IT and HR: the same department?

I recently took part in an Evolving Workforce conference/roundtable organized by Dell and Intel. Their study and our discussion came to the same conclusion: IT departments are taking on more and more responsibilities. Recently, they’ve even been tasked with attracting, hiring and keeping employees. Are they becoming HR departments?

Dell and Intel provided several supporting examples, and I’d like to share the most relevant ones with you.

bring your own device: employee dissatisfaction with IT departments

More and more employees are using their personal devices at work. But if we take a closer look (from the perspective of IT departments), the stats aren’t pretty:

  • 55% of employees like work more when they can choose the technologies they use
  • but only 28% (half as many) are able to choose their devices themselves

In short, employees are unhappy with the equipment provided by their IT departments.

technology is a huge recruiting advantage

Is technology an enticing factor when choosing an employer? It’s no surprise that 72% of French people in the workforce say yes. But, sadly, only 34% think their company is using the latest technology (again, only half as many). What’s worse, only 38% of private sector employees (and even fewer public sector workers) feel adequately equipped with devices and software.

How can anyone not see that employees are increasingly frustrated by having better equipment and technology at home than at work? Luckily, the percentage of employees able to choose their work devices is projected to increase from 27% to 37% over the next 10 years. Personally, however, I don’t think that’s enough.

the future of IT: a partnership with HR?

Statistics clearly show that the social side of technology is very important: it has an impact not only on employees’ productivity, but also on their desire to join (or stay at) a company and give their best. IT (in a general sense) is a major factor in attracting, hiring and keeping employees.

IT departments are therefore taking on new roles (direct and indirect) that look a lot like HR tasks. But are IT and HR the same thing? My answer is no. Contributing to company appeal and workplace comfort is one thing, but taking over HR’s responsibilities is a whole other matter. That said, the two departments will have to cooperate. For now, they’re not helping each other at all.

Rémi

crédit photo : © Pixelmania - Fotolia.com

This article was originally published in French here.