IDC study shows: Automation and efficiency in human resources

Human resources is going through a period of change and has long since ceased to be limited to core tasks such as recruiting, hiring, managing and evaluating employees. Rather, HR departments are primarily concerned with improving the "employee experience" as a whole. They need to promote diversity, inclusion and equality, and manage training and retraining opportunities. HR also has employee counseling and administrative responsibilities. Furthermore, it ensures smooth internal communication.

"Our HR department is now almost paperless. Pay slips, vacation requests, HR reports, etc. are only processed digitally. This speeds up our processes immensely and makes processing very simple and efficient for everyone involved," explains Rainer Hallenberger, Group VP HR & Corporate Development, CHT Group.

The biggest problem for HR departments is that they do not have enough employees to meet the new challenges. Even for classic HR tasks, there are often not enough skilled employees. In this situation, more and more HR managers are realizing that automated processes can help their teams work more effectively and focus on value-adding tasks.

Central application areas for HR automation

According to IDC InfoBrief, companies looking to automate their HR should focus on the following key areas:

• HR processes: Employee administration, payroll, workforce scheduling and the management of contingent workers are basic tasks that must be performed reliably despite their repetitive nature. Automation can provide significant improvements in each of these areas.
• Employee recruitment and retention: Recruiting new employees today means much more than just identifying and hiring the best candidates. In the competition for employees, it is much more important to retain them in the long term. Results-oriented human resources management requires marketing the company to the outside world. The recruitment process should be streamlined while remaining relevant, and onboarding must be productive and fast.
• Transformation of the workforce: This area includes further training and
  -development of employees with a view to new business requirements. The appropriate process should be based on the skills and experience of the employees, the available vacancies, gig orders and projects, and the career aspirations of the individual employee. Many companies prefer to focus on training and retraining existing staff rather than hiring new employees with the desired skills.
• Metrics, Insights, and Agility: Measurable data and detailed insights are essential for HR departments to increase effectiveness while enhancing their strategic relevance. The dreaded annual performance review should be replaced by ongoing, data-driven coaching. Hierarchical silo structures must be softened and supplemented by cross-functional teams. The focus should be on business results and oriented toward customer satisfaction. In terms of compensation, too, opaque individual agreements must be replaced by transparent, fair regulations.
• Future-proofing human resources: Artificial intelligence (AI) is an essential tool for real-time collection of relevant metrics. This highlights the need for closer collaboration between HR, IT and other departments. Only then can technologies be seamlessly integrated and data effectively interpreted. Particular attention should be paid to educating the HR team in the areas of data analytics, machine learning (ML), and HR technology.

"The IDC study shows that HR is at a pivotal stage, as it is much more business-relevant than it used to be and is evolving from a cost center to a value-added position," said Richard Doherty, senior director, product marketing, Workday. "To enable this shift to a results-driven HR function, traditional core HR processes and tasks must be digitized. "

Source: www.workday.com