People, Process and Technology: Three Factors Driving HR Effectiveness

The Delicate Balance Between People, Process & Technology in Human Resources Management

If you took microeconomics in college, you may still remember that the three factors of production are Land, Labor, and Capital. Likewise, the three factors of HR service delivery are People, Process and Technology, and are the drivers for operational efficiency for employees and their tools.

The People, Process, and Technology framework provides the delicate balance between these three areas. Their intersection point is where optimal efficiency is achieved. The key is knowing how to prioritize these three factors and how to build balance between them.

HR practitioners used to talk in these terms a lot but, for some reason People, Process and Technology doesn’t seem to come up as often as it used to. Why? It is still the best, most fundamental way of thinking about effective and efficient HR service delivery. In light of this, we should consider talking about it more.

Is your HR Technology causing employee dissatisfaction?

With thirty-four percent of employees feeling disengaged at work, employers need to look closely at the reasons employees aren’t giving it their all. The first question to ask is, do you know why employees are dissatisfied?

An Employee Engagement Survey may help uncover the answer and more often than not, companies experience a dissatisfied workforce when one or more of these factors are not working. Maybe the HR systems are old, unreliable, and not interconnected, causing data reliability issues or frustration for employees and managers. Sometimes unclear or non-existent processes cause employee dissatisfaction. Or maybe there just aren’t enough people to support the demand from the workforce.

Finding the balance between the three can be tricky. If your systems are not up to par and there’s no money to invest in better technology, you may have to live with it. On the flip side, fixing broken processes can be easier, but sometimes internal politics or sheer inertia prevent this. Not having enough people is always a challenge, but the one key thing to ensure is that the people you have are the best they can be. Having good people can overcome a lack of process or technology every time.

When In Doubt, Prioritize Your People and Their Needs

The converse is not true. A company may have state-of-the-art technology and stellar processes, but without good people to interact with your workforce, provide support, and implement the strategies and technology, HR service delivery will suffer. So, when it comes to prioritizing the three factors of HR service delivery, people are at the heart of any company and where the investment will be most realized. But the balance must be there for true efficiency to be achieved.

To learn more about short-term adjustments, intermediate fixes, and long-term investments to help you achieve the right balance of People, Process and Technology, reach out to our HR Technology Consulting team.