Let's start with an assumption: You have a full-fledged HR team. You also have a basic HRMS deployed in your organisation. Would that suffice? You might have answered in the affirmative if we had asked you a few years ago. But the new normal has certainly challenged everything and changed the thinking of every functional head. The impact on HR is a no-brainer, and it's there for everybody to see.
HR has now begun to try harder than ever to manage all functions through one versatile technology platform. Virtual onboarding, work from home, hybrid work and employee self-service have also become the thrust areas in the past two years.
But the good news is that technology has made all of this possible by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), robotic process automation (RPA), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), to name a few. It's also true that not all organisations are making the most of the capabilities already at their disposal. If they do succeed, they have achieved what we all call HRMS transformation.
According to studies, organisations that successfully adopt sophisticated HR technology tools outperform those that do not. When you deploy a powerful HRMS platform, you'll see benefits that help your organisation realise higher productivity and sustainable growth.
Let's dive deeper into how a good HRMS software solution can benefit your HR function and organization as a whole.
Focus on What Actually Matters
Do repetitive tasks overburden your HR team? Is your organisation expecting you to play a larger role by contributing to business growth? Most of the HRs in most organisations are passing through this phase. Some are successful, and some have some catching up to do. This doesn't mean that the regular functions can be put on the back burner. It means that the organisation requires a cultural shift where every individual is inspired to work more productively and innovate continually. Although it's not as easy as it sounds, an effective HR strategy,relevant HR services, future-ready technology and a performance-measurement methodology can surely put you on the road to success.
PwC's Digital HR Transformation Survey 2022 reveals that 96% of HR leaders see the role of HR moving away from being just a service provider to focus more on being employee experience designers, change agents and talent developers.
Minimise Manual Processes
Admittedly, HR is a human-centric function that puts relationships and experiences first. No doubt automation can't always do what face-to-face meetings can. But how many HRs can confidently say that they have automated all their tasks that need to be or can be automated?
Every HR team member performs so many resource-intensive and time-consuming tasks every day. Yes, the dividing line between automation and manual intervention is really narrow.
At times, you may have seen your HR operations executives running helter-skelter to complete some hiring/onboarding tasks manually. The reason? Maybe your HRMS system is not designed to streamline these tasks. Another possibility: Your HR folks are not trained to handle all the workflow automation modules.
HR transformation doesn't end with mere deployment. It just begins there. When smart work is combined with smart technology, positive results are likely to follow automatically.Garner Deeper Insights for Smarter Decisions
Data is everywhere, but not everybody gets what is required for well-informed decision-making. Whether it is for formulating growth-oriented HR plans & employee policies, gauging employee sentiments or predicting the talent requirements of the next quarter, you have to count on the disparate data present across a bunch of tools.
Most importantly, you need to create a culture that inspires your people to embrace the changes required in a data-driven organisation.
What if you had one holistic platform that could do all of this in one place and in the blink of an eye! Obviously, you would want to apply that intelligence to help grow your organisation and contribute to business success. Wouldn't you?
Help Employees Help Themselves
It may not be surprising if your HR team members get exasperated while handling the basic employee queries time and again. Of course, even the employees would avoid asking you if they had an option.
The self-service capabilities of an HR software system can address this concern to a great extent. When your employees have the facility to access information, submit applications and generate reports on their own, overdependence on HR is obviously ruled out.
Satisfy More of Your Employees
It's hard to find the right people for the right jobs. Don't you think that it's now become even harder to retain them? Yes, every HR has to figure out new ways to focus on employee engagement, growth opportunities, grievance redressal, etc.
When processes are automated and streamlined, more jobs get done faster. As a result, your HR team will also have more time to groom the workforce. Also, the employees will have fewer reasons to complain and more reasons to smile! Satisfied and passionate employees are more likely to work wonders for the organisation's topline and bottom-line growth.
When successful, a people-first HR technology function can improve key people and business metrics around DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), well-being, collaboration and innovation. Gartner
Avert Compliance Issues
Sometimes, even the larger enterprises might find it tough to navigate the legal maze. Therefore, it wouldn't be surprising if others looked at compliance hurdles as a barrier. Litigation and hefty fines can not only affect the profitability of businesses but also adversely impact their brand image in the marketplace.
HR automation can certainly help solve this puzzle since many of the modern platforms are designed to meet statutory requirements by default. Therefore, even if sudden changes are made to any of the labour laws, your statutory reporting team members will not fret.Ending Note
The workforce in almost every workplace around the world is counting on technology to get things done within their organisations. Obviously, any tech-savvy HR would consider this as the new normal. But the challenge lies in zeroing in on the essential HR business tools required to survive and thrive in this highly demanding environment.
The next logical step is to deploy the technology and use it to meet the needs of employees and the expectations of the management. If you have already made it happen, kudos to you. Still thinking about it? We encourage you to get started and wish you good luck in your transformation journey ahead.
