3 Ways Technology Is Impacting The HR Function

Vidhya Sam
Vidhya Sam, HR Head, Adrenalin eSystems
The rapid consumerization of the workplace has transformed the way we work and interact in the workplace. Employees have come to expect the same level of technological sophistication they experience in their consumer lives, in the work-place. In response, organizations and HR departments across the board are turning to technology to improve the employee experience and deliver HR services in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

Right from recruitment to onboarding and performance management, HR teams are increasingly relying on technology to optimize workflows and improve employee productivity. Companies like Adrenalin eSystems offer a comprehensive suite of solutions for organizations looking to generate greater value from their human capital.

Here are a few ways technology is empowering human resources professionals to reimagine their human capital:

Artificial Intelligence in HR

HR is rapidly acquainting itself with AI. The AI is making deep inroads into HR by opening the door to a world of opportunities in critical HR functions such as recruiting, employee onboarding, training, payroll, performance analysis, and retention.

Conversational AI is one of the widely adopted applications. When used in the HR context, it can personalize the employee experience in ways that were previously impossible. Chatbots can automate onboarding, employee self-assessment, training, and make it easy for employees to access basic information such as company policies, vacation, annual holiday list and much more.

HR Analytics

The HR department is sitting on a gold-mine of data waiting to be unearthed. It already has the right applications in place for its various functions, but it hasn't quite been successful in tapping into the data collected by these tools and gleaning insights for better productivity or course correction.

Using analytics solutions, HR professionals can now leverage data to:

· Establish metrics/benchmarks in key areas such as employee churn and retention, employee performance, recruitment, employee development and engagement, workforce planning, and incentive programs.

· Identify underlying patterns using AI. These patterns can be used with various events to identify underlying causes. For instance, you can recognize the probable reasons for the high attrition rate and improve the existing compensation programs to measure the effect.

· Predict future scenarios based on current employee behavior (e.g. employee churn). Predictive analytics can further be used to strengthen recruitment and retention programs. Using analytics in HR leads to better HR practices, improved employee experience, increased productivity, and elimination of bias in decision-making.

Learning and Development

One of the primary reasons employees quit organizations is the lack of learning and growth opportunities. Apart from in-house training, conferences, seminars, organizations have introduced Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) that enable employees to learn at their own pace and comfort.

While MOOCs are an effective way to stay updated, they are notorious for the lack of interaction, and a high dropout rate.

These problems with MOOCs can be solved by deploying technology such as gamification, AR and VR. While gamification has proven to be effective in various HR functions, the applications of interactive/immersive technologies are still nascent in HR.

Conclusion

As technology continues to proliferate the world of HR, organizations that are quick to implement and adopt these technologies will certainly leapfrog ahead organizations that stick to traditional approaches. At a time when business success is heavily reliant on the value that each function adds, HR teams would be wise to understand how technology can help them contribute to the business' overall growth and its effectiveness.

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