Digital transformation is disrupting global industries at an astonishing pace. Technology has become so powerful, convenient, and prevalent that it’s a huge loss of opportunity for current businesses not to utilize them. Digitization can now be seen in all industries and departments at work, including HR.
The ongoing digitization of human resources brings about significant changes to the way companies manage their employees. From hiring and onboarding to performance monitoring and development, everything is now done with our digital devices. Physical constraints are no longer an issue as every facet of HR is built and optimized for tech.
In this article, we’re going to offer you a preview of what HR digital transformation looks like at the moment. We’ve identified several benefits to the workplace and explored its role in organizations.
Ease of data access via centralization
Back in the 90s, scouring through folders to find specific employee data was unbelievably time-consuming. Looking for a specific file may have taken hours. Employee databases revolutionized this process.
Cloud-based employee databases have reformed the tedious data retrieval that HR employees had to deal with back then. Now that data is centralized, workflows are smooth and can be automated. Data has also become accessible and easy to produce. No clutter, no stacks of paperwork, and everything can be searched digitally with just a few clicks on a computer.
Easier communication among employees, candidates, and managers
One important aspect that businesses should focus on is employee communication. Using HR tools that can streamline communication systems can prove to be a great productivity boost. These tools can even adapt to the company's needs and scale as the business grows. Using a practical tool to ensure communications run smoothly improves business profitability and minimize misunderstandings within the team.
Employees are a business's most valuable assets. When businesses take good care of their employees, employees are also eager to work hard and give 100% to their companies. Effective communication in the workplace can have several benefits, including increased employee engagement, less conflict, improved productivity, and a positive workplace culture.
Eliminating hiring bias
Hiring bias is a common company problem that affects the morale of the team and the overall atmosphere at work. But the thing is, unconscious bias is hard to avoid. It’s present, from candidate selection until the end of the hiring process. This can be solved with digital HR tools.
Utilizing digital HR systems that use data to analyze applicants are the best way to promote fairness in hiring. Nowadays, hiring right is more than just choosing the candidate with the best skills and experience on paper. With data-driven recruitment, companies reduce the risk of hiring the wrong person or wasting time and money on a bad hire. Digitized recruitment involves the use of software to analyze candidates and identify skills, experience, and personality to help the organization achieve its goals.
The Great Resignation of 2021 made companies realize that good hiring is deeply rooted in HR. By eliminating hiring bias and digitizing all hiring tasks such as background checks, candidate tracking, and pre-screening—companies can select more suitable and experienced candidates for their open roles.
Automation of common HR tasks
HR digital transformation brings about the automation of common HR tasks. Today’s savviest companies use different kinds of HR software as well as hiring tools to make performance management, hiring, and rewards and recognition a breeze. A great example of this is how companies and HR departments are using a report builder to generate interactive reports with ease.
Furthermore, automating common HR tasks frees up a lot of time so your staff can focus on other aspects of the business. This can lead to better innovation and productivity for your business. Today, the best online HR software can automate different tasks, including automatic sending of emails, attendance tracking, and payroll.
Effective and clear decision-making
When your HR department struggles with indecisiveness, it could be a problem with a lack of insights and poor analysis of data. With digitized HR tools, you can better strategize and simplify all kinds of people-related decision-making. Most HR tools can help your company reach a bigger pool of candidates by providing both remote and international hiring.
Important HR decisions about employees rely on data such as internal feedback and performance. Without data-rich software that can help you record the mentioned data, your HR and managers are at increased risk of making poor decisions. This is why complete data about your employee’s performance can help you make better decisions.
Increased productivity and employee satisfaction
Modern HR tools that facilitate the automation of HR processes are driving productivity for both HR staff and employees. These tools can discover what roadblocks are affecting your HR staff’s productivity. It can also give you insights into the levels of motivation and satisfaction of your employees.
Tools that streamline the hiring process allow HR staff to fill roles fast as soon as they become vacant. While HR tools that allow employees to manage their own schedules and leave in a self-service portal increase satisfaction.
Improved training and employee development
Training and upskilling your workforce are essential to business success. While most companies only focus on training during the onboarding process, many studies show that nurturing the potential of employees after onboarding is even more beneficial to the business.
Modern HR tools today allow employers to provide different growth opportunities to their staff. This can be in the form of coaching, mentoring, and training sessions that provide both new and promoted employees with the skills they need to develop further in the organization.
Attract better candidates to your organization
It’s not just enough to have a strong employer brand or provide good compensation. If you wish to attract the best talent, you have to provide sufficient information on why a candidate would want to work for your company. This can be done through the use of advanced HR tools that allow you to easily communicate with your candidates no matter what part they are in the hiring process.
Now that social media is the new search engine, you must have tools that let you connect with your candidates through various social media channels. Sites like LinkedIn and other good job portals can be great places to find hires and offer interview details, and information about an open job role. Social media marketing is evolving fast, and keeping yourself up to the latest trend will give you an advantage over your competitors.
When attracting the best of the best candidates for your organization, you also want to research the things that most employees want. After the pandemic, many employees are now looking and expecting companies to provide both remote and in-person work—at least for companies and roles where this setup is perfectly workable (marketing, tech, and IT)
HR digitization is driving highly-skilled and efficient workers into your organization. Once a candidate sees that you’ve invested in tools that make hiring, onboarding, and management more efficient, they’ll be more likely to stick around.
The rise of digital HR: what to expect?
Digital revolution in HR is standardizing various HR processes and making it easier to integrate technology with human resources. If you’re a business considering digital HR, there’s no better time to do it than today. Beyond simply automating tasks and making recruitment easy, digital HR also has the power to increase efficiency and improve your workforce’s performance.
