A new performance paradigm : watermelon effect in HR services

In the past 10 years at least, not only that human resource specialists have been challenged to upskill and re-skill themselves to stay relevant in a world dominated by technology, but they are in the driver's seat for selecting the right technology for employees and leadership, for managing large scale implementations and integrations, managing vendors, with the objective to keep the workforce engaged. Technology development disrupted traditional thinking, changed consumer behavior, and led to what we could call systemic malfunctions - the rapid development of technology gave no time to human resource specialists to acquire expertise in data analytics, information technology, user behavior, etc. - which translated into watermelon effect: metrics look good, but reality feels different. This study aims to add one more perspective in evaluating human resource technology performance, showing that we are measuring mostly service efficiency instead of measuring employee and business impact and outcomes. The methodology used in this study is Action-Research, mainly because is mostly aligned with Agile philosophy and business operating models. The existent literature is rich in proposing new ways to keep technology users engaged, and delighted, however, is not provide practical and relevant guidelines on how to measure their perception over the holistic experience mediated by technology. Outdated key performance indicators are no longer capable of driving further innovation, setting the stage for failure in keeping employees engaged. Furthermore, we believe that now more than ever before it's time for consultants to play the role of service aggregators, to bring together technology, processes, and service providers, to unify the experience of employees.