Case Study 1: UK Subsidiary of Global Mobile Phone Company

This case illustration demonstrates the use of a Web-based survey tool combined with focus group work, to ascertain the level of line manager sentiment towards a range of Web-based HR tools, which were an important element of the overall HR service delivery model in this organisation. A significant investment had been made in the technology platform supporting these tools through an upgrade to the latest enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, as the previous version had reached the end of its commercial life and eventually would not be supported by the supplier. This led to the development of a common HR portal, through which all online services could be accessed. The intention of this portal was also to help HR to create a greater sense of corporate identity among employees in the extended enterprise using an internal employer branding strategy. The real benefit being sought was an improvement in HR service quality, providing more accurate and reliable data, and enabling more informed management decisions.

The organisation agreed, as a stakeholder engagement exercise, to support a piece of research which allowed us to test the perceptions of HR and line managers towards these tools. The research aimed to achieve a meaningful assessment of the impact of Web-based HR on both the HR and line manager population, with a view to improving the service offering, where practicable, in the future.

Although it was conducted with levels of methodological rigour associated with academic research, the application of the methods should be both accessible and helpful to the practitioner.

Approach to Data Collection and Analysis

The stakeholder engagement exercise was carried out by one of us during 2006 and 2007 and comprised two stages of data collection. The first tranche of data were collected using a Web-based survey of HR and line managers. The total number surveyed was 94, representing about 10% of the overall manager population. Seventy managers responded, yielding a response rate of approximately 75%. Within that total, 65 responses were from line managers and 5 from HR managers, which was broadly representative of the ratio across the wider organisation.

The survey was designed to elicit information on three aspects of the Web-based HR implementation, including line managers' views on usage and benefits of the HR tools, data quality and maintenance and the effectiveness of communications, support and training connected with the Web-based HR system. These aspects were designed to enable key impacts of the investment in Web-based HR to be investigated, leading to clear indicators in respect of where improvements could best be targeted.

The survey was followed up by three focus groups, involving a total of 15 line managers, to probe some of the findings of the survey. A qualitative method was used in the form of a case study approach to create an in-depth, rich account of how one organisation has implemented a Web-based HR system and what line managers think about the organisation's efforts.

Respondents were selected using purposive sampling; participants were purposely chosen because of their relevance to the research. Each respondent had completed the Web-based survey and confirmed his or her willingness to be chosen for subsequent follow-up research aimed at obtaining more detailed insights into their views of the Web-based HR system.

Focus group respondents were provided with a list of topics for discussion beforehand and permission was granted to tape-record the sessions for analysis purposes; confidentiality throughout the process was assured. The transcript of each session was sent back to participants for validation. Summary reports of the main findings were sent to the host HR function as a basis for discussion and the identification of follow-up actions.

Results of Web-Based Survey

Table 1 provides a summary of the results of the questionnaire based on a simple aggregation of percentage of favourable responses to each of the questions corresponding to the three dimensions. The favourable percentages combine the favourable/agree and very favourable/strongly agree scores; the middle percentage represents neutral scores, while the unfavourable percentages combine the unfavourable/disagree and highly unfavourable/strongly disagree scores.

Table 1: Results of survey among HR and line managers on Web-based HR 

Dimension	Aggregate (%)			Line manager (%)			HR manager (%)
	F	N	U	F	N	U	F	N	U
Use and benefits	54	24	22	53	24	23	69	24	7
Data accuracy and maintenance	73	13	14	71	14	15	90	8	2
Communications, support and training	45	28	27	44	27	29	60	37	3

A cursory examination of the headline data shows that HR managers recorded higher favourable percentages on all aspects of the Web-based HR implementation. This topography of sentiment revealed in the Web-based material serves to highlight the importance of obtaining results from both HR and line manager communities. The dangers of omitting line managers from research work aimed at assessing the future direction of change initiatives were also articulated in a CIPD Report, which refers to the:

Weakness of research that asks a senior HR manager to complete a questionnaire about HR in his or her firm and then relies on those responses for analysis. 

It is also clearly apparent from a closer inspection of the Web-based survey results that perceptions of data quality and maintenance dominate the favourable results, whilst perceptions of communications support and training are least favourable.

It was also very telling that within the line manager community only 34% reported an appreciation of the benefits of Web-based HR, from the perspective of return on investment. There were similar reservations about the impact of Web-based HR on HR services; only 30% reported that Web-based HR had increased the effectiveness of HR management in their organisation. These results, amongst others, were probed during the focus group sessions. The nature and extent of the inter-related implications, both for HR and line managers are now examined in more detail and we found it helpful to adapt and reorganise the impacts revealed in our study into three main categories, as featured in the report.

• the impact on HR activities and processes,
• the impact on employee communication and engagement,
• the impact on the changing roles and skills of HR and line managers.

