17.1 Impact of technology on HR
Human resources has been impacted considerably by technology when it comes to recruitment. Recruitment has always been a long and rather daunting experience which relied on printed publications and other networking methods. This was very limited and HR managers were forced to work within a very small advertising frame and it cost a fortune. These days, technology enables recruiters to advertise globally. They can place an advert online and reach millions of people within a few hours. Technology has helped to make recruitment an effective exercise.
Training
Technology has made it possible for HR professionals to train employees efficiently on an ongoing basis, from initial orientation and induction training through to development training. It provides an easy solution when accessing company information, training programmes, and more, and reduces the need for in-class training. Trainers can work with new employees on all essential training with a few clicks of the computer mouse. A virtual classroom helps HR professionals train a high volume of employees quickly and effectively using computerised testing programmes that will help them provide the essential training needed to help employees achieve their goals moving forward.
Data storage
HR professionals often find themselves swamped by paperwork, most of which needs to be kept for a set period of time while meeting the data protection rules and regulations. This means that using an electronic solution will make it easier to store and access files on a daily basis, speeding up the process and eliminating the need for hours of filing at the end of each day. Forms can be printed with ease, which eliminates the need for searching files and even cluttering offices with filing cabinets.
Performance management
Performance management is essential to the success of the company, but it also something which has benefited greatly from technology. HR professionals use technology to access performance reviews and get employee feedback. With numerous software programmes available, HR professionals can quickly review employees' performance making use of metrics that ensures employees are meeting their goals and objectives on a daily basis. Any employees that are not matching up to their requirements can be provided training, all using technology.
17.2 Technology trends
Technology in human resources has grown over the years. Technology is constantly evolving, which has resulted in more HR professionals embracing how technology can improve efficiency and provide them with essential tools to speed up training, orientation, recruitment, and more. Technology is proving to be highly successful in helping recruiters find the best applicants from anywhere in the world, through online job boards, social media, and networking, they are literally able to reach millions of applicants within a short period of time.
This speeds up the recruitment process and enables them to hire the applicant they feel is best suited for the role and will be of more value to the business moving forward. Technology trends are proving that they are providing transparency. It's not all about the company finding the right employee anymore; employees are doing their own research and relying on technological tools to give them insight into the company to identify if it is a company they want to work for.
Transparency
With social media these days, customers can complain about services and employees can share their dissatisfaction. In turn, this can discourage potential applicants as a result. At the same time, a company that is enjoying consistent positive feedback will be a top choice for applicants in the future. Embracing technology to create transparency will help to culture employees and make it easier for new employees to identify the quality of company you have and the service you provide to your employees daily.
Help engage employees
Technology is proving effective in helping to engage and motivate employees. Employee disengagement is a serious problem, which costs companies thousands each and every year when it comes to loss in productivity. We spend a higher volume of time and effort in resources to measure engagement than actually doing something about it. HR professionals are in a position to make that change and with the help of technology, you will be able to measure employee capabilities and personal attributes and come up with ways to boost their motivation and passion for success, giving them the tools they need to succeed and push the company forward.
Technology is highly effective and helps with the human resource function within the work place on a daily basis. Technology helps companies provide flexible working hours, off site working, and so much more via cloud technology, enabling employees to be more productive and yet enjoy a good work / home balance which would have been almost impossible to achieve before the introduction of technology into companies on a global scale.
17.3 Benefits of technology
The use of technology in HR departments has changed how companies share information with the workforce, how employees are recruited, and how training is provided. Data mining, talent searching, and hiring technologist make it a quick and easy solution for HR professionals to improve their own function within the company and speed up the recruitment process considerably. HR departments are embracing analytics to reduce the risk of being left behind.
But currently, only about eight percent of companies on a global scale are making use of good quality HR analytics capabilities. These have the ability to add value to any HR department with the right implementation. HR analytics make a highly effective predictive tool. Over 60 percent of companies feel that their decision makers don't have adequate or quality data that they can rely on.
