There are several versions of the well-known HCM Maturity Model, a framework for understanding and pinpointing where HR departments are in their evolution and where they can eventually be, from purely operational to strategic. A helpful whitepaper walks readers through an easily accessible explanation of The Five Phases of HCM Maturity according to isolved—in order: Basic, Integrated, Automated, Developed, and Engaged. In commencing their journey through the phases of the HCM Maturity Model, HR departments first strive to become tight in workflow, introducing efficiency to the absolute essentials for employing people. When they ultimately become fully mature, they are proficient and effective in influencing the employee experience and employer brand.
A lot happens in between. Meanwhile, so-called thought leaders in human capital management (HCM) like to talk about the future of work, where fully mature HR really thrives. And they should talk about this. It’s where HR wants and needs to go. But the reality is that, just like Paleolithic Era humans were in the Old Stone Age, HR departments at thousands of the small businesses across North America are in the Old HR Age. Stuck in a “Paperlithic Era” day in and day out, most are just trying to barrel through an administrative juggernaut without making any mistakes (3Sixty Insights 3SICS22122 – “isolved Brings Digital Transformation to HR at Skagit County Boys & Girls Clubs,” December 2022).
Dispensing with Rudimentary Tools
For HR practitioners at most small businesses, theirs is a far cry from the fully mature HR organization’s daily life filled with opportunities to engage with employees, elevate their employer’s brand, and just generally do the renaissance-like and forward-thinking things that lift HR into a strategic place. The typical HR person, meanwhile, would love to be lifted out of an often soul-crushing morass of tactical, operational workflow supported by old or bad software—if there’s any technology involved at all beyond a conventional spreadsheet application, the modern-day equivalent of Paleolithic humans’ rudimentary chipped stone tools. In its discussions with isolved’s subject matter experts and customers, 3Sixty Insights has found that the vendor not only understands, but also deeply appreciates, small businesses’ challenges when it comes to just trying to get the basics of HR under control.
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