The Intersection of HR and IT: Part 1 – Building New Work Teams

Intersection of HR and IT Part 1 - Pathway HR Solutions

Technology has created an environment in which the modern workplace relies more heavily on Information Technology (IT) than ever before. That reliance extends even as far as the Human Resources (HR) department. Where the two intersect, we find new ways of doing things. For example, consider HR and IT working together to build new work teams.

Policies to Protect Data

One of IT’s biggest concerns is protecting client, company, and employee data. Typically, this is handled in a sandboxed (or isolated) manner. HR creates policies for determining how client, company, employee information is handled. Then they turn those policies over to IT for implementation.

Under the new paradigm of intersection, separate responsibilities are no longer clear and distinct. They overlap. That’s why it is critical for HR and IT to collaborate.  Doing so helps each side understand how information security can be achieved within the framework of existing policies and develop new policies that are designed to fill existing gaps.  Joint implementation and assessment are also part of the bigger picture, because much of information security is driven by human behavior.

New Collaboration with New Ideas

In the traditional sandboxed environment, collaboration is limited by the flow of ideas. But in an intersected environment, such limits don’t exist. Combined teams freely share information based around a common goal. This encourages a new level of collaboration that leads to results.

Best of all, combined teams create a new perception in the workplace. They give previously sandboxed employees an opportunity to participate in ways that make a real difference. In the end, you get the benefit of new policies implemented to protect company and client information along with new teams that are more capable of doing great things.

Bottom Line

If your organization is struggling to create policies that are designed to secure confidential data, consider engaging both HR and IT professionals.  Working together, they will be able to assess your risk and create information security policies that are practical and effective.