THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN HRM BLOG-3

 

Introduction 

Nowadays, entrepreneurs with business acumen have acknowledged the power of information technology (IT) tools for reaching business targets. It not only helps achieve the business goals but also optimizes the work processes.

Human Resource Management (HRM) includes activities such as recruiting, training, developing and rewarding people in the organization. HRM must aim at achieving competitiveness in the field of HR by providing constant educational and training programs for the personal and professional development of the employees of the organization.

It has been conventionally proved that Information and Communication Technology (ICT), such as the Internet, mobile communication, new media, and such in HR can greatly contribute to the fulfillment of personnel policies of the organization. Technological advancement can have a huge impact on the HR department of an organization. It allows the company to improve its internal processes, core competencies, relevant markets and organizational structure as a whole.

Information Technology may have a greater impact on organizations that exist in a dynamic environment. This will lead to greater efficiency and effectiveness of the Human Resources.  Hence, utilizing IT application for database management and advances recruitment system will increase the efficiency of the business.

However, innovation in Human Resource Management can manifest itself in a number of ways:

1. To identify solutions quickly and flexibly during a negotiation
2. To identify new ideas for products and services
3. To identify new markets

The features of the HR software include:

• Streamlining workflows
• Organization and management of employee data
• Creation of detailed employee records
• Social collaboration
• Management of payroll, vacation, and bonuses

The transition to a digital working environment enables modern HR specialists to perform certain tasks in a faster way and thus, pay more attention to such issues as the satisfaction of the employees, optimization of the recruiting and onboarding processes, employee motivation, etc.

 Automation is expected to transform and disrupt workplaces. Technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), can help organizations scale up operations, gain efficiencies and improve user experience. 

Top performing organizations are three times more likely to run a talent strategy alongside digital transformation – investing in technology without having the right people to land it will simply result in future technical debt. HR teams will be tasked with recruiting and developing talent with the skills and experience needed to lead transformation. Get this right and they will mitigate the technical and personnel challenges that change brings. 

Organizations will explore how digital capabilities can streamline people management processes. Human in its name and nature, how big a role should technology play in HR?

Benefits of Information technology to HRM

 

Greater transparency in recruitment 

Candidate and employee experience contribute hugely to overall brand reputation, after all, workers are often an organization's greatest ambassadors. Automation can bring clarity into the recruitment process and help HR teams to manage up skilling, training and development as well as recruitment. 

In some scenarios, we expect quick responses. Automating basic interactions, such as confirmation emails, can reassure both candidates and HR professionals that the process is progressing. It can remove the burden of administrative tasks such as scheduling interviews, issuing reminders and chasing for outstanding information, reducing the pressure on HR teams. Mapping tools that show applicants where they are on the journey can hugely improve candidate experience.

However, when it comes to emotionally charged conversations, AI is not sophisticated enough to respond appropriately. We have all had frustrating encounters with automated telephone answering services, but negative employee experiences can be more damaging for the business than a bad customer review. Interactions that tackle sensitive topics such as performance, change, dismissal, health and domestic issues are best handled by humans.

Eliminating bias 

Automation is led by data; therefore, the output is only as good as the data that goes in. Technology can help teams to shortlist viable candidates for entry-level or technical roles. By reviewing binary yes/no data entries, automation can sift through huge numbers of CVs to ensure applicants are appropriately qualified. However, this checklist approach is unreliable when assessing soft skills so is not effective for management and leadership hires. 

When setting the parameters for selecting candidates, organizations are likely to use data based on the experiences and skillsets of previous people who have held the role. However, this approach can actively go against diversity and inclusion agendas and reinforce bias by overlooking talent with diverse backgrounds. 

The perils of automated interviews

Organizations are increasingly inviting candidates to automated interviews. The appeal is clear – where there is no need for an interviewer, there is more time to do other things. However, the reality is stilted, one-way conversation that does not get the most out of the candidate or allow them to respond to the visual cues of a normal interview or assessment. Within a set list of pre-ordained questions, there is little room for applicants to share relevant experience or show personality. This hampers candidate experience. It also suits candidates who ‘fit the mold; meaning organizations could overlook valuable candidates who bring different perspectives and experiences, again counteracting diversity ambitions.   

Effective skills assessments 

Only 17% of UK employees say they have been part of re-skilling efforts to address the global skills gap. AI can support HR teams to audit existing technical skills within the company through employee surveys and database management. It can also identify patterns and ‘skills hotspots’, enabling L&D professionals to maximize learning experiences across teams. 

 

As recruiters and career developers, HR has become an important shaper of business strategy – ultimately, it sources the talent for the C-Suite. Developing leaders that can become strategic business planners rather than just order takers requires a set of specific behaviors. 

