Month: January 2020

Today’s reality is that we live in an era of constant change and innovation – something that is also disrupting the HR space. It is indeed a tedious job for HR to constantly try and keep up with the technological advancements and trends all the while trying to manage their daily work. Speaking of trends to watch out for in 2020, there are a number of these featured in headlines, blogs, and annual trend reports; and what we found out was that they are vastly diverse – sometimes confusing! So, to help you, we have summarized our findings based on our extensive research and have them listed here for your convenient reading. But before we begin, let us break this to you that you might find some of these trends to be quite familiar. And so, we will also be attempting to provide clarity into the best possible way to approach these trends and how they will go on to help you and your organization. In other words, we’ll try and give you an overview of all the current developments and provide practical examples of what they mean to you as an HR professional. So, without further ado, let’s get started…

The Future of ‘Human Resources’

The latest developments and trends in the field of HR have consciously and unconsciously impacted the use of the term ‘Human Resources’ or HR itself – the term should be better aligned with the kind of work that they do. As such, the term ‘Human Resources’ might objectify employees as resources or machinery! Certain companies who keep ‘humanity’ as the core component of HR processes are substituting the term with People & Culture, People’s Operations, Happiness Officers, etc. These sorts of changes reflect how the nature of HRDs are changing and should very well be adopted by you. N.B.: Be careful not to use any fancy terms just for the sake of it. Make it more aligned with the nature of your HR department for the best results!

HR Analytics and Data Usage

HR analytics is not a new trend neither can it be regarded as an unknown concept. With the help of HR analytics, professionals can analyze the data they get in order to use it later to achieve useful insights. This ensures that the decision-making in your company is not based on gut feeling or intuition, rather it is driven by objective data! Every HR knows what this means, however, not every one of them is able to put analytic tools to proper use. According to a leading survey of 2018, 84% of the participants viewed people analytics to be extremely important. The survey further laid claim that 69% of the organizations are working towards developing advanced and integrated systems in order to better analyze employee data. The right combination of employee data from intelligent analytics tools leads to a better working environment for employees and better profits for the organization. Another good use of accurate employee data is analyzing why are your employees not sticking around long – or even accurately predict when is it that they are most likely to leave – and solve the churn rate through an actionable solution.

The Upcoming Technologies

In modern businesses, the most valuable development initiative requires a strong foundation – technology! The technology landscape is ever-changing – new infrastructure, systems, and tools are being developed and/or released as you are reading this blog! We have found two of the most important technologies that every HR professional must be aware of –

1. Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Let us now help you understand why these two technologies are important for HR. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Technically speaking, RPA tools power and support the data-driven processes of an organization. By configuring software or a robot, companies will be able to automatically interpret applications for efficient processing of a transaction, manipulating of data, communicating within other systems of the digital ecosystem, and triggering of actionable outcomes. For HR professionals, the automation of RPA enables them to focus on their core functionalities and not be bogged down by ad hoc duties. For instance, during a recruitment process HR can say goodbye to anything manual – updating of employee information after every new hire, creating a fresh employee record, gathering of employee documentation. With effective communication between different software systems, advanced RPA tools will surely be beneficial for double-checking HR compliance. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Experts are of the opinion that AI and its impossible feats will be responsible for driving the next industrial revolution. And, we are all aware that this is inevitable. The ability of AI to create intelligent machines that work and respond like humans by mimicking human cognition does go on to mean that manual work is a waste of time. The use of AI in HR processes is not slated to transform HR in the future. It is already a reality now! According to a report, the HR is usually seen to be a step behind in the digital transformation journey and this is where AI would enable them to catch up efficiently! AI promises to get rid of repetitive tasks, streamline talent searching, cut down the attrition, and build up the employee engagement. HR will be able to help re-imagine the work experience with the help of algorithms that can train themselves without needing much of human intervention. When speaking about AI, it is important to keep in mind the fact that automation and analytics are not part of AI. What we have found that several processes in HR that are labeled as AI are in fact automated processes. You need to keep in mind that true AI can do something far beyond for which it was coded. This means that the applications that leverage AI are bound to be expensive, and will be helping you ‘smartly’ define the future of your workplace.