The benefits of technology for HR include:
Employee experience is improved
Using the right technology, a HR department can provide faster, simpler, and smarter user interfaces which are part of their HCM (human capital management) system. Most companies choose the cloud for their HCM system, which improves productivity and engagement in the company. The focus is to encourage loyalty within employees. Using the cloud enables employees to access the system from anywhere at any time. They can interact with each other and managers can access information to help them provide their employees with a better working experience at all times.
Talent assessment
Talent assessment is an essential part of the HR function and ensures employees have the necessary skills and abilities to complete their duties to the highest standard while helping the company achieve their goals on a daily basis. Regular performance reviews need to be carried out with open discussions between the HR manager and employee to identify what learning opportunities should not be missed. With data analytics, HR departments can now conduct real-time assessments with feedback being provided immediately. This helps HR departments improve on certain areas and put development plans in place to address issues without delay. Technology has enabled employees to improve at all times, ensuring that they always have the support they need on a daily basis.
Benefits
Each employee will have their own salary package, which includes their fixed salary and any benefits that they may be entitled to depending on their agreement with the company. Providing these perks online enables employees to see what benefits they are entitled to and take advantage of them accordingly. This helps to boost employee morale and provide them with the feeling that the company is taking steps to care for them.
17.4 Technology and the evolution of human resources
Human resources can easily be separated into two areas. The first is personnel management which focuses extensively on legal processes and administration. This includes payroll, legal details, termination of contracts, and so much more. The second is the talent management process which is about delivering results. It is finding the best people to fill open positions and ensure that they have the support they need to be productive each day. This area also covers the retention of employees.
Personnel management is essential to the performance of a company, but it is not a strategic role. A good example of this is when you pay the employees on time - the company is not going to benefit, but you will find that employees will become demotivated if their pay cheques are late each and every month. Personnel management is an essential service, but it gets very little attention. The only time anyone notices this area of human resources is when it doesn't work effectively, such as benefits not being paid or salaries being paid late.
Talent management, on the other hand, is a completely different side to human resources and this is the strategic side. It is all about finding the right applicants and pushing the company forward on a daily basis.
17.5 Why business execution is such a struggle for HR
One of the many reasons why HR struggles with business execution is because it isn't as easy to support as the personnel administrative function. Personnel administration is all about an efficient process, while business execution is all about changing employee behaviours and predicting the future. This is not an easy task and it requires that the company relies on their HR department to carry out this function in an effective manner, always predicting the needs of the company in order to achieve growth and make the necessary HR decisions to help it achieve its goals moving forward.
In order for HR to support business execution they need:
Expertise in the area to predict and make necessary changes in the employees' behaviour moving forward. They need to understand the company goals and how to use these to encourage employee performance, an indicator to assist the company in predicting their future potential. Implementation means the HR department needs to be able to provide business execution across the board.
17.6 Technology in the business execution process
Technology plays a vital role in assisting HR to move from a personnel management role to a business execution role. Below are four generations of HR and how they work:
Before 1990
Before 1990, most companies focused entirely on personnel administration. This was due to the high volume of HR administrative tasks. It wasn't until later that technology was introduced to automate processes. HR departments were not even called human resources at this time; they were personnel administration or personnel department. Back in the day, the focus of this department was paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork.
1990 to 2000
During this time, personnel management was changed to human resources, as we know it today. It was when technology was first implemented to reduce the administrative tasks of the HR team. It enabled HR departments to focus on business execution, changing their roles within a company considerably. HR became valuable in the predicting of employee behaviour, talent management, and more to help companies achieve their goals. It was also during this 10 year period that computers were introduced in companies, enabling HR departments to focus on various talent management techniques to assist them in recruitment decisions. Computers started being used for performance management and assessing potential candidates. Throughout the 1990s, human resources became more valuable to a company than simply personnel management. They improved workforce decisions and were effective in reducing staff turnover.
