This year’s Software HR and Payroll show seemed quieter than normal, with around 1315 HR and payroll professionals to the 70 stand event. Aside from the specialist nature of the show, the location at the Execel Centre, while providing some stunning local scenery in the form of the Thames Barrier, the Dome and Canary Wharf, is a bit innaccessible and probably meant that only those with a clear interest in HR systems were attending. Next year, the show moves to the Brompton Hall at Earls Court, a decision which a number of the regular exhibitors said they were pleased about. The organisers of the show are also planning a virtual event this year, designed to be a year-round version of the Softworld HR show.
The show played host to a number of new product announcements made to the industry:
The show’s format of seminar sessions fronted by consultants, providing an educational slant, plus vendor showcases, works well and allows attendees to catch up on both recent software developments and more wider-ranging issues affecting those involved with using and implementing HR systems in the workplace (you can read interviews with some of the presenters here). Most providers running seminar sessions repeated them over the two days so that visitors had the option of attending at different times which avoided too many timetable clashes. The HR Zone team felt the Computers in Personnel presentation deserves a special mention here for its clear, straightforward and effective software presentation which gave a clear demonstration of how the software could be used in practice and an intelligent understanding of HR, showing how to stop complex systems being used just as databases.
A presentation on Blackpool Borough Council’s implementation of a Selima system also provided interesting insights into the broader implications of introducing e-HR. In this case, these implications reached out into every area of the delivery of local government, and ran alongside e-government initiatives. There was also a useful reminder that changing a system almost inevitably becomes an occasion to standardise other practices that have developed idiosyncracies over the years (particularly in large public sector organisations). However clear and user-friendly a new system, other changes will probably be attached to it. So it’s best to have an open mind about how change will be received. In this case, the importance of having staff dedicated to the implementation process alone was also highlighted: this is not an extra bit of work to be shared around among anyone who has some time.
In general, the HR Zone team felt the human factor seemed absent from much of this show. This may seem an unfair criticsm of a software show, but there was certainly a sense that the “Human” could be edged out of Human Resources. There’s always the possibility that employee monitoring could turn into excessive control – there is at least one example of an organisation making the responsibility to update personal data one of the conditions for employment – and if employee buy-in isn’t achieved, cost-savings in these areas can easily be offset by disaffection and non-cooperation.
On a lighter note, key show highlights included the appearance of former Eastenders Barrow Boy Todd Carty (aka Mark Fowler) on the Snowdrop stand, complete with paper bags of apples and pears, and the maple pecan pastries thoughtfully provided by Mitrefinch at their breakfast briefing. We were also impressed by the light-up pens on the Peoplesoft stand!