The Rise of Millennials and the Concept of New Work

The delusion surrounding the fact that the implementation of new technologies will be taking away our jobs is just a bad joke! Rather, the rightful use of new and advanced technologies will mean that we will be able to free our time and perform other engaging tasks. The same can be said about the HR. The working life is ever-evolving, and at times it may get tricky to keep a track of it. For instance, the term new work does not just imply a singular phenomenon but describes a set of interconnected trends and developments. And part of this set of trends is the rise of the millennials. The fact is that millennials are the main drivers of positive change today. They have been born in the digital age and have been shaped out of technological advancements – and hence, they know the value of digitalization in all its forms. This means that millennials shape how work can be done in fresh ways. Millennials now form a majority of the global workforce, and hence, they are not just a theoretical concept or a trend anymore! They are here and are redefining how work may be done by enhancing flexibility, communication, and values in every organization. The concept of new work also calls for new leadership that promotes empowerment, agile processes, self-management, teamwork, and dynamic working environment, and more. Concluding Thoughts This decade will witness employees thrive in the predicted economy and will be showcasing a do-it-yourself attitude. Very soon the traditional 9-5 jobs will be replaced by contract-based specialists. The HR professionals and heads will face the challenge of hiring project managers who would handle critical projects involving millennials. As the digital world overlaps the real world, workers will be required to stretch their skills as and when the need arises and will be expected to self-manage themselves by collecting and using their data to be able to support their efforts. On the face of it, technology is indeed a valuable addition to the HR, but fruitful results can only be reaped if you can maintain the delicate balance between humanity and technology. So, before introducing ground-breaking technologies or workflows, it is important for you to have a solid foundation first. No matter what the predictions are, you will have to be part of the smart journey to the future workplace in order to achieve it.

It is not a new revelation that handling payroll processing is a real pain for Human Resource (HR) and Finance teams in any organization. Salary processing is all about mountains of paperwork accompanied by extensive manual intervention and long boring processing hours – be it payroll management, employee on-boarding and/or leave management. Surprisingly, a report reveals that more than 11% of HR professionals are completely relying on manual payroll processing.

HR processes have and are undergoing vast strides of development as and when we speak today. Technological developments like Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) are overhauling how the HR function now. In today’s digital age, more and more companies are leveraging RPA to increase the efficiency of all their data-driven processes.

Modern businesses need a payroll system integrated with their existing legacy systems for easy data validation and fortifying payroll compliance – thereby enabling a better employee experience at zero error!

Let us now shift our attention to understanding the unwanted pain of payroll processing and trends to follow in order to mitigate the challenges by automating the Herculean tasks of HR professionals – paperwork, scheduling, and attendance management.

Efficient Data Validation is No Myth!

Collating all the data required for payroll processing has been one of the most time-consuming aspects of employee payroll processing. Just recollect the tiring hours you spent to check those never-ending spreadsheets manually, verifying that the information to be processed is correct and up-to-date, and then manually checking whether the result is correct. Phew!

But now with an automatic data validation process, you can easily set up the payroll system according to your unique specifications of organizations. All you need to do is enter your company policies on attendance, leave, and shift and then just sit back and watch the system do the calculations for you!

Smart and Centralized Storage Coupled With a Simple UI

You no longer require managing multiple spreadsheets with an automated payroll system. The new system boasts a clean user interface and design enabling easy navigation and efficient workflow. Since all that data is stored in a single location, you can easily access and save all payroll-related data, and also archive them for later use. The UI should be such that HR professionals responsible for payroll processing will be able to update the system themselves!

Goodbye Human Intervention!!

All those organizations that are still sticking to conventional payroll system just because they are afraid of venturing out of their little archaic comfort zone are all frustrated that is accompanied by manual interventions. By automating salary processing, HR professionals will get a fresh lease of life and can take part in critical business decision-making. The system should be such that HR professionals can make changes directly in the system.

Managing Tasks Manually… Really??

With manual consolidation of tasks, the HR team is still grappling with the payroll system with which the journey to smart HR is a distant dream. It is time that you should implement an automatic payroll system in your organization. Automated payroll systems will gear your organization towards keeping track of accruals such as sick pay, vacation and more, depending on your company policies. This automatic process not only helps companies but also employees in enjoying a smooth payroll experience.

Somebody once said, ‘Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today’. Putting the old saying into real-life practice is really challenging especially when HR departments need to handle stacking piles of employee records, making reports, and managing the payroll. In such a situation, implementing an automated system could be the only possible way to unload the burden and save time and effort that is unnecessarily spent on high-volume but low-value activities.

Honestly speaking, the adoption of an automated payroll system is just a waystation on the journey to become a smart HR in a smart workplace. Therefore, it is necessary to embrace an end-to-end payroll solution that will help you to begin the journey to being a smart HR.