2001 to 2010
Internet systems were adopted globally helping the HR department to become more efficient and share information quickly and effectively. Automated processes such as data collection sped up hiring processes and helped HR departments be more proficient. HR was not restricted by isolated options; they had a complete function from sourcing and hiring to training, compensating, retaining, and more.
2011 to date
We are now living in a world where technology has grown at a rapid rate to where cloud computing has become essential in the efficiency and effectiveness of HR departments around the world. From maintaining staff to cost effective productivity tools, everything can be saved online providing quick and easy access for employees, the HR department, managers, and supervisors from any computer at any time.
Cloud computing has helped HR departments invest in resources which are user friendly and cater to their particular need without breaking the bank. It provides HR professionals with the ability to manage processes and support the company daily while reducing the amount of time they spend assessing employees. Cloud computing has had a positive impact on business execution for HR and this has helped human resources ensure line managers are running companies effectively and profitably on a daily basis.
17.7 HR is now a business execution department
Technology continues to play a role in transforming HR departments into business execution departments within companies. HR professionals need to know how to use technology in a way that promotes business success. This reduces the need to ask leaders about the HR topics they want covered, but rather puts the HR department in charge and enables them to start discussions in this regard.
Three things needed to run an effective business:
1. A defined strategy, identifying what needs to be done in order to succeed.
2. Managing the assets to ensure capital and resources are secured.
3. Business execution, which is managing the employees in an effective manner to ensure that they focus on the company's goals and objectives.
HR departments take ownership of the business execution role within the company, working with owners and leaders to ensure that they know what is expected from the teams at all times.
17.8 Technology to boost communication
Technology is advancing at lightning speed, which means that HR professionals are relying on and benefitting from new software solutions on a daily basis. Automated systems help focus on the more important elements of the human resource role in today's competitive business environment.
Technology is introducing tremendous change within the human resources industry, which is why HR has become such a valuable role to companies on a daily basis. HR is now responsible for providing managers with the tools they need to manage their teams effectively. This includes motivating, training, development, and so much more.
Improved communications
HR is, in fact, improving communications throughout companies by helping managers with their employment management solutions. Decisions are more informed. HR software is being designed focusing on the human resources department of today and the needs of HR specialists to achieve their goals and objectives.
Social media
Social media is also playing a vital role in the HR process in today's world. Social networking has become imperative to recruitment. Many companies are already relying on social media sites, such as LinkedIn and Facebook, in order to source and recruit new employees. Some companies are relying only on social media as a way to secure the best candidates for positions. LinkedIn, which is a networking tool, can provide a company with access to a wide range of applicants from around the world, helping companies secure the best of the best now and moving forward. Social networking also helps make the company more appealing to prospective employees. It is also becoming a highly effective employee engagement tool and the future may see HR departments running their own social media pages to keep employees updated, attract potential applicants, and assist with recruitment processes.
FACT
89% of recruiters have hired someone through LinkedIn.
Source: business2community.com
17.9 Social media in recruitment
In the HR industry, you always want access to the most talented and qualified applicants. Social media is presenting human resources with access to the most talented applicants, making head hunting a quick, easy, and enjoyable online task. All it takes is being engaging with your social media to recruit the right talent based on the unique needs of the company. When you look to social media for recruitment, there is a lot of potential talent for any company. It is important that you become comfortable with the three main social media networks which can assist you in achieving top recruitment results at all times.
This includes:
LinkedIn.
This is a networking social media site that is used by professionals in more than 200 countries and territories and in over 160 industries. You can meet, collaborate, and interact with professionals within your industry. This is basically a gigantic job board with over 65 million users.
Facebook is the better known and most successful of all social media sites. Facebook helps connect people to those around them, from family to friends to work colleagues. This social media network also connects businesses, organizations, and more in addition to individual persons. Twitter is a unique social media service which is called micro blogging. Any “tweets' you send out have to be less than 140 characters. The focus on Twitter is to be a simple tool which helpsto connect businesses with the right audience.
