Businesses are increasingly relying on remote work and technologies like voice over IP to replace traditional office roles like receptionists. This allows companies to reduce costs while improving customer service. Organizations are also collecting huge amounts of data that is doubling every 18 months, increasing demand for skilled data analysts. As a result, the changing business environment is leading companies to outsource more work and use freelancers, reducing the need for internal managers while allowing knowledge workers more autonomy. When implementing new technologies, companies must consider employee skills, provide training, plan for turnover, and ensure the technology can scale and adapt to remain effective.

1. Consumers and businesses are getting the information they need, when they need it, through the use of
smart phones, the Internet, cloud computing and social networking. Business owners have the ability to
interact with customers virtually and to sell their products and services directly over the Internet. The
changing world of commerce is forcing a change in human resources demand.
Remote Employees
More people are working remotely, and businesses often include part-time and highly mobile workers
who keep in communication with mobile devices. With business increasingly being carried out via remote
communications, receptionists and expensive phone systems are no longer necessary. Voice over IP
services that offer a recorded greeting and route incoming calls to people’s existing desk and mobile
phones have replaced the traditional receptionist role. A customer service employee can start checking
customer information based on the caller ID as soon as a call is received. Service teams never miss a call
as they can be routed to their mobiles. Such technologies keep staff costs down, improve customer service
and require no training.
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Big Data
Organizations are collecting data from social networks and everyday point-of-sale locations faster than
ever before. An article on the Forbes website states that the average Fortune 1000 company has 10 years
of data on employees, their customers, their competitors, performance metrics and financial records, and
that this information is doubling every 18 months. Future human resources demands will be driven by the
need for skilled people to manage and manipulate data and who can use it effectively to develop
operational and marketing strategy.
Outsourcing and Freelancing
Freelancing and contract work is a growing arena for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Online
marketplaces are growing in popularity and offer expertise in all areas of business, both for providers
looking for work and for companies who have short-term projects requiring niche expertise. Outsourcing
frees up employee time to carry out important assignments too difficult to outsource. Outsourcing saves
money and can often get a job done quickly and efficiently.
Managing by Networks
Noting the growth of creative and independent skills, examples on the November Learning website
illustrate the changing work environment. One example features John Deere welders who are
experiencing a shift to a more autonomous work role. Information and communication technologies
facilitated a global network of welders who have moved from a traditional job format where they were

2. told what to do, when to do it, and how well they perform to a position of directing and managing their
own work. The shift lessens the need for college-educated managers in a work environment where "less is
more."
HR Implications of Technology Change
Today, when the competitive demands of the marketplace require a reorientation of strategichuman
resource philosophies and practices, an emphasis are being given to a knowledge-based
administration using technology as a tool.Today’s human resources (HR) tasks cover an ample
variety of activities requiring verydifferent skill sets, “from compensation and benefit
administration (highly quantitative) toemployee relations (highly qualitative)”. As
a consequence, there are
legitimate questionsabout whether these tasks need to be together on organization
al plans in light of newrealities and technologies.To be considered successful HR
technology must achieve several goals, as described byWalker (
Web-Based Human Resources, Alfred J. Walker
):
(a) Strategic alignment
, which must support the goals of a business by helping users;
If an organization’s Heart is defined as it’s mission, values, vision, strategy, goals,roles and
responsibilities; then, strategic alignment is when
all
employees knowabout organization’s Heart, feel passionate about it, make all their daily decisionsbased
on it, and behave according to it.Strategic alignment is when all structures, processes and systems support
yourorganization’s Heart – and don’t work against it.Alignment is when all the organization’s teams – all
the way from the top executivesuite down to the front line teams – have goals that are in perfect sync with
eachother and are truly committed to such goals.Strategic alignment is when all the team leaders –
regardless of their rank (CEO,Middle Level Managers, or Entry Level Supervisors) – give precedence to
the teamthey belong to, over the team they lead.
(b) Business Intelligence
, which should inspire new insights and learning, by providingusers(emp) with relevant
information and data, and by answering questions;Business Intelligence is a set of methodologies,
processes, architectures, and technologiesthat transform raw data into meaningful and useful information
used to enable more
effectives t r a t e g i c , t a c t i c a l , a n d o p e r a t i o n a l i n s i g h t s a n d d e c i s i o n -
m a k i n g . " I t m a i n l y r e f e r s to computer-based techniques used in identifying, extracting, and
analyzing business data,such as sales revenue by products and/or departments, or by associated costs and
incomes.(DSS)
(c) Efficiency and Effectiveness
, which must change the work performed by HR personnel,by dramatically improving their level of
service, allowing more time for work of higher value,and reducing their costs”.

3. In a high-performing organization, technology is used to expand access to data, increase the exchange of
information and facilitate broader knowledge attainment. As new technologies become available,
companies consider deploying new platforms to make operations more efficient. No matter how robust a
new technology is perceived to be, however, its strength and utility ultimately depends on its end user. If
the human factor is not taken into consideration before a technological change, returns on investment can
be greatly compromised.
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Assessment of Existing Knowledge
A change in technology platform should be made only after an assessment of the existing workforce’s
skills. Not knowing the internal knowledge base can result in unnecessary expenditures and could lead to
duplicated efforts, especially in the area of workforce training. As part of the assessment phase, allow
workers to bullet-test the technology to gain firsthand experience on its components. This leads to broader
awareness of how it eventually will be accepted and can give hints as to whether the new technology will
achieve its intended outcomes.
Workforce Training
Training workers always should be part of a technology change, assuring greater returns from the
investment and achieving higher productivity from the workforce. Without this strategy, a new
technology can hinder rather than make operations more efficient. It can disrupt productivity and
negatively affect workforce morale. Offering a professional development on using the technology can
help address concerns from the workforce, allowing those with lower-level skills to upgrade their abilities
and keep pace with their peers.
Anticipate Turnovers
Turnover can disrupt any process. The loss of key individuals results in minimized achievement of
strategies, which can negatively affect an entire organization. Planning for worker turnovers is a
complimentary strategy for a technology change. Although exits from the organization can happen from
time to time, they should not mean the total loss for a new technology. Creating a pipeline of skilled talent
within the organization comes in handy in the event that unforeseen turnovers occur.
Scalability and Adaptability
Technology will continue to evolve, and so must organizations. A company should anticipate newer
versions of a technology, for example. The organization’s lead technology expert should investigate how
a potential purchase can adapt to and interact with other technologies to fully expose the organization to
the broadest array of possible options. Being solely focused on one technology can minimize
organizational effectiveness. Because technology as a whole evolves so fast, being limited to only one
vendor can lead to fewer options in the future.