The results of the research of the level of digitalization of HR in Russian companies were presented at the V International Labor Forum by Dmitry Sokolov, Assistant Professor of the Department of Organized Behavior and Personnel Management at GSOM SPbU, and PhD student Anastasia Springer.

The presentation took place as part of the round table “HR Revolution 20/21: The Role of HR in Post-Image Reality”, organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia. Dmitry Sokolov explained: “Traditionally, we talk a lot about digitalization in the field of HR. But little is known about how companies are changing when they embrace digital technology in this area. In addition, it is important to understand whether the digitalization of HR is leading to the expected economic results and the development of new capabilities in the company.

Answers to these questions have been  given by the involved  researchers who are part of  the team of the Department of Organizational Behavior and Personnel Management at GSOM SPbU under the guidance of GSOM Professor Elena Zavyalova. It was based on a large-scale two-stage survey: in the summer of 2019, representatives of 449 companies answered questions about the degree of digitalization and characteristics of enterprises, a year later, in 2020, 300 of previous year's participants provided data on how they were able to adapt their business to the corona crisis and transform their HR processes. 

It turned out that companies with high efficiency and  extensive HR digitalization have higher employee turnover and more precarious forms of employment. However, they do not demonstrate high economic results. This may indicate that HR digitalization does not provide a quick return on investment and is only suitable for certain types of businesses.

The data on the adaptation of companies to the coronavirus crisis indicates minor changes in the structure of personnel and employee salaries. At the same time, the HR practices themselves have been significantly transformed: the role of internal communications has significantly increased, while there is a decrease in the development and training of employees. The main conclusion made by the researchers suggests that digitalization in human resource management does not lead to quick economic results, but helped companies to adapt better to the coronavirus crisis.