Contemporary Connection [The “Anywhere” Performance Appraisal]
The place: A restaurant near you
The time: Someday soon
The situation: A sales manager and sales representative have been discussing the sales representatives annual performance review. They pull out their smartphones and access the company’s web-based performance management system to take a look at the appraisal form and comments made by the sales manager. Since the review went very well, the sales manager references the talent management software package and explains to the sales person that his promotion to a sales management position has been approved. As dessert arrives, the sales manager accesses the company’s recruiting and staffing software on her smartphone and the two discuss which of the applicants recently recruited via Facebook should be interviewed to replace the sales rep. Last, they submit their expense reports on their phones with a click, and they’re on their way.
Some of these functions already exist in reality, some are in development, but all will be tools that managers will likely use in the future to perform most aspects of human resource planning, recruitment, orientation, training, and appraisal. Smartphones like the Apple iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry have the capability to run HR applications, and several companies are developing new HR-related applications that work on mobile devices. It isn’t easy. Screens are small, there's a lot of data to deliver, security is a concern, and making applications easy to use sometimes requires different versions for mobile devices and desktop computers.
Many companies already use multiple mobile applications to increase communication and productivity. UPS has been using PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) to evaluate drivers for several years. The PDAs allow managers to ride along with drivers and evaluate their performance in real time as they complete their deliveries. Evaluations are more accurate when the manager doesn’t have to make notes that must be written up when they return to the office.
Employers are recognizing that Gen Y workers want the same access to technology at work that they have in their personal life, and take a dim view of employers who insist on using technology that was developed before they were born. One software company has found that the biggest barrier to acceptance is HR executives who rose through the organization in the early days of cell phones and need a little convincing.