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IT policy ‘could drive away talent’

HR Professionals' IT policies could be driving away talent, according to author and futurist Graeme Codrington.

Policies that restrict employees' freedoms in the realm of IT could be a major factor in encouraging individuals to leave for other organisations, HR Magazine reports Mr Codrington as saying.

Blocking staff's use of social networking programs such as Facebook and Twitter, forcing people to use certain brands of phone or computer and preventing them from bringing their own devices to work could ultimately work to the detriment of HR departments.

Mr Codrington told delegates at the HR Directors' Business Summit in Birmingham: "The biggest issue you face is your company's IT policy. It is going to chase your talented people away when the economy picks up."

He advocated a more proactive approach on the part of organisations, urging HR departments to "take control" of IT, rather than merely leaving the policy to IT departments.

At least five minutes of team meetings should be devoted to discussing changes and possible disruptive forces occurring as a result of technology and other factors, Mr Codrington claimed. He said: "Ask: 'What’s changing? What are the new rules? And how do we respond?'"

He also said the five forces currently changing the world of work are technology, institutional change, demographics, environment and ethics, and shifting social values (creating the acronym TIDES). 

His statements echo previous claims by Accenture that HR departments must adapt to trend shifts occurring as a result of social media platforms.

Rather than restricting the use of such platforms, the Accenture report, Trends Reshaping the Future of HR, recommends that HR staff take control away from IT and marketing departments. Such technology will improve employees' ability to share knowledge and ideas, it claims.

A study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found organisations tend to restrict their staff's use of social media – but this may be counterproductive, as staff find such platforms enable them to respond to customer queries.