is
performed. Cost reductions are an obvious benefit for to employers,
as more and more employees are encouraged to spend less time in
costly workplaces.
Trend two: Does the growth in wireless communication really mean
anytime, anyplace, anywhere?
Mobile computing devices
function best when connected to some form of network. The advent of
wireless networks offers the potential to connect a wide range of
devices to one another within a small personal area. In this way,
mobile devices become wireless communicators, in the home, station
or at the airport, thereby overcoming the need to dial-in to the
employers' network via a heavy laptop and greatly improving working
mobility.
In turn, employers use these networks to ensure employees have
access to the right information, at the right time, to get the work
done.
Sales staff in particular benefit from these networks, receiving
up-to-date product and price information, which can be rapidly
adjusted depending on stock and demand levels.
Outside the sales arena, all employees can benefit from Web-based
training, enroll and/or change benefits, apply for a better job or
complete a performance assessment without needing to travel into an
office.
Trend three: Rise in the use of virtual
reality
Delivering training in some industries can be
costly and dangerous. Learning to fly in a simulator has clear
benefits over the more direct method, particularly where expensive
and complex aircraft are involved.
The virtual reality element of learning is set to increase in the
future, and will cover more situations. Work is already under way
to use virtual reality to simulate business situations and decision
making, potentially replacing many instructor-led programmes.
Trend four: Managing the massive increase in employee
information
Employers are gathering an increasing amount
of information about employees, their families, their behaviours
and preferences. This information is best used to target internal
services more effectively.
When combined with data generated by a chip implant, personal
information, such as an individual's skills profile and benefits
selections, can generate a better personal profile to enable the
human resources function to deliver an improved electronic
service.
Whether this information is delivered to your palmtop or PC via the
corporate intranet, the service may prompt the individual to do
further learning, remind him or her to complete a performance
review or to provide preventative health care advice to keep the
employee healthy and productive at work.
Employee data can also be used to negotiate discounts on behalf of
employees with external suppliers for a wide range of products and
services including, for example, cars, travel and insurance. The
flip-side is that, in this world of open communications, employers
must shoulder the responsibility of ensuring third parties use
employee data ethically.
Does e-HR, then, represent an enlightened future or a menacing
electronic nightmare?
If implemented correctly, e-HR
offers the benefits of personalised communications between employer
and employee. It provides more flexibility to balance work and
leisure and provides more personalised services delivered to mobile
devices and Intranets enabling greater mobility.
By contrast, the electronic nightmare is an unlikely vision. What
it does represent, however, is a valuable warning, stressing the
need for controls to be put in place to ensure future developments
are ethical and acceptable to employees.
What is Pervasive Computing?
The miniaturisation of
computers is also leading to ever greater possibilities for the
workplace. As experimental chips and other electronic devices find
their way into clothing, watches and household items, the human
body itself is fast becoming the final frontier.
Implanting chips inside humans may appear a sinister idea, yet it
could help improve health and safety in the workplace. Implants
could enable stress levels to be monitored and thus preventative
healthcare programmes could be implemented as an attempt to reduce
sickness and absence from work. After all, we all want to go home
alive at the end of a day's work!
Workplace 2010
Pervasive computing a computer chip
embedded beneath your skin conjures up a vision of a nightmare
world of work, but promises real benefits
Explosion in mobile computing increasing use of mobile phones,
palm-tops and hand-held computers will allow employees to work from
home, garden, or even the beach
Communications networks go wireless employees will have the
flexibility of being fully mobile, able to work while moving around
the home, station or airport
A boom in virtual reality applications already standard practice in
the aviation industry, virtual reality learning will develop to
simulate business situations and decision-making
Growing employee information available to all divulging more
personal information provides for better targeting of products and
services. But employers will face the challenge of ensuring any
information is ethically-handled
Jane Voisey is a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers
human resources consulting