How technology can help power up your people strategy in the energy and utilities sector

How to achieve your strategic objectives

Technology does not work without a strategy to support it. Having a plan in place, a governance structure for enforcement, and change management to streamline the adoption of new technology are all crucial steps to ensure success.

Additionally, your organization needs to implement technology strategically to achieve its growth or EDI objectives. These steps can help you get started:

Assess your current state

The first step is to assess the current state of your workforce and its objectives. For example, your HR department may have goals related to achieving its EDI initiatives. This assessment can help you understand the current demographics within your organization, how you source prospective candidates, and levels of employee engagement.

It can also help you identify what technology you currently have in place to support the success of your EDI objectives. Technology can provide insights into metrics such as pay equity, employee demographics, and employee satisfaction. You may already have a solution within your organization with the capabilities you need to support your goals that you were not aware of — or you may need to select a new solution to help you achieve your objectives.

Define your desired state

Defining your desired state is the next step in this process. In the example above, your organization assessed its current state to identify how it is performing on its EDI initiatives. In this step, it will compare its current state against its strategic goals. This will help you identify gaps and set specific and measurable goals to achieve your EDI objectives. This may include broadening your sourcing tactics, increasing talent development, or improving levels of employee retention.

It is also important to define the technology you will need to support your desired state during this step of the process. For example, an ERP solution can help you gather and analyze data related to EDI objectives within your organization. These types of solutions also provide comprehensive reporting to help you measure your progress towards your goals.

Implement your solution

Once you have a concrete vision in place and have completed the solution selection process, the next step is to implement a technology solution with the processes and capabilities to support your HR strategy. For example, you may have set goals to broaden your sourcing tactics. There are solutions that can support unbiased candidate sourcing and blind resume screening to help reach these goals. If your organization set a target to offer equitable growth opportunities to all employees, LMS platforms can provide training programs that are tailored to individual learning styles.

It is important to remember that your organization is unique, and not all technology solutions will fit your needs. A solution developed for large-scale organizations may not provide the same benefits to a smaller organization — or may be too cost-prohibitive. Additionally, it is crucial to understand the scale of your organization and whether you have the internal resources required to implement new technology effectively. Small organizations may benefit from a gradual implementation, while larger organizations have the resources to implement new solutions quickly. 

Monitor, evaluate, and adjust

Regularly monitor your progress on your goals, evaluate the success of your initiatives, and make adjustments as needed to support your HR objectives. Measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) related to talent acquisition, retention, and organizational culture will help your organization track its progress on EDI initiatives and make necessary data-driven adjustments to achieve successful outcomes.

Take the next steps

Implementing the right technology with the right strategy can equip your organization with the tools it needs to overcome predicted workforce challenges in the energy and utilities sector. Technology also plays a crucial role in helping your organization progress on its EDI goals — helping you build an employee-centric organization with strong core values. This will help ensure that your organization has the resources it needs to succeed, even as the energy and utilities sector continues to transform.