The Impact of Web-Based HR on the Efficiency of HR Activities and Processes

It is understood that the introduction of new technologies, such as Web-based HR, to deliver HR advice and services to line managers, as well as generating significant organisational benefits, can also cause potentially negative consequences if the implementation process is not managed effectively. For example research finding that there were concerns among the line manager community that the HR function lacked visibility and that it had become remote with increasing usage of electronic data systems and self-service HR. They commented:

… having the chance to talk with someone from the HR function was regarded as essential, if only to seek clarification face-to-face about how to deal with specific problems. 

This lack of emphasis on 'the human side' of HR was reflected in our study, which highlighted the need for HR professionals to remember that they are dealing with individuals and they are providing a service; their work is about people, not processes. Line managers made the following observations:

It would be helpful if they [HR] came and talked to you like a human being …

[I] actually speak to HR and say, 'this is the situation, am I right in this or am I wrong in that?' Usually, that's the best way and it also keeps up the human contact, which is important.

I think they've [HR] got to be consultative, they've got to be visible and they've got to be accessible to managers at a particular level but also, I think, from an employee perspective.

The organisational benefits of Web-based HR implementation should not, however, be forgotten. At the host organisation some of the tools were quite heavily used, providing significant support to both line managers and employees. This is revealed in comments such as:

There's a lot of good material in there, there's a lot of good material on the Web site …

More specifically, line managers praised the HR email service as illustrated in the following remarks:

I find they're really responsive [the HR e-mail] … they connect right away and give you the information and if you go back to them [with further queries,], they'll come back to you.

… more staff are now starting to use the e-mail system because they know they get a response quite quickly.

One important factor in the HR transformation process, which is often neglected by both academics and practitioners, is that Web-based HR needs to be considered in the wider context of HR service delivery. If change occurs in organisations it does not do so in isolation; it affects all other elements of the service delivery model:

The adoption of e-HR … triggers a chain reaction of other consequences that have a profound bearing on the way organisations do HR …

In our study, participants observed that the implementation of a new Web-based HR system signalled the need for a cultural shift within HR in order to ensure that the function was not just paying 'lip service' to line managers' expectations and aspirations. As one line manager remarked:

… I think there needs to be some shift where you get like a 'wow' factor; if you contact HR for any reason through any channel you should feel, 'wow that was great!' That's how we should feel … I think at the moment that wow factor isn't there, it's here and there, now and then, but it's not consistent.

From this it is apparent that overall perceptions are very mixed towards Web-based HR, in terms of its impact on the efficiency of HR activities and processes.

The Impact on Improving Employee Communication and Engagement

Our research demonstrates the importance of effective communication in ensuring that both line managers and employees 'buy-in' to Web-based HR. This is illustrated in the comments as follows:

New systems … should be communicated well and users need to understand why these things are happening. This would lead to less resistance.

… the message that comes across is mixed and it's not a constructive message. I think they've [HR] got to develop how to execute that message and once they get that right then I think things will come through … we're having to find [things] out for ourselves and it leads to people using different methods and certain tools in certain ways and it becomes a kind of a mixed bag.

Participants also highlighted the importance of intuitive systems and comprehensive training in order to secure line manager and employee engagement.

The tools should be intuitive and designed around us, the internal customer, so that tasks that are done very often, like approving leave and expenses, should be the easiest but often they seem really difficult…. Maybe it's a criticism of [the system] that we have to adapt to it rather than it adapting to us … Why don't we have something that is more suited to us?

When we implement new systems … every department should send someone along to be trained up to use it.

HR could … get floor walkers, for example, on the day it goes live. You could have one experienced user per floor to show people how the new system works …

I think the super user concept wouldn't be a bad thing … if people are confused, then the super user is best placed to learn the nuances of it (new tool).

Linked to this, we found that there was often line manager and employee frustration regarding the usability of the system. The solution, as advocated by the users, was to create a more personalised and tailored HR solution. For example, whilst participants praised the email service provided by the HR team both in terms of the speed and quality of responses it provided, they acknowledged this service was only helpful in answering simple, self-contained problems and line managers experienced difficulty when they required more detailed advice from HR.

[The email service] is really good because all you do is send an e-mail, ask the question and they [HR] tell you what to do.

[The email service] can be great for certain things. An example would be if I had a direct report with a sick child, but no holiday entitlement left. I can [send an] e-mail … and I know that I will have the answer. So that sort of very simple, self-contained problem can be easily answered. However, as soon as it's something less specific or more open ended, it's very difficult to know how to get that information out of HR.

It is essential for line managers to be involved in the implementation process in order to ensure that the new HR delivery model is client-centred. This can be achieved in a variety of ways: through early consultation with all managers; active, hands-on senior level involvement in the project team and a customer references panel that engages with the proposals throughout. As one line manager explained:

[A] good parallel is when we think about launching things to customers. The way it should work is … figuring out how they want to do business with us and then we adapt to them because that's how you'll be a successful company. The same philosophy should apply to our internal offering — the HR tools and services. The tools should be intuitive and designed around us, the internal customer.

