DOING MORE BY DOING LESS? THE ROLE OF SETTING FORMALIZED GUARDRAILS IN THE APPLICATION OF HR ANALYTICS

Abstract

HR analytics comprises several ethical h datafication and algorithmization of employee data, such as issues concerning data privacy. These uncertainties shape the actions of the actors – in particular HR professionals, data scientists, and works councilors – who are involved in the adoption and implementation of HR analytics. Using a relational perspective on technology that takes the uncertainties of technology adoption into account, we examine how the uncertainty navigation of these actors shapes the implementation of HR analytics. Based on a rich corpus of qualitative data in two contexts with marked differences in the regulatory environment covering digital technologies (Austria and Germany vs. Switzerland), we find that the actors involved in the implementation of HR analytics deal with ethical uncertainties by setting formalized guardrails of containment, i.e., by delineating acceptable and inacceptable usages as well as authorized and prohibited connections between technological entities such as data and software programs. The guardrails channel actors’ behavior, i.e., they limit and enable their actions. Thus, they not only provide means to navigate ethical concerns, but also help to streamline and accelerate development and implementation processes by clarifying uncertainties, e.g., what HR analytics tools can be used for. HR managers can refer to these formalized guardrails to reduce tensions between actors and to find data-based solutions to business problems more quickly. Through our analyses, we contribute to a better understanding of the ethical uncertainties inherent to the implementation of HR analytics as well as the ways in which actors deal with these uncertainties.