There are no boundaries with regards to digital transformation in workplaces. It has made inroads into industries and diverse workforces. And, now, the HR digital transformation has arrived.
Does your HR staff still work with heaps of paperwork in an unfriendly environment? Do they need several days to find an employee’s file, respond to a leave request, or gather employment documents? If your answer is a big “Yes,” it is time for an HR digital transformation.
The HR division of the yore that depends on manual processes and gut-feel is on its way out of the big picture. Now, it is getting replaced by an HR domain that is automated and data-powered.
In the US alone, there are over 27 million hidden workers who do not show up on organizations’ radars. And to add fuel to the fire, around 60% of HR executives fall behind more tech-savvy peers in terms of impact and efficiency.
These statistics clearly highlight the pressing need for companies to digitize most (if not all) HR processes.
Reasons to Embrace HR Digital Transformation
Enhanced Employee Onboarding
Particularly now that remote work is a new reality and new recruits might begin their first day at a new company from their homes, it becomes vital to offer a good onboarding process into the business culture. Technology can be beneficial in this process by building rich and immersive experiences.
Improved Employee Experience
Employees expect their managers to offer a similar employee experience with respect to the digital workplace. To accomplish this, companies can leverage innovative technologies to keep the entire workforce updated on the recent company developments while gauging motivation, satisfaction, and team engagement using questionnaires and surveys.
Recruitment Processes Improve by Notches
Various platforms manage employee recruitment in a fully automated and impartial way, based on the data provided by the aspirants. With the captured data, these tools create comparative analytical reports, thus, helping HR personnel make informed decisions.
Boost Productivity Rates
Automating any time-intensive or repetitive manual tasks enables HR professionals to focus on more important operations, boosting overall management workflows and efficiency. Besides, optimizing HR processes helps enterprises stay competitive and compliant.
Centralized Employee Information
Digitizing HR helps find employee information easily – no need for clutter and paper archives. Employee databases provide HR executives with a more robust way to immediately access and constantly update the data.
Checklists Before Triggering Digital Transformation in HR
While the right technology can transform a business’s workflow, it will not have the intended impact unless deployed prudently.
Before HR teams rush into digital transformation, it is best to pause and consider checking some critical boxes. These are as follows:
A Clear Goal in Mind
HR staff should analyze whether the result of the process is worth the input. If they are kick-starting a digital transformation just to “modernize” or because their competitors are doing so, they are already wrong. Every transformation plan should have a well-defined goal associated with HR processes or employee experience with measurable outcomes HR pros can leverage to ensure a successful transformation. For instance, decreasing time-to-hire by a week.
Have a Human Resources Information System (HRIS)
HRIS is the underlying software that supports all HR digital transformation initiatives. It is the central HR software that helps maintain companies’ employee databases. Beyond any recruiting systems, every implementation will bank on the employee data in a business’s HRIS to operate.
Partial or Total Switchover
HR teams need to single out the processes that could require fine-tuning and then decide whether it needs to be streamlined. While digitization provides an incredible opportunity to save time, some activities still require manual processes and/or human intervention. Realizing what makes the most sense for organizations is vital to success.
Appropriate Legal Precautions
While shifting to digitized operations or records, HR teams must review state and federal laws related to record-keeping. Also, they need to work with the IT or business teams to ensure that organizations are backing up any data stored in their HRISs.
Ask Questions
To ensure decision-makers find the right overall fit for their business and workforces, they should ask questions like, “How will the technology or app support better efficiency, improve employee engagement, boost business outcomes, and offer talent insights?” The case for digitization has to back business objectives and level up the overall employee experience.
Compare Various Solutions
Finally, HR professionals must research diligently and pick the suitable HR software for your domain. They should prioritize relevant features and choose a customizable solution that requires minimal maintenance and delivers reliable customer support.
Closing Remarks
Technology is here to help. Whether the move to HR digital transformation is pre-decided or urgent, companies must ensure that the entire process is not botched.
Diving into at-scale HR digital transformation without proper planning can invite major roadblocks or completely backfire. As such, organizations must create a sound transformation strategy and a comprehensive integration process to ensure a smooth transition.
