Why tech is your best friend in HR – view from a Head of People
by Cameron Scorer
I know I might sound biased, coming from an HR tech consultancy, but these platforms really are an HR’s best friend. Without them, we, as HR leaders, can’t achieve all of the many goals that are pressing in on us these days. We couldn’t access or analyse all the people data we accumulate. We couldn’t turn any of that into strategy, let alone results. And staying compliant would be a nightmare. The right tech makes the difference between HR being a driving force in an organisation and a pure administrative position.
By the way, I’m Cameron, Head of People here at Silver Cloud, and here are some of the ways HR tech makes a difference in the everyday of an HR leader:
Data is too important to risk
Not having the right software keep us from being data-driven which leaves us making less effective decisions. And being data-driven in HR is the only way to make sure your policies and practices align to your goals and make an impact. HR tech is an important tool for capturing the data and trends you need to see in a format that is simple to analyse. Think cool charts and dashboards. These are getting even better with the way AI can look at and present data to us.
Beyond that, there’s the matter of ease. Unless you’re an excel whiz, it’s impossible, and frankly a big waste of time, for any HR professional to manually input data and then do all the formulas to give you readable results. We’re not even talking about comparison of minutes, but days! And that’s not even accounting for the possibility of manual errors. HR tech is the way we get around all of that so the job isn’t pure data entry.
Information simplicity
A huge task for us in HR is the ability to get information quickly. We are always being asked for information. But having documents and data stored in a centralised and concise system saves time endlessly searching for documents. Also, self-service portals reduce the number of queries HR has to deal with. Most people would rather check their holiday themselves anyway.
Easy documentation
The ability to provide streamlined documentation by using e-signature tools is another huge benefit of HR tech. Especially since many can be integrated into systems like ATSs for effective onboarding and recruitment purposes. Long gone are the days of sending out hard copies and waiting days, or even weeks, for a response.
Compliance by default
And of course, another way tech helps us shine is being able to align with compliance easily. By demonstrating a clear approval chain in an HR system, not letting it get lost within emails, and having clearly signposted documentation, compliance worries fade away (largely). Or, considering regulations such as GDPR, automatically assigning email chains and being able to manage personal data also become far easier with HR technology. Some systems are even really adept at keeping up to date with compliance changes, preventing you from missteps even if you haven’t had a chance to hear about them.
Communication clarity
No matter the size of the organisation, whether it is hundreds or thousands, mass communications sometimes need to be sent. This can also be as straightforward as policy updates or as critical as legal documents that need signing. And, sometimes, it’s a reaction to changes in law or legislation which needs your whole organisation to pay attention. HR systems can be a much more effective way to share these comms. Again, to do this manually is nearly impossible in most cases and an administrative burden that isn’t needed.
Transparency and trust
Clear data, stored and managed in a modern HR platform, also gives us an opportunity to be transparent. Whether you’re using real-time data or performance management metrics, it lets you show what is happening in your business at any given time. This is better for employees, for managers and for other stakeholders in the business. Nothing relevant to an employee needs to happen behind closed doors.
Essentially, HR tech saves HR leaders a ton of time on administrative tasks and communications, to make data-driven decision, to limit the impact of human error and, most importantly, to have the time to be more strategic and forward-thinking.
