Jan Atkinson
Talent and Organisational Development Director
Kier Group
Jan Atkinson, Kier Group’s Talent and Organisational Development Director, joined the organisation 3 years ago, and very quickly realised that elements of the HCM technology, which has been commissioned before she joined, was not delivering what the business needed.
In short, the business had bought the wrong solution.
HR Vision Content Hub interviewed Jan to find out more on the issue that’s on everyone’s mind – how to buy the right technology in HR – and it’s clear from our discussion, that Jan has found a formula for success…
Another responsibility that Jan undertook, was to support Kier Group’s leaders to future-proof their organisational capability by bringing in the right people. Shaping the strategies that attract the best, diverse talent into Kier and then creating an inclusive and productive work environment, people feel they have the opportunity to thrive.
How has your role changed over the past 3 years?
In terms of change over the last 3 years – the initial focus at Kier Group was on the basic building blocks of the people strategy. They are in place so now the focus is on supporting the business to get the outcomes they need from that investment – great people, with the right skills, motivated to achieve their best.
The world we operate within has evolved – stakeholders have increasing expectations beyond the financial performance around the wider social value we create – particularly in terms of diversity and inclusion and skills and employability. The external landscape is more uncertain with Brexit, changing UK demographics and the rise of disruptive technology – all of which needs to be factored into our approach to talent attraction, retention and development.
What were some of the red flags that alerted you to the fact that your HCM technology wasn’t performing as it should?
Well in the case of our performance management system, we listened to our customers!
We had very vocal and consistent feedback from the business and from our own HR colleagues that the current approach wasn’t working and a clear evidence of a lack of take up of the online platform.
What are the key issues other companies should be looking out for, especially if they are not tech experts?
You don’t need to be a tech expert (partner with your IT functional colleagues for that, and involve your tech savvy early careers talent!) – but you do need to be an intelligent commissioner of any HR technology.
Technology should never drive the investment decision its only ever a clever box, cloud or app that enables a business outcome. So, your role is to be clear about the strategic business requirement – now and for the future, how digitally mature the organisation is, what the change appetite is and that shapes the criteria for assessing technology options.
Because adapting to new technologies can be overwhelming for certain organisations, what are the biggest challenges they will face when it comes to incorporating new technologies into their business models?
It’s no different to any other change – always put the end users at the heart of the implementation approach.
You need to understand which audiences the change impacts and to what extent where they are now and where you need them to be. Then you can shape a change plan that creates buy-in to the case for change, involves them in co-creation and builds ownership of the solution and the commitment to make it work.
In what ways do you envision the role changing from 2019 onwards?
Well the one thing that’s hard to predict at the moment is the future so expecting the unexpected is probably the safest bet!
I think the role will evolve rather than change fundamentally.
As our leaders grow their confidence and capability to attract and grow talent, my team’s focus should be on making sure we continue to build an inclusive environment that fosters curiosity and learning agility so our people can adapt to whatever direction the business takes.
Where to next hear from Jan Atkinson and Kier Group?
We are delighted to have Jan join our speaker line-up for the upcoming HR Vision conference in London, 21-22 November.
In her honest breakfast roundtable discussion, she will share with you the trials of “not being an intelligent client” and how to get our the other side.
Jan will also answer any questions that you may have in this highly interactive roundtable – click here to find out more on the conference!
Despite HR being a human-centric discipline, technology is rapidly evolving the conventions of good practice. We have put together a free 11 page e-book which includes:
– NASA’s perspective on the rise of the bots
– ‘Getting social’ with Deutsche Telecom
– Karen Brown at Baker McKenzie address humanised technology
– The concept of human robotic partnership
