New research from BT reveals that anxiety about the speed of technological change is widespread among business leaders in HR. In fact, 96% of HR directors and executives report suffering from “bytemares” – technology-related stress severe enough to disrupt sleep, with cybersecurity and AI cited as the main causes of anxiety. With 74% of sector leaders agreeing that technological transformation is essential to the survival of their business, tackling this techno-anxiety could contribute significantly to the growth of the HR sector and the economy as a whole.
While half of HR business leaders describe their organizations as technology-driven, the same number admit they find it difficult to keep up with the pace of digital transformation, with 55% saying they find it stressful to come up with the right technology solutions for their organization. This sentiment appears to be impacting the sector's adoption of new technologies, with only 11% of HR companies investing in technology, lagging behind sectors such as IT and communications (15%), legal (13%) and finance (12%).
When asked about the most common concerns HR business leaders have about digital transformation, BT Data found that AI's impact on operations (69%) and cybersecurity (66%) are seen as the biggest barriers to adopting new technologies. When asked about the threats that AI poses to the business, data privacy/security challenges (32%) and ethical considerations (32%) were cited as the top concerns for more than half of business leaders in this area. This may ultimately lead to a lower adoption rate of new technology solutions.
However, according to BT Insights, 70% of HR executives are focused on mastering technology to future-proof their business. In fact, four in five executives say they are optimistic about technology's ability to transform work, and just under three-quarters acknowledge that digital transformation is critical to their company's survival. That's why 65% of HR industry leaders want more support to undertake digital transformation and combat the technology-related decision paralysis faced by almost half (48%) of decision makers.
Main image: From Goya's The Sleep of Reason Gives Birth to Monsters, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
