The use of technology is becoming more & more important. Not only does it make life easier but also it provides you with information that you never had access to before. In addition it is cheaper to use than the old methods so its a win-win situation.

From an HR perspective there are many uses but the key ones are:

1. Administration - this may seem obvious but a good admin system is worth its weight in gold.
2. Recruitment - after being slow to take off on line recruitment must now be part of your portfolio of methods to recruit.
3. Training - E-learning has always been effective for training but only recently has it been cost effective. It must not take over your training strategy but should definitely be a major part of it.
4. Communications - this is an area where technology is most often abused - too many e-mails, voice mails etc which stop the best communication tool of them all - talking to each other!!! Comunication technology must be an enabler in delivering your communication strategy - if this is done it is invaluable.
5. Measurement - HR must measure in the same way as Finance. Of course the company      P & L is a measurement tool for HR contribution but there are others as well. A satisfaction survey can now be carried out on line and should be - its the "People P & L"
6. Feedback - Technology can be used for feedback with processes such as 360 degree feedback. However it is vital they do not substitute for people giving feedback on a face to face basis.