How Social HRMS Can Improve Employee Learning and Development

Today’s HRMS are miles away from their original roots as administrative systems; designed to control core HR data needed to pay employees. Current HRMS vendors have devised a variety of social HRMS features that are built into present-day applications. Are you using social HRMS to increase your employee learning and development? Your HRMS can enable collaboration platforms and here is how to best harness that power for employee learning and development:

Communities of Practice

Employee knowledge and experience can run deep. Tap into this expertise by offering platforms where employees can come together and share ideas. Social HRMS can be the backbone for communities of practice where employees can ask questions or discuss how best to resolve concrete issues such as product design queries or engineering problems. Many employees have years of experience but it remains untapped due to geography or lack of an internal company platform; your HRMS can provide that connection and uncover that expertise.

Recommended Reading: HRMS Software Guide - Find HRMS software offering social capabilities

Knowledge Sharing Platforms

Furthermore, your HRMS can become a knowledge sharing zone, achieved by allowing for ‘how to’ instructions or the publication of problem solving efforts. In addition you can empower employees by providing blog functionality or similar items such as wikis and podcasts etc. For many employees, such interactions can provide job satisfaction, through the ability to share their experiences and feel appreciated by educating junior staff members through this wealth of knowledge. I know of some companies who even build such sharing activities into the goal plans of more senior analysts and consultants, to embed a culture of knowledge sharing at all levels.

Targeted and practical

Another advantage of social HRMS is that employees often learn quickly from those who are in similar job functions or responsibilities and these informal learning mechanisms can provide targeted on-the-job training when most needed. Where an employee may feel that a formal class will be more theoretical than ‘real world’ or cannot commit to the time required for a week long course, small doses and snippets of learning via your HRMS may be just the ticket to ensure continued employee learning and development.

Finally, using your HRMS to host this social content is often in alignment with how employees function on a daily basis on other social sites, but now you have an opportunity to influence the content design and to promote ideas in strategic areas of growth, through the active solicitation of social HRMS content.