In spite of these criticisms regarding the impact of Web-based HR on improving employee communication and engagement, it is clear that line managers at the host organisation were making a significant effort to engage their teams, encouraging them to discuss areas that could be improved.

… what we do try and do is to get the engagement of the team. We ask the team, 'you tell us what we can do differently to get this working; what can we do?' I think the team as a whole can see that you try to take action on their issues and this creates an improved employee engagement score.

From the evidence presented, it is clear that the perceived impact of Web-based HR on improving employee engagement and communication is disappointing. Despite this, the line managers presented a range of constructive suggestions to alleviate the issues identified.

The Impact on the Changing Roles and Skills for HR and Line Managers

In a transformed state, the HR function is unlikely to place a premium on administrative skills and the HR positions available will be strategic in focus requiring a higher capability of candidates. This is supported in research conducted, and they found that:

Information Technology has allowed the HR function to focus less attention on routine, administrative tasks and dedicate more energy to delivering services that add value to the business.

Thus, it is clear that Web-based HR can leave more time for HR to focus on expert or strategic issues and is therefore one way of facilitating the transition from operational to strategic HR.

Indeed, many line managers emphasised the important contributions made by the HR team and praised their ability to carry out job roles effectively.

I think there are brilliant staff [in HR]; I know who to go to and I've been really impressed by their customer focus. I think they're right on … giving advice and I would definitely give them accolades.

I find the learning and development team fantastic … If I've got an issue to discuss (with L&D), I'll go and talk to [someone] and [they] will then sit down with me for an hour and talk me through the courses and tell me specifically what courses might be suitable for my people.

I find the [people] in recruitment are fantastic; I deal with two of them on a regular basis.

However, as one line manager commented:

If you're not careful HR is viewed with a degree of cynicism or scepticism it probably doesn't deserve …

This is illustrated in our study by the following negative perceptions of the HR function:

Everyone knows that the HR function is an overhead (cost to the business) … Very rarely, it seems, you get someone who says something good about HR; more often than not it's seen as the part of the organisation which stops you doing things.

I really don't know what HR does. I only think of them as people who pay us or tell us we've got the sack …

This selection of comments illustrates that the views of line managers towards the HR function are quite patchy and that if, HR should be defined not by what it does but by what it delivers, the quality of HR service delivery needs to be high to ensure that the perceptions of line managers are largely positive. The HR function is required to improve and market convincingly its value contribution to the business in order to diffuse the type of negative sentiment revealed here by the line manager community. Indeed, as we have noted the challenge for each HR function is to define for itself a way of making a value-adding contribution that is right for its organisation.

Thus, in order to manage this challenge effectively, HR needs to be clear about how it can add value in a way that is appropriate to its organisation's unique context. If HR fails to achieve this, the threat is that the business will turn elsewhere for that contribution and the in-house HR function will become insignificant and impotent.

The line manager community surveyed in this study argued that the creation of SLA (Service Level Agreements) could provide one way of measuring HR performance and therefore help to define its value contribution.

My perspective as far as service delivery is concerned is that HR needs to have a strategy backed up by SLA's (Service Level Agreements) … If they don't operate like that, how do you measure the performance of the department? … HR needs to be accountable.

In addition, line managers felt that performance assessment criteria should make their own people management responsibilities more explicit.

There isn't a very clear way for [line managers] to understand their responsibilities; no-one really knows what their responsibilities are.

The aim of the [performance management] guidance is that we should have five objectives [but] there's not a lot of suggestion as to what those objectives should comprise …

If you manage people then you're the first line of HR in any business and I think we could save ourselves a lot of time and trouble or even money if we got that little bit right.

Linked to the issue of establishing clear accountabilities for both HR and line managers, participants emphasised that partnership needs to be built between HR and the line to ensure the effective delivery of HR services. As one respondent commented:

It's a matter of having to try and advise each other as to how we can reduce each other's burden by making sure that once we understand what the issue is, whose responsible for dealing with it, then we get on with it …

Overall Observations

The application of Web-based survey tools and focus groups worked well in combination as a stakeholder engagement tool, revealing the topography of sentiment towards the newly implemented Web-based HR tools.

These findings illustrate that the impact of Web-based HR on the changing roles and skills for HR and line managers is a complex picture and encompasses a broad range of aspects that must be appreciated and successfully addressed, if positive outcomes are to be achieved. We believe that our study has underlined an important point; line managers want and value high-quality HR services and would be prepared to work collaboratively with HR to improve overall service delivery. HR should therefore seek to use the intrinsic goodwill that can exist among the line manager community to guide future HR activities. We recommend that the reader should consult other parts of this book to seek insights into how best the stakeholder discoveries can best be converted into measurable, beneficial outcomes.