HR, by definition is a very people-oriented and human profession. Many of the wishes we have covered on our list of 12 wishes from HR and payroll teams, include technology and systems. The smartest, most intuitive technology needs to work in harmony with humans. The right combination of tech and talent will win the day for HR teams, which is why it’s so important that staff love-it!
HR and payroll teams have had to contend with a multitude of new and constantly changing challenges this year, which is why they are driving a new digital transformation agenda. HR technology can deliver a competitive advantage for employers but it does not come at the expense of interaction with people.
We’re delighted to include this final wish on our Wish List of 12. This is the people side of human resources, if staff love the system that’s easy and intuitive, friction is removed, time is not wasted and friction and queries are substantially reduced or removed completely.
Humans and HR tech
Humans are the foundation layer of any organisation’s HR tech. But HR can help on-board, manage, grow and develop their employees through self-drive training. Faster workflows, automation and quick access to data make HR tech unobtrusive.
Question: What makes great HR technology?
Answer: Technology that you don’t even notice is there, it just happens, and works.
It is highly unlikely that employees will be shouting loudly about how much they love their HR technology and all the associated processes that link to it. In the absence of fireworks and party poppers, real success with HR tech is when it’s smooth, intuitive and the support calls and queries are minimal.
Letting the HR tech do the heavy lifting, putting the human back into Human Resources. HR technology exists to make workflows more efficient, increase accuracy in data, simplify mundane tasks and improve employee experience. When your tech does that, your staff will really love-it.
HR gets a bad rap
Staff get frustrated with Human Resources for a variety of reasons, some of which are based on bad or frustrating experiences with HR teams. For some it’s the lack of knowledge and information they are able to get access to, and for others a misunderstanding of the role of HR in their organisation. Few employees understand the constant balancing act that an HR function has to achieve to perform in all areas of its responsibility. Flawless administration, knowledge experts for all areas of the business, staff development and training, grievance procedures, payroll – and the list goes on…
Often HR teams are perceived as only having the company’s and management team’s interests in mind rather than the best interests of employees. By removing subjectivity and providing transparency through HR technology that’s intuitive, mobile and self-served, much of that friction can be removed.
Benefits of HR technology and automation
The HR function has long been tasked with routine jobs such as documents management, time and attendance records, payroll, and absence tracking. These repetitive activities comprise a significant portion of day-to-day responsibilities, redirecting focus from more strategic projects.
With HR tech in place it’s possible to achieve
- Streamlining of tasks, improving throughput/productivity
- Easy access to data and information, speeding up query resolution
- Smarter decision-making, based on accurate, real-time data
- Constant monitoring, alerting HR to important issues as well as possible problem areas
These are many of the items on the HR wish list, but if your staff don’t love the systems you have in place, significant benefits will be reduced, potentially causing friction and queries in other areas.
However, this does not imply a reduction in responsibility for HR. Instead, their efforts will be channeled towards strategic areas such as engaging with employees, spearheading change management, finding the brightest talent, reducing staff churn, programs to develop staff.
Do you hear the fireworks?
The answer is probably no. What you will hear is the silence, or the issues, queries, support calls and emails – all day, every day. But if you have great HR tech in place, to support your processes and people, you might just hear the accolades. We know it is possible to have your staff say ‘I love-it’, because clients have told us. Check out the experiences from Holland & Barrett and McDonald’s UK.
If you’d like to hear the fireworks and want to hear your staff say ‘I love-it’, talk to our elves Santa@elementsuite.com
