HRTech Edge Interview with Karen E. Rice, Chief Human Resources Officer, Compucom

 

Welcome, Karen! Please familiarize us with your journey and the experiences you’ve had as the CHRO at Compucom.

At Compucom, I lead our HR teams, including our talent acquisition, benefits, compensation, and learning and development. In addition, I oversee Compucom’s international people operations and facilities in Canada, Mexico, and India.

When it comes to business performance, we want to attract and retain people who have a similar mindset. Our new brand personality embodies our core values to act like an owner, do the right thing, and have fun. We also hold each other accountable to our goals as we earn the right to serve our customers every day.

Having a similar mindset doesn’t mean you can’t have individuality. I truly believe that diversity and inclusion make a company stronger. We can learn so much from each other as human beings. Understanding different kinds of people helps us connect better with different kinds of customers.

We also recognize the importance of respecting people as professionals and human beings. At Compucom, we have affinity groups in which employees who wish to identify themselves as having an interest or lifestyle are free to be a point of contact for other Compucom employees. One of the ways we get to know each other beyond affinity groups is via charitable groups in which Compucom associates volunteer their time with support from Compucom under an umbrella program called Compucom Cares.

At Compucom, we believe giving back to the communities where we do business is important. 

A lot of what I’ve talked about here involves ‘growing as a person’ and the communication between individuals. I should also emphasize that as Compucom helps manage the digital workplaces of a wide variety of medium and large enterprises, our HR team takes pride in helping Compucom employees perform at a high level and attain employee satisfaction via useful and helpful technology.

How can HR professionals be more adept at leveraging technology to better streamline work processes?

Successful implementation of technology requires proper planning, change management, and employee engagement. It’s critical to involve stakeholders, seek feedback, and monitor the impact of technology adoption to ensure its effectiveness in streamlining work processes.

• Stay informed about emerging HR technologies: Follow industry publications, attend conferences, and join professional HR networks to stay updated on new tools and solutions available in the market. Identify pain points and prioritize automation within HR processes that can benefit from automation. These could include employee onboarding, leave management, performance reviews, training, or recruitment.
• Research and evaluate HR software solutions that align with your organization’s needs and goals. Look for features like applicant tracking systems, employee self-service portals, performance management tools, and learning management systems. Implementing these solutions can significantly streamline processes and enhance efficiency.
• Automate administrative tasks using technology to automate administrative tasks: Use technology to automate repetitive administrative tasks such as data entry, timesheet management, payroll processing, and benefits administration. This will save time and reduce the likelihood of errors, allowing HR professionals to focus on more strategic initiatives.
• Utilize cloud-based HR systems: Adopt cloud-based HR systems that enable access to data from anywhere, anytime. Cloud platforms offer scalability, data security, and easy integration with other HR tools. This accessibility allows HR professionals to manage information efficiently and collaborate effectively with other teams.
• Deploy employee self-service portals that enable employees to access and update their personal information, request time off, view pay stubs, and enroll in training programs. This empowers employees to handle routine tasks independently, reducing HR’s administrative workload.
• Utilize HR analytics tools to gain insights from employee data. Analyzing data can help identify trends, forecast future needs, and make data-driven decisions. Predictive analytics can be helpful with succession planning, talent retention, and workforce optimization.
• Explore the use of AI-powered chatbots to handle basic employee inquiries, such as policy queries, leave requests, or FAQs. Chatbots can provide immediate responses, freeing up HR professionals’ time for more complex issues.
• Implement collaboration tools and platforms to facilitate communication and collaboration within the HR team and across the organization. Tools like project management software, instant messaging apps, and video conferencing platforms can streamline communication, improve efficiency and reduce reliance on email.

What significant considerations do you take into account when penning HR policies to ensure their alignment with business objectives?

The HR policies should support and align with the business objectives. For example, if the business goal is to expand globally, HR policies need to address international hiring, relocation, and cultural diversity.

Consider the existing organizational culture and values; HR policies should reinforce and promote the desired culture, ensuring consistency and alignment. Policies related to performance management, employee recognition, and work-life balance should reflect the organization’s cultural values.

Legal compliance is paramount. HR must stay updated with employment laws and regulations applicable to the organization; HR policies must comply with local, state, and national labor laws. Ensure policies cover areas such as equal employment opportunity, anti-discrimination, harassment prevention, and data privacy.

How exceptionally does Compucom’s workplace technology enable organizations to fashion a dynamic digital workplace and boost business productivity?

Compucom recently launched its proprietary digital employee experience management service to glean insights into an employee’s technology experience within the digital workplace and then provide actionable insights to improve it. Combined with its full end-to-end device lifecycle and end-user support, Compucom serves the ongoing needs of enterprise customers in managing and improving the digital experience in four key dimensions: enabling employees via technology, providing self-sufficient issue resolution, offering well-defined support, and workplace flexibility.

Even pre-pandemic, companies were focusing more on the employee experience, right-sizing their technology needs, and moving from SLAs to XLAs. But no one was able to define it and establish ways to improve it—until now. Our teams leverage customer insights, third-party technologies, and our own proprietary development to deliver on the promise of improving the employee experience.

Compucom’s four dimensions enable the company to measure and improve the digital employee experience. These dimensions are used to establish a baseline measurement and track the ongoing experience. The analytics team reviews multiple data sets, including telemetry data, support tickets, user sentiment, and more, to provide solutions to improve the experience. The key is segmenting the digital experience into four dimensions, outlined below, with each having key performance indicators.

• Technology-enabled: The ability for employees to access devices, data, and services that best fit their work style and work needs, with the ability to easily and securely integrate personal technology into their workplace ecosystem.
• Self-sufficient: Ensuring employees are empowered by having the option to complete most tasks independently, having been simplified through technology and automation.
• Well-supported: Employees have access to timely, accurate support reachable through multiple channels in a friendly and welcoming manner suiting user preference and current context.
• Workplace Flexibility: Regardless of employee location, making sure they have access to technology and services necessary to be productive in a manner that is easy and secure.

In what pivotal ways will AI be instrumental in shaping the HR technology space, and what would be its perks and pitfalls?

AI has the potential to revolutionize the HR technology space by improving efficiency, providing data-driven insights, and enhancing employee experiences. However, careful consideration of ethical, privacy, and human factors is crucial to maximize the benefits and avoid the pitfalls associated with AI implementation in HR.

What’s your take on the remote work culture? How does Compucom facilitate remote work processes while ensuring employee productivity stays intact?

Remote work processes can play a crucial role in ensuring employee productivity. Here are several key practices and processes that can help:

• Establish clear and effective communication channels to ensure employees can easily connect and collaborate with their colleagues and managers. This includes leveraging email, instant messaging platforms, video conferences, and project management software. Encourage regular check-ins and provide guidelines on response times to maintain a sense of connectivity and prompt communications.
• Set clear goals and expectations for remote employees.
• Implement robust task and project management tools that allow remote employees to track their work, manage priorities, and collaborate with team members.
• Encourage employees to establish a structured work schedule and maintain a healthy work-life balance.

More often than not, inclusivity stays limited to papers. What do you do in particular to ensure DE&I is consciously practiced across the organization?

Policies on paper are not the only indicators of DE&I consciously practiced across the organization. Visit Compucom’s website and look at its leadership profiles and photos. Then review blogs and posts by our employees in our company employee communications vehicles. When the C-level Suite, management, and associates at all levels take the initiative to participate in affinity groups, as well as volunteer in company-sponsored community relations activities, this heightens DE&I across the organization. Bottom line: DE&I doesn’t happen without leadership focusing on it and rewarding it throughout the organization.