Businesses across the world have experienced massive upheaval due to the pandemic in the last one year or so. It is still early days to predict all the changes the business world will undergo until the situation gets under control, especially in India. Businesses don’t have the luxury to sit down, assess their situation, take a break for a few months, and then restart. They are required to make immediate and profound changes to how they function, in order to stay relevant in the present but the uncertain future as well. A great example of one of the changes that most businesses implemented is to shift to remote work. That was the need of the hour and businesses understood immediately how it could help them remain operational even when the entire world was under a lockdown. Automation and digitization have also been adopted at-scale in a very short span of time. HR process simplification became the center of every change and shift that has happened during the last one year.
It is due to the uncompromising effort of HR leaders and professionals that businesses have somewhat met the challenges that this crisis has thrown at them. Having said that, HR process simplification is the need of the hour. Most of the traditional HR processes are either too cumbersome or complex and can be an obstacle in allowing HR to deal with post-pandemic challenges in a better way. The traditional rules need to be changed because businesses don’t operate traditionally anymore. HR process simplification becomes a necessity primarily because HRs need more control over distributed teams. They have technology at their disposal to build an HR work model that is both responsive and flexible.
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HR has a big role to play in helping organizations prepare for the future and this is why it becomes all the more important that it reimagines its work processes to make them suit organizational needs. Emerging HR technology promises to deliver work models that are adaptable and less fragile. It is the time for business leaders and HR to collaborate and make bold business moves. With that being said, HR needs to stick to its basic values of collaboration, motivation, and creating exceptional employee experiences while it is embarking on this new journey.
HR technology can pave the way
It has been found that businesses that have already invested significantly in HR technology were better placed to deal with the challenges of the pandemic. They were not only able to sustain operations but also respond faster to the needs of their people. These businesses have given their HR teams the impetus they needed to shift to digital in a much faster and easier way. Organizations that were taking it easy with their digital transformation endeavour also had to accelerate the process due to the demand of the situation.
One of the key areas that HR needs to focus on is to process automation. It needs to automate how it does its work on a daily basis. There is also a need to improve productivity by leveraging technology. The current situation makes investing in digital HR capabilities and getting over the old ways of working an absolute necessity.
Perform an HR technology scan before moving ahead
In order to make the most of the available technology and simplify work processes, the HR needs to first look for gaps that it needs to fill to continue flourishing in the time to come. It is important for organizations and their HR departments to run a scan in order to find out loopholes, areas with untapped potential and suitable innovations. What this does is help organizations with insights that they can act upon to build a strong HR technology landscape that will help them maintain business continuity, deliver above par employee experience, and improve overall business efficiency.
The benefit of running a scan prior to changing anything goes a long way in helping organizations understand the true picture of their HR departments and the effort that is required to be put in to get everything back on track. With insights available, it becomes easier for organizations to put their digital initiatives, targeted at HR process simplification. This not enables them to fill the existing gaps but move towards a completely innovative and digital future.
Areas where technology can help
Automation always helps and in this period of crisis, it has done wonders for human resources professionals. It has helped in taking off excess burden that comes from administrative tasks. So while payroll management is usually a time-consuming job, automation has helped in making it much easier. To make the most of what automation offers, it is important for HR to prioritize the processes or tasks that they need to digitize. The recruitment process can definitely be digitized with the help of online, video, and other available tools. The employee onboarding process can also be better managed with the help of technology. E-signatures and e-certificates can be used for several administrative procedures.
Technology can also facilitate a quicker and easier exchange of information. Once digitization is done, the HR department of an organization can then move towards collecting and distributing information. With a technology solution at disposal, HR has the control over everything impacting a business. They can make changes in real time to avoid mistakes that can potentially harm a business and its growth. The focus can then be on ensuring that employees are kept informed. This, in turn, helps in improving employee experience.
The pandemic and the challenges that it has presented have shown that HR can overcome any challenge if it has access to the right technology, the support of business leaders, and is willing to get its organization safely out of a tough situation.
References:
- Getting back to business: simplify your HR processes through technology | Glocal Thinking | March 4, 2021
- Accelerating Digital HR during- and post COVID-19 | Deloitte
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