Today’s business world is an IT driven world. New technologies like cloud computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning are being used more and more in HR. Cloud computing actually means the use of software or hardware by an organization through remote access. Businesses use cloud computing to improve their efficiency and capacity without incurring a great deal of expense in developing software, buying costly hardware and other infrastructure and hiring manpower.
Although cloud computing has myriad uses in businesses, the biggest advantage of cloud computing is filling the communication gap between HR teams, employees and management.
Cloud computing offers immense benefits to HR in almost all of its functions. Recruitment becomes extremely efficient and organized due to cloud. All manners of information , can be stored in separate virtual files which can be accessed by HR personnel of a company. This access can be need based and different levels of clearances to access the information can always be built in. Since documents can be shared , retrieval and updation is very easy and timely. Regular recruitment processes take a very long time, with the help of cloud, this process becomes time efficient as documents and files are available to all those who need them. Best talent gets hired without delay as hiring decisions are quicker.
Cloud helps organizations to centralize all the information. Earlier, only HR had all the access to information and it was insulated from the other parts of the organization. This gap and delay in getting information is a thing of the past. With cloud computing, as all data in the organization is centrally located, access and flow of information is instant. It helps HR managers a great deal in analyzing data easily and quickly, to make better HR decisions.
Cloud is great for employee engagement. Employees can share thoughts freely in a way that is more efficient and faster than a regular email. This shared knowledge can even be used by organizations in training their employees. Everyone connected through the cloud gets to know shared knowledge in an instant right from the junior most employee to the head of the organization. Employees are able to involve themselves in decision making and this makes them feel more empowered and happy. This openness and transparency in organizations leads to satisfied employees ultimately resulting in improved employee retention rate.
A lot of HR functions that are data driven, earlier needed large work force to handle that. With cloud all that can be automated. For example, employee data sheets, hiring requisitions, performance evaluation and rating details can be automated. With cloud, automatic software updates and periodic reports generation becomes a breeze. This makes the job of HR much lighter and makes HR free to do quality work like data analysis to make better HR decisions.
Like all data technologies cloud technology also has security concerns. HR handles a huge amount of data and its safety is of paramount importance. Although cloud technology takes the issue of safety of data seriously and has requisite security measures incorporated in it, all clouds are not completely safe. It is therefore important to check the safety aspect before deciding to make use of a particular cloud technology.
Cloud technology is becoming indispensable in organizations. Companies that are not migrating to cloud run the risk of becoming non-competitive in the market. In fact, it’s no more a choice that one can avoid making.
