‘Is Google the new HR Department’ (https://www.hrzone.com/feature/strategy/google-new-hr-department/141145 ) is a blog that caught my attention. In my first standalone HR role one of my biggest challenges is finding information and support in the absence of a colleague to call or turn around and talk to. I therefore find myself trawling through Google results pages to find the information I need and I have often found myself thinking I’m a professional-Google-searcher rather than an HR professional; why does the company need me if everything I need is on Google? So far I have been quite successful in my searching and have been able to find some great policy documents and clear answers to my questions. I have then been able to use these to create documents and guidance that are relevant to my company and create a cultural fit. Now here is where I start to realise they’ve hired the right person after all. My role is not needed to reinvent the wheel; my role is about me using my professional skills and knowledge to interpret, manipulate and understand the reams of data available and make a sound business decision for my organisation. Sure anyone can pull off an attendance management policy, but would that be the right policy for the company? Would the understand how to implement it successfully? Could they design an attendance management training programme and would they know about the need to consult on any contractual changes? Maybe they would, but I definitely do. The number of ‘experts’ on forums about maternity and redundancy, who actually don’t know much more than their own company specific experience is a concern.
The blog talks about how staff and managers are turning to Google in the absence of an HR professional with the time to assist them. Fortunately I still have the time to dedicate to my internal customers, but I still don’t shy away from Google. I often use it as a tool to show mangers for themselves why I am giving certain advice, it helps me go beyond a company policy and evidence it in a different way. Also, I have used it to develop line managers; when they ask me a question I will ask what they have done to try and find the answer, or what they know on the issue and in doing so I hope I will generate a culture whereby managers want to investigate and learn about some of the more challenging aspects of people management (not by actually referring them to Google and risking decisions by unverified information though of course).
Creating this appetite is healthy in my opinion, but it also allows me to then identify some possible flaws in their searching; an article that is over 10 years old, a piece of legislation I know has since changed, they’ve found a US site etc. In doing so, they have the opportunity to learn and develop and I have the opportunity to hopefully prove my worth as an HR professional.
The information culture we have and Gen Y employees mean that information is easy to access, updated and instant. Why wouldn’t our search for HR information be the same? While GPs up and down the country are busy rolling their eyes at internet-self-diagnosed complaints, this culture of accessible information means that any industry professional is being kept on their toes and maybe upping their game as there will always be someone who has done their research and knows the same, if not a little bit more than you. The need to know our stuff and fully prepare when making decisions is adding a healthy amount of pressure, in my humble opinion.
