The key question is “do you really need mobile first HR technology?” You only have to think about our addiction to our mobile phones these days. And that people suffer from nomophobia (fear of being detached from mobile phone connectivity), to realise that the answer is yes, mobile-first HR technology is the only future!
More mobile applications are simplifying many business operations and functions such as sales, finance, marketing, operations and human resources. Arguably human resources (HR) teams are the core of any organisation. HR have to do a lot of ‘plate spinning’ across the full employee life cycle, from recruiting, to managing staff, appraisals, personal development, payroll, disciplinary, staff communication, engagement, benefits and retirement. Its all pretty daunting in today’s complex businesses, where traditional approaches and an excel spreadsheet is not enough.
There is plenty of compelling research to validate the business need for HR technology that’s user friendly and adopts mobile-first principles. Research from Gartner indicates that 46% of businesses are focussing on organisational design and change management, 32% on the future of work, and 28% employee experience. According to IBM 70% of HR executives say the HR function is ripe for reinvention and should include
- Deeply personalised experience-centric design
- Skills placed at the core of the enterprise
- Data-driven decision making powered by AI
- Agile practices for speed and responsiveness
- Consistent transparency to preserve trust and reduce reputational risk
Why is mobile friendly so important?
Many people incorrectly make the assumption that HR technology is mobile friendly and even mobile-first. But the truth is sadly somewhat different. You may be able to access some areas from older, legacy HR systems from your mobile, but they are not practical and not designed with the user in mind. As users in a highly connected world, there is an expectation that we can access systems via our mobile phones. Perhaps the correct questions we should be asking are: “what is most important for users?”, “what will improve their experience?” Mobile-centric HR Tech puts more control in the hands of the user.
This lack of mobile-centricity has actually caused many businesses a real head-ache. With an increasing number of employees working from home or remotely, the need for technology to work, for all staff, wherever they are is more important than ever.
Mobile-first is a must have, not a nice to have
As organisations flex to accommodate a change to working locations and environments its easy to see why the importance of mobile-centric HR processes and technology is a key success factor for businesses. Most of us take our mobile phones for granted. We expect to be able to transact our lives using them. That’s anything from google searches to bank payments, online purchases to bookings. We expect to be able to do this easily and securely. And we all expect that experience to be easy, intuitive and without frustration.
Mobile-first HR tech is all about ‘going digital’ and all the benefits that enables HR teams and leaders to deliver efficiencies, such as; excellent employee experiences, and better business outcomes. In particular, addressing
- Remote working
- Self-service – whatever your role
- Virtual onboarding
- Increased engagement
- Wellness
- Cost efficiencies
- User experience
Integrating mobile is essential
Integrating mobile into all of your HR systems and processes is essential. It can be done easily and securely, with no GDPR risks or security issues relating to pay and banking information. You don’t need to use your payroll provider to manage all of your HR information as well as your payroll data. HR functions should be providing the processes, standards, and systems to allow personal HR information to be managed directly by employees via their mobile devices.
Integrating mobile from hire to retire and for the full employee life cycle, makes for happier and more engaged staff. Anecdotally we’ve been told that if someone is unable to access their payslip more than twice, they start looking for another job. Having visibility of your pay is one of Maslow’s theories and we should not underestimate the impact this has for staff.
Mobile doesn’t mean insecure, providing you have the right tech working and connecting all the pieces and all the dots.
The single largest segment of the working population is millennials. And millennials are known for a few things, – predominantly that they have their mobile phones on them at all times. By integrating mobile-first HR software including your communication you can speed up the communication. And reduce frustration and friction, increase staff retention and save costs.
Mobile-centric HR works so well for staff working shifts, out of hours, remote locations and staff who do not visit an office or place of work regularly. With more staff working flexibly and from home, mobile HR is the key to success. You will reduce support calls, especially when there is single sign-on.
Put the user first
Mobile-first HR technology is not intended to be intrusive, simply easier for everyone, enabling staff to access their records when it suits them. Giving your people choice significantly contributes to their wellbeing, accessing what they need to at a time and location that is suitable for them. Its an approach works well across so many HR process. From payslips to training, to health and safety, clocking in and out, booking holidays. The breadth of functions and processes which can be streamlined by mobile HR is increasing all the time as technology matures (e.g. eSignatures). And as companies seek to re-imagine and streamline their HR processes – like is already happening in the retail revolution.
Mobile-first HR technology simplifies complexity
With mobile phones constantly available in everyone’s pocket, not only are communication lags cut drastically, but engagement improves. With so much reliance on mobile phones in everyday use, if your business is not integrating mobile-friendly HR technology, you are likely to be carrying higher overheads and costs across numerous HR processes and functions. HR processes are complex, but by putting more of the control in the hands of your staff (users) complexity can be simplified.
- Employee experience – focussed on how it feels for staff
- High adoption – by integrating humans and technology you’ll achieve real value with high adoption
- One HR – a synchronised HR function covering the full employee life cycle
- Data driven – with digital and mobile-first comes synchronised data, and a single source of truth for decision making
- Improved business outcomes – mobile-first brings streamlined processes and cost savings. This will deliver value for employees, the business and customers with an improved ROI
A mobile-first approach creates a networked organisation, across all functions and operations and a win-win for business and staff. We believe that mobile first technology is the only future. And as such, elementsuite is built from the ground up, for mobile use – accessible by all, anywhere, anytime, by any device.
elementsuite HR Software
