Role Of Technology In Human Resources

Welcoming Digital Revolution

We today welcome the evolution of technology, which has now engulfed everything and beyond everyone’s imagination. Organisations are facing the need to reinvent and reorient themselves to technological disruptions to a new world of work. During unprecedented times, we have witnessed companies and employees adopt new skills and develop new behaviours which have enhanced the way we function. Such a gap has been bridged by greater collaboration and driving knowledge practices towards a more rampant use of technology. In the year 2020, the world welcomed the digital revolution at an accelerated rate, reimagining technology’s substantial role in how we work, learn and live. 

Technology has transformed every part of our lives and inevitably, it has had a considerable impact on Human Resource as well. In the recent years, organisations across the world have been extensively adopting HR technology practices from several software companies to streamline HR activities and usher in a new level of efficiency at work. 

Large corporates have assimilated to cutting edge human resource technologies and this leaves more room for HR leaders to be engaged and focused on their company’s overall strategy. Increasingly, HR managers are scouting for different tools to make the best use of technology for varied tasks in an organisation. HR technology is now being widely accepted and organizations have implemented technologies to ease the burden of work and improve the overall working experience for employees. Technology enhancement especially in HR is essential to create talent as a competitive advantage for the world along with enhancing workforce productivity at scale.

Pandemic Led Myriad Challenges

With the ever-evolving technology, the role of talent managers continues to broaden and now their responsibilities are aligned towards increasing productivity and employee engagement. Nowadays, there is an app for just about everything relating to workforce management in an organisation. Some of the top applications of HR tech today are smart recruitment, automation of repetitive tasks, employee engagement, employee development.

The pandemic led uncertainty has created myriad challenges for employees and HR managers as they struggle with the lack of clarity surrounding the future of work. During the last two years, Human resource managers have been dealing with this issue and continued to manage in a perpetual crisis mode. HR managers have been at the helm of this crisis as they scrambled to figure out how employees could effectively work from home while also providing various support mechanisms to ensure their mental and physical well-being. Organisations made an over-night pivot towards digitisation to provide access to systems remotely and facilitate work seamlessly.

Today, more than ever, HR is seen as a critical organisational function that has a significant bearing on the technology decisions undertaken by companies. Since employees are an indispensable touchpoint for companies, it has reinforced the importance of bringing HR tech closer to employees. Now digital technology has completely redefined the face of HR management. From workforce planning to day-to-day tasks and employee management, technology has pervaded every function of HR. With the onset of such a digital imperative, the fundamental outlook of HR has also undergone a significant change. Tech used in HR is no longer just transactional, but it carries a transformative and strategic relevance in today’s day and age. Critical functions like payroll, time management and other admin operations are now entirely tech-driven and allow business partners to prioritize employee productivity and talent development from a holistic perspective.

Importance Of Reskilling And Upskilling

Accelerated digitisation has completely transformed the future of work and the onus of reskilling and upskilling employees on a regular basis is on the HR department. Corporates are now upscaling their behavioural skill and other learning programmes to guide employee’s personal and professional development. Learning the latest tools and keeping abreast with the industry movement is vital to an employee’s ability to create value in a sustained manner. During the pandemic, training and learning programmes took on a whole new dimension with HR tech as more interactive and gamified tools were used to facilitate skilling. Employees are constantly being urged to utilise technology and adopt the best industry practices for improving their growth trajectory. Through such large-scale skilling initiatives, companies are giving employees an opportunity to constantly keep themselves updated with the latest industry trends. 

Moreover, now HR is specifically focusing on designing and developing learning programmes that enhance the performance and productivity of employees. It is important to reassess learning gaps to bridge employees with the adequate level of application-based knowledge and experience. HR tech has revolutionized the future of HR departments through better employee scheduling and tracking, easier access to crucial information, improved talent management, improved talent management, cost reduction, security, and privacy. It is quite evident that HR tech is no longer an option but an inevitability. During the ongoing pandemic, HR technology has continued to serve as a key asset for HR leaders and made the remote workforce easier. HR departments have been credited to flawlessly align cross-functional resources and make smarter, data-driven decisions for everyday tasks. 

Adoption of technology in the HR sphere is necessary as it boosts productivity, increases creativity, and improves overall employee engagement. As the demand of top talent rises, businesses will continue to look for better employee management software solutions. In a progressively volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment, organizations that are implementing HR tech effortlessly are far likelier to hold on to talent and construct efficiency.  To remain relevant in today’s world HRs should adopt to tech advancements and prepare themselves to ensure they have the appropriate abilities to successfully navigate the new digital world.

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Rajesh Sahay

Guest Author The author is Senior Vice President – HR, Wipro Consumer Care

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