When Alan Turing developed a model for the first general purpose computer in the late 1940’s, he finally proved that there could indeed be a machine that “thought for itself”. Decades later computers and technology in general have advanced further than what Turing probably imagined. In fact sometimes computers speak in such a strange language it feels like they have a mind of their own.

ATS, CRM, project management tools, Smartphoneapps… The HR-related technology landscape is full of tools developed to make things easier. However, if the idea of simplifying HR processes is appealing in theory, in practice many professionals are still wary of these intimidating systems. Integrating with a new tool can seem daunting from the outside: with so many unknown tech words and processes it can be difficult to step out of our comfort zone and start technical procedures we don’t really understand ourselves.

Technology miracles… or foreign language?

Have you heard of SaaS? It is the abbreviation for Software as a service, which is “a software delivery model in which software and associated data are centrally hosted on the cloud. SaaS is typically accessed by users via a web browser”.

Could you say what XML is? It stands for Extensible Markup Language, “a meta-language that allows users to define their own customized markup languages, especially in order to display documents on the World Wide Web”.

Maybe you could quickly explain what HTML is? You’ll be interested to know that it stands for Hypertext Markup Language and it’s “a standardized system for tagging text files to achieve font, color, graphic, and hyperlink effects on World Wide Web pages”.

Maybe you didn't know any of these terms or their definitions don’t mean much to you. But that’s ok, because at the end of the day unless you deal with these terms every day at work you won’t even know they exist. It’s terms like these that make the tech world appear impenetrable at times, because it feels like its inhabitants speak a weird and unknown language. But the good news is you don’t have to be fluent to enter it, you just need a good interpreter. HR professionals are here to speak HR and technical teams are here to speak tech, but this doesn’t mean both worlds can’t communicate. Integrating with a new piece of software is a learning process during which you become familiar with the necessary terminology over time.

To move through this transition successfully, you need to know your technology provider is there to support you. Sufficient and accessible tech support is integral to help you use your new technology to its full potential. You have to be confident their tech team can support you and answer all the questions you may have. It’s also essential to take enough time to think about what type of tool you need, the results you wish to gain from it and on what scale.

Taking the leap into the future of HR

When they were first introduced to the market, ATS and CRM systems were these unknown tools no one wanted to be the first to try in case they complicated the whole process rather than simplifying it. However, they quickly proved that by using them everyday tasks became more efficient and effective. Nowadays new technologies designed specifically for the HR sector enable companies to go beyond these common software tools and help push HR forward into a more proficient future. There are many inventive and useful tools out there that can increase HR effectiveness and it is definitely worth keeping an eye on what technology can offer you the best solution. For inspiration keep an eye on recruitment technology events such as the Recruiment Innovation Summit which took place in California last year. The winners offered a range new original tools that have increasingly added value to the recruitment and HR sector.

When it comes to integrating with new software, hesitation is understandable and any HR tool you chose to start using should complement the company needs. However, technology is there to provide a solution to an issue, not complicate it. HR teams may be apprehensive at first but with the support of your chosen technology’s technical team you will find your way through unknown waters. Who knows, the innovative piece of software that seems too scary or complicated today might very well be the future of human resources and lift a company’s processes to a whole new level of efficiency.

[Sourced from: http://www.mysteryapplicant.com/2013/03/06/recruitment-technology-d...]