Technology is prevalent in every corner of an organisation, and is especially important to HR – considering the department is responsible for gathering and managing sensitive and private information for the entire workforce. This encompasses both the information about employee identities, as well as people analytics and organisational data. These many streams of data make up a strong river of information and insights, which explain exactly how, what, when, where and why the company is operating as it is.
Considering all this, the risks for privacy and security are higher than ever. There are many clear, huge data risks such as hacking and data breaches. Massive companies including LinkedIn, Yahoo, Alibaba and more have experienced data leaks due to hackers infiltrating their tech systems. However, there are also more subtle risks.
For example, employees sharing their passwords, or links to sensitive files through unencrypted and unprotected channels to their co-workers. These are things many employees may not realise can cause data leaks or give malicious actors opportunities to steal precious company data. This, of course, also applies to HR professionals, who – while they may have raised awareness of risks – are still potentially at a higher level of risk, being critical actors responsible for safeguarding company and employee data.
How IT and HR can collaborate to manage HR tech
For all the reasons above, a partnership between HR and IT is crucial. There are multiple ways that IT can assist in managing the HR tech tools used in the company, including:
Providing training and building a cybersecurity culture: HR and IT can partner up to create and disperse a comprehensive training framework that builds a culture of vigilance amongst staff. While HR can provide training materials and communicate with employees, IT can provide valuable technical knowledge.
Controlling employee access: When it comes to the technological systems that HR uses alongside employees, such as communication platforms, onboarding and learning and development tools, or talent management software, IT can assist in ensuring that employees have the right permissions. Using multi-factor authentication, reviewing employee credentials, and assessing employee requests for information on an individual basis can prevent the simple mistakes that lead to data breaches. Managing crises together: When a cybersecurity crisis does occur, HR is often the first to be notified and contacted, while IT simultaneously works to discover the nature of the crisis and how to address the issue. Once this is found, IT can work with HR to craft an action plan that staff can use, as well as an explanation of the crisis and its root cause. Then, they can partner to create a strategy, such as a new policy or security system update, that will prevent the crisis from happening again.
