Partner Article

IT is Vital to Core HR Services, But Close Collaboration with IT Still A Rarity

Despite recognising their value, only 12 per cent of UK HR professionals admit to working closely with the CIO, according to research by Sungard Availability Services

Research sponsored by Sungard Availability Services (Sungard AS), a leading provider of information availability through managed IT, cloud and recovery services, has revealed that while almost two thirds (63 percent) of UK HR leaders believe a closer alignment with the CIO will be vital in realising their department’s ideas, only 12 per cent currently work very closely with their CIO.

The findings show that 97 percent of HR professionals believe the CIO is very capable in supporting business growth through technology including:

Enabling mobile and flexible working (58 percent) Creating new ways to communicate with employees (64 percent) Driving efficiencies (66 percent) .

The HR department profess to be big supporters of technology within the enterprise – with over two thirds (68 percent) stating that if the CIO was not sitting on the board within their organisation, then they should be. And their support could have a significant impact on the CIO’s role – with 35 percent of HR professionals stating that they believed the views and inputs of the CIO were not appreciated by those in the senior management team

Commenting on the findings, Sharon Clews, director – people & talent management, techUK observed: “In an age where agile working, particularly amongst the millennial population, is seen as an increasingly important attraction and retention tool, and as organisations recognise that the way they communicate with staff is changing, CIOs have a vital role to play as enablers of that change. Closer collaboration between CIOs and HR teams is therefore essential to the success of any change management activity.”

Keith Tilley, EVP global sales & customer services management at Sungard Availability Services said: “The disconnect between the number of HR professionals who recognise the benefits that come with working with the CIO, and those who actually do work closely with their IT department is worrying. IT is increasingly becoming a keystone in organisational operations – and while it’s encouraging to see that HR departments recognise the functionality and process efficiencies this could offer them, unless more is done to create improved inter-departmental links, businesses won’t unlock all the potential benefits available to them. Whether that’s scoping the solution, implementation, ‘bug fixs’ or being aware of the particular challenges global firms with differing set-ups can face. The will is there, and both sides have a part to play in ensuring that this collaboration happens.”

In exploring how HR professionals can collaborate more closely with CIOs, Sungard AS commissioned Professor of Management, Joe Peppard from the European School of Management and Technology to write a report entitled ‘Digital Dynamics in the C-Suite’.

Key tips identified by Joe Peppard to deliver closer collaboration with the CIO include:

Stay on trend with the latest technologies and keep an open dialogue with the CIO to talk through some of the ways technology can improve your business’ working processes and deliver new insights into your workforce. Partner with the CIO to drive change within your department. Create a roadmap for implementing technologies that will solve your current HR headaches. Understand the role that technology plays within your department. If necessary look to split costs with the IT department in order to make sure your budget contribution reflects the benefits you’re receiving. Actively communicate your collaboration to the rest of the company – make sure everyone understands the relationship and its benefits.

To download the report, please visit: http://www.all-time.co.uk/#/content/digital-dynamics-report.

ENDS

About the research

Interviews were carried out in September – October 2013 by Vanson Bourne on behalf of Sungard Availability Services. 550 interviews were conducted altogether: 250 from the UK, and 100 in each of France, Sweden and Ireland. Four audiences were surveyed: IT decision makers (220), finance decision makers (110), marketing decision makers (110), and HR decision makers (110).

Sungard® Availability Services™ has more than 30 years of experience providing flexible availability services that help ensure organisations keep applications always on, always available. The company leverages its proven expertise to provide managed IT services, information availability consulting services, business continuity management software and disaster recovery services to clients in North America, Europe and India. Sungard Availability Services helps customers improve the resiliency of their mission critical systems by designing, implementing and managing cost-effective solutions using people, process and technology to address enterprise IT availability needs. Visit Sungard Availability Services at www.sungardas.co.uk or call 0800 143 413. Connect with us on LinkedIn , Twitter and our Blog.

Representing techUK (formerly Intellect), the trade association, Sungard AS is helping define ISO 27036 – the IT standard relating to information security in supplier relationships (including cloud services) as a member of SC27. Previously in a similar arrangement, Sungard AS helped develop both business continuity management standard BS 25999, now ISO 22301 and IT continuity management standard ISO 27031. Within the UK, Sungard AS became the first business continuity provider to secure certification against the BS 25999 Standard, which it retained in 2010. Sungard AS UK is also certified to ISO 27001 and ISO 9001, and compliant with IGSoC, PCI DSS and ISAE3402.

Sungard Availability Services is a trademark of SunGard Data Systems or its affiliate, used under license. The Sungard Availability Services logo by itself is a trademark of Sungard Availability Services Capital, Inc. or its affiliate. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective companies with which they are associated.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sungard Availability Services .