4 Great Hacks to Get Your Boss to Invest in HR Technology
Are you one of those frustrated HR professionals? Then I have some good news: it doesn’t have to be this way! You can use many effective techniques to overcome resistance and convince your boss to invest in HR technology. For proof, check out these four hacks to get your boss on your side:
1. Tell the Boss That HR Tech Will Save Money
Telling your boss that you have a great new money-saving idea will of course get their attention, but you’ll need to support your idea with hard facts. You can do so by succinctly outlining the costs of doing HR with your current legacy system, and then compare those costs to the price of doing things with a new technology-driven system. Research from CedarCrestone found that the cost of a simple task such as approving a promotion drops from an average of $36.40 to $14.01 (62 percent savings) when using HR technology.
2. Show Your Boss That Your Firm Is a Dinosaur
If your organization isn’t keeping up with advances in HR technology, than competitors are going to quickly leave it behind. This is a great way to illustrate that your HR approach is out of date and needs to be updated. No CEO wants their firm to be seen as a dinosaur, and showing your boss how outdated your current HR systems are could open their eyes to the necessity of investing in new HR technologies.
3. Link the New System to Specific KPIs That the CEO Cares About
Don’t just say that the new technology will boost performance, as this is likely to fall on deaf ears. Link the new technology to specific key performance indicators (KPIs). For example, tell the CEO that using video interview technologies should shorten the hiring period by reducing empty desk time by 40 percent and increasing output by 5 percent. (Figures for illustrative purposes only — you’ll need to do some research to determine how HR tech will impact the KPIs in your specific organization.)
4. Show Your Boss They Have Nothing to Lose by Giving HR Tech a Try
Suggest a pilot project with a small investment in a receptive department — e.g., you could try deploying the new system in one division or with a specific team. This risk-free — or risk-contained — approach will often be enough to tip the scale in your favor and get a skeptical CEO to budge, assuming you have implemented the first three hacks as detailed above.
It can be hard to secure investment in HR technology, but these four great hacks should significantly increase your chance of success when it comes time to plead your case to the boss.