By now it is clear that the need of a smart office is imperative. With an intelligent workspace in place, work becomes more fun and engaging. When technology empowers the workstyle, employees get more time to create and give it their best. Flexibility and mobility are key to modern business processes that would a far more dynamic work environment. Technology is stealthily creeping into business functions – mostly the way communication and work is done in offices. Today, more and more organizations have started relying on digital tools like work management platforms instead of traditional emails – which have proved beneficial for HR who prefer working smartly!

Redefining the concept of the ‘office’ as we know it today

The astonishing rise of the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, and artificial intelligence have given rise to a plethora of sensory technologies around the globe today. Modern communication tools have revolutionized workplace productivity – thereby allowing an employee to stymie his own productivity. With smart communication devices enabling workers from various teams to come together and work in unison – modern offices are giving rise to ideas and creativity hitherto unseen.

Recently, the HRDs have undergone dynamic shifts in their roles, functions, and overall reshaping of organizations. Without a doubt, a huge cloud of uncertainty does prevail in the minds of HR experts across the world owing to this inevitable and relentless change, and how would they implement this transformation in their organizations. These changes are also bringing about a major transformation in the role of an HR.

Various researches over the years have highlighted the abysmal level of employee engagement quotient of any given organization. There are numerous evidences that highlight the direct impact of heightened employee engagement on exponential business growth. Owing to this freshly found interest in emphasizing on employee experience, strategic HR is ready to make a good investment in implementing advanced HR technologies to help them to reimagine the employee lifecycle. Let’s see how.

A streamlined onboarding process is the fundamental responsibility of the respective HR. With the implementation of smart technology, HR can furnish an all-new level of employee experience. Automating the entire onboarding process of the employees contribute to the productivity of the HR, thereby providing them with an opportunity to understand the real challenges of productivity and deliver effective results.

Once onboarded, the next important thing that directly or indirectly affects the employee life cycle is the payroll. The payroll processing in any organization is dependent on

• total days present
• total days absent
• net leave balance and LWP count
• additional pay

With the help of automated software and smart devices, the entire payroll processing using the above four variable data points becomes organized and smooth. The need of the hour for HR is an advanced software that centralizes attendance data, automates policies, and delivers consolidated reports. This is a very critical step that determines how the future of your smart workplace will look like, as it will be helping HR redefine their job role and come out of the siloes – helping them transform into a strategic HR!

It goes without saying that workplaces today are at the brink of a major transformation, and the proliferation of advanced technology is one of the primary reasons why organizations today are operating ineffectively. Workplaces are being restructured and business operations are being streamlined with the help of diverse opportunities that are being created with the help of technological developments such as the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, artificial intelligence, etc.

Whether you realize it now, or later – your future workplace will be a smart workplace that will witness workforces becoming more decentralized, dynamic, and digital!

But before we begin, it is important for you to understand whether a responsive or digital workplace is at all a requirement for you?

The global workforce has already embraced the reality of rampant digital transformation. Mobility has become their primary ask. And employees are looking for more collaborative applications and software that would help them to create a symbiotic work culture for themselves, thereby boost organizational productivity, improve their morale, and reduce unnecessary frictions.

A smart workplace, on the other hand, promises that everything is personalized and well- connected. With hot-desks and an agile workspace in place, you get to save a lot on the real estate costs and the operational expenses. Therefore, the creation of such a workplace will guarantee you an unimaginable increase in productivity and cost-saving.

Sadly, the organizations that still do not wish to rethink their workplace digitally would end up standing in the lowest rung of the ladder. Offering a mobile working option and digital customizing of your workplace can also help you in attracting the right kind of talent for your organization. 

Now that you know why you need a smart workplace, let us now turn to the right kind of resources that will help you make this shift.

To stand out from the crowd, you need to have suitable resources to help you make the right digital turn. The very first step would be to reduce the dependency on traditional workstyles. A smart office will be a tech-savvy office that will leverage technology to automate everyday tasks.

So, with all the real-time data, analytics, and IoT services, your current workplace can be upgraded to a responsive office, effectively. The basic idea is to bring all the operations under one system and make it powerful with the help of advanced machine-learning capabilities and AI-based services. This helps in efficient and error-free analysis of a wide variety of data for more informed business decisions.

However, continuous upgradation of the technology on the basis of user/employee insights and the changing trends would be the next crucial factor once you’ve got the new office set up ready!

Workplaces around the world are slated to transform, and the question remains – are you ready? Widespread development of IT infrastructure – increase in processing speed, reducing costs of telecommunications with the help of fibre optics, digital and dynamic workstyles, ready acceptance of collaborative software and applications – will be some of the main components of the digital transformation of your workplace. The wait is to embrace an end-to-end solution that will help you to re-envision your dream workplace of the future!