While technical knowledge can be shared in virtual forums at scale, soft skills and behaviors are more difficult to impart remotely. Developing emotional intelligence, communication skills and agile resilience – the ability to adapt quickly but also have the grit to see plans through challenges – is traditionally achieved through shadowing or in tacit learning exchanges that take place in offices. In remote or hybrid settings, it will be a challenge to ensure that the physical separation of the workforce does not inhibit professional development, especially for junior careerists.

The biggest HR technology trends of 2023

 

Digital transformation

During the pandemic, organizations accelerated digitalization across areas including digital learning, virtual recruiting, workforce management and absence tracking. Digital transformation will continue, along with the need to achieve ROI. 

Employee experience

Employees hold a new set of preferences. Digital onboarding and employee development and recognition tools are now seen as ‘must-haves’, as well as a growing expectation for mental health and wellbeing support.

Self-service

Some HR software now comes with mobile self-service functionality, enabling employees to submit leave, review timesheets, swap shifts, and access online training and development tools.

Talent management

The lack of tools to support employee development has created problems for many organizations. Digital transformation of talent management will continue to help build a motivated, engaged and flexible workforce.

Re-skilling and up-skilling

A recent World Economic Forum (WEF) report found that 40 per cent of workers will require re-skilling in the next five years. The most competitive businesses will be those that successfully identify skills gaps and respond by re-skilling and up-skilling existing employees.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I)

The need to evidence success of strategic DE&I initiatives with the use of data will continue to grow, along with more robust practices and improved DEI analytics.

Hybrid working

Unified HR software will be increasingly responsible for supporting the remote workforce, promoting proactive conversations, increasing shared commitment and driving social engagement.

Payroll

Integrated HR and payroll solutions will help organizations remove manual processes and empower payroll teams to become a strategic force within their organizations.

Data-based decision-making

Many organizations still do not have a single source of truth when it comes to data. With the right digital infrastructure, companies can access valuable organizational insights to make more strategic decisions.

An integrated digital ecosystem

An ecosystem of cloud-based HR solutions can be a big driver of overall business success. Making data-informed tech investments will become paramount to not just meet immediate needs, but support future business growth.

 Conclusion.

Technology is playing an increasingly important role in human resource management (HRM). From automating routine tasks to providing insights into employee performance, technology can help HR professionals do their jobs more efficiently and effectively.

The use of technology in HRM is still evolving, but technology has the potential to transform the way HR is managed. By embracing technology, HR professionals can become more strategic partners to their organizations and help them achieve their business goals.

Literature Reviews:

Technological changes are producing changes in the nature of jobs and work. Technological changes including fax machines, information technology and personal computers have allowed companies to relocate operations to locations with lower wages. An enormous change from manufacturing jobs to service jobs is taking place in the world. The percentage of work force in the field of producing and delivering services is increasing. The production is limited now to certain types of industries such as heavy industries and food industries and most of the industries will be in such service industries as fast food, retailing, consulting, teaching and legal work. These jobs, in turn, will demand new types of workers and new human resources management methods to manage them (SHRM, 2014).

 According to DeSanctis (1986), HRIS was first defined as “a specialized information system within traditional functional areas of the organization, designed to support the planning, administration, decision-making, and control activities of human resource management”. Years later, Haines and Petit (1997) considered HRIS as a system applied within an organization to obtain, store, manage, analyze, search and distribute human resource information.

 Ruel et al. (2008) have explored that the term e-HRM was first used in the late 1990’s when e-commerce was sweeping the business world and e-HRM is internal application of e-business techniques. It helps the management in more effective and efficient flow of information and method of doing HRM. Organizations could manage an increasing number of HRM processes in an effective manner with the improved information technology, thereby contributing to the availability of information and knowledge. This in turn helped HRM professionals to play a strategic role in attaining improved competitive advantage.

 Attracting, retaining, and motivating employees, meeting the demands for a more strategic HR function, and managing the “human element” of technological change in the future has been enabled by advancements in IT to meet the challenges of HRM (Ashbaugh and Miranda, 2002).

 HRM can meet the challenge of simultaneously becoming more strategic, flexible, cost-efficient, and customer-oriented by leveraging information technology (Snell, Stueber, and Lepak, 2002). Adewoye, 2012 in his paper “The Impact of Information Technology (IT) on Human Resource Management (HRM): Empirical evidence from Nigeria Banking Sector - Case Study of Selected Banks from Lagos State and Oyo State in South-West Nigeria” has mentioned that the interaction and intersection between IT and HRM lead to the emergence of HRMS. It merged all HRM activities and processes with the information technology field while the programming of data processing systems evolved into standardized routines and packages of enterprise resource planning software.

Reference List

Bondarouk, T. and Brewster, C., 2016. Conceptualising the future of HRM and technology research. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27(21), pp.2652-2671.

Marler, J.H. and Parry, E., 2016. Human resource management, strategic involvement and e-HRM technology. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27(19), pp.2233-2253.

Voermans, M. and Van Veldhoven, M.J.P.M., 2007. Attitude towards E‐HRM: an empirical study at Philips. Personnel review, 36(6), pp.887-902.