How does HR technology help organizations deliver global strategic HR activities in a more efficient way?

Technology can make HR teams more productive by focusing on 3 key HR areas - recruiting, payroll, and employee engagement.  If your company is looking into incorporating technology to improve productivity, this is the way to start! 

#1 Technology optimizes recruitment processes

One of the most crucial aspects of every HR professional’s job is to find the right candidate for the job. However, recruitment is no longer just sifting through a bunch of resumes. It’s an important branding element that significantly affects the reputation of a company. 

That said, HR professionals are pressured to build an employer branding strategy and deliver a seamless recruitment experience to candidates. At the same time, they are expected to do so in an efficient, cost-effective, and timely manner.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways technology can help optimize the recruitment process. 

Here are a few of them:

• Applicant Self-Service
  In this day and age, it is almost unimaginable for HR professionals to still be manually handing out paper forms for applicants to fill out, and then spend precious minutes checking for accuracy of information. With a self-service app, applicants can provide the information and double check the accuracy of the information themselves. This method frees up your time so you can focus more on your core responsibilities during the recruitment process.

• All-in-One Recruitment Software
  Wouldn’t it be nice to have access to the data that you need and do multiple hiring tasks from one tool? In an all-in-one recruitment software, you can review resumes, access forms, identify specific employee requirements, and do other things without jumping from one platform to another. This minimizes distraction and expedites the hiring process.

• Customizable Communication Templates
  Regular communication is key to achieving a positive hiring experience for both your organization and the candidates. Nothing ruins it more than system-generated emails. It sends the wrong message about your company. HR communications tools offer recruiting email templates that you can personalize, adding a more “humane” approach to getting in touch with candidates.

Check out Top 5 Productivity Tools for Recruiters!

#2 Technology automates time-consuming payroll processes

No one wishes to mess around when it comes to people’s money, which is why payroll preparation ranks as one of the most stressful tasks that fall on the shoulders of the human resources department.

Many employees look forward to receiving their paychecks, unaware of the fact that their HR peers spent hours to prepare their company’s payroll with 100% accuracy, and in a timely manner. This is, of course, on top of the other responsibilities that need to be taken care of on a day-to-day basis. 

Investing in a payroll software is arguably going to have the biggest impact in increasing the productivity of HR teams. Here’s how:

• Automate time tracking
  The benefits of having a software that automatically logs work hours aren’t only beneficial to HR teams. It’s beneficial for the entire workplace. HR can prepare payroll more efficiently if the man hours are logged accurately.

• Ensure compliance to labor laws
  Labor policies are constantly changing and it’s not uncommon for human resources to forget to update payroll systems to comply with these laws. This results in wasted time and money due to penalties. Technology can be configured to accommodate these changes and make it easier for HR teams to uphold payroll compliance.

• Reduce time in preparing payroll reports
  Just thinking of having to sift through payroll data and organize all of it into one cohesive report can already be taxing. The right tool will enable HR teams to find and export only the relevant data they need, easily converting it into reports that are ready to be circulated.

#3 Technology improves training and performance management

According to HeartMath, 72% of human resource professionals are stressed due to high attrition rates in their organization. One way to keep employees engaged and lower turnover rate is to provide proper training and to monitor employee performance.

How can technology help human resources be more productive in this area?

• Create customized training programs efficiently
  Employee profiling is easier with the use of technology. It’s time to make your employee training digital. This goes hand in hand with HR managers being able to efficiently map out a logical flow for an employee’s career development. 

• Measure productivity and performance
  Project management software allows managers to constantly check on their staff’s progress regarding a project without micromanaging. At the same time, it fosters accountability among employees as they become more self-policing of their performance in the workplace.

• Get immediate feedback
  Managers no longer need to wait for a quarter or for a year to go by before getting the feedback from their staff. With a feedback software, employees can conveniently address challenges and issues they might be encountering, and address their concerns through proper channels to get them resolved. On the side of the HR, they no longer need to create and send surveys since the feedback mechanism is always available for those who need it.

Conclusion: Technology is a key to a more productive HR team

Productivity has always been a hot topic. As workplace demands grow and change, the spotlight turns to how HR teams can be more productive without necessarily working more. 

Focusing on these three key HR areas — recruiting, payroll, and employee engagement — is an ideal start for a company looking into incorporating technology to improve productivity. At the end of the day, having a productive HR department has a company-wide positive effect on any organization. 

About the author

Dean Mathews is the founder and CEO of OnTheClock, an online time clock app that helps over 8,000 businesses all around the world track their employee time.

Dean has over 20 years of experience designing and developing web-based business apps. He views software development as a form of art. If the artist creates a masterpiece, many peoples lives are touched and changed for the better.

When he is not perfecting time tracking, Dean enjoys expanding his faith, spending time with family, friends and finding ways to make the world just a little better. You can find Dean on LinkedIn.

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