The best way to use LinkedIn as part of your recruitment process is to look for potential applicants. Placing a job post on this social media site for a period of 30 days is inexpensive, when you look at the number of people you are guaranteed to reach. There is also LinkedIn Talent Advantage, which you can sign up for, which is a range of tools designed just for the HR professional. There are also numerous free resources you can take advantage of on LinkedIn to stay within your recruitment budget and still find the applicant that is the perfect match based on the company's goals moving forward.
The first step to using LinkedIn is to build connections with anyone you know. This can be co- workers, clients, competitors, friends, and former co-workers. Each one of these people has their own collection of contacts, one of which may be the person you are looking for to fill a role. With LinkedIn, you have the ability to join groups to connect with potential employees. If you are looking particularly for engineers, then you can join a group purely for engineers, for example.
You can then start a discussion in that group and see if you get any responses. You can also advertise your job for free on this social media website using your status box which will broadcast to everyone that you are in the process of hiring. The great thing with LinkedIn is once you get the perfect match, you can review their profile on
LinkedIn. Identify if it has a current picture, what recommendations they have, and whether they are members of groups relating to their position.
Facebook often exceeds your expectations when it comes to the number of members it has - millions more than you will ever have in your recruitment database at any time. There are affordable solutions to advertise available positions using Facebook and increase your applicant selection considerably. You can start by using the Facebook directory and from here you can search for users, groups, applications, and pages that you feel are the right match based on what you are looking for. You can also post a job completely free in the Facebook market place.
You will need to add the basic information of the job post such as the category, location, title, and subcategory. From here, you can give a small description of the role and post a photograph if needed. This free job post can reach thousands of people within minutes and you can also be specific on who you target by paying for a Facebook ad.
Starting a Facebook page is a free resource you can take advantage of. This is a public profile where you can share your business information and products with users. You can also use this to search for other Facebook pages to find potential applicants in your field that may be interested in the position you have advertised. Using the company's Facebook page as a recruitment tool can be highly effective.
Always ensure the information on the company is up to date at all times. You can post any job openings and fans will be able to see, respond, comment on, and share the post with their own friends. People who like your page and become your fans are passionate about your company and what you do, which means that they may also be interested in working for your company moving forward.
Twitter can be exceptionally useful as a recruitment tool for smaller companies and can give you that added edge over your competitors, helping you find the perfect employee to meet the company's unique needs. Twitter enables you to “tweet' small messages of no more than 140 characters. It can take that to share a job post. Something simple can catch the eye of a potential applicant, something along the lines of “Recruiting now. Admin/PA. Good salary. Apply now.' If the company you are working for has a Twitter account then you can spend some time working on growing their follower base and building relationships with clients and potential candidates.
Search Twitter for anyone that discusses a keyword similar to what you do or what you are looking for; you will be amazed how many applicants you can find this way. Remember to use hash tags to make your Tweets really stand out. Hash tags are used to find and filter information on Twitter, and using a hash tag and then a keyword will make your posts easily searchable at all times. Examples may be #hiring, #job, #career.
Remember you want your keyword to be short, as you only have 140 characters which includes any tags you use. It is very easy to engage with candidates on the topics that you tweet. This gives you a great opportunity to market positions you have available and any events you may be attending. If the company is attending an exhibition in the coming weeks, you can encourage potential applicants to visit your booth and discuss the position in more detail.
The Twitter page is also an opportunity to provide potential applicants with valuable information about the company. What you tweet will give them a lot of information that they can use to determine if this is the type of company that they want to work for. You can also use Twitter to evaluate potential employees by visiting their Twitter page and seeing what they tweet about, how often they tweet, and their overall communication style. You can also determine if they focus only on personal tweets or if they mention their employer, what they say about them.
Module Summary
Technology is constantly evolving and has become an essential part of the human resources function in small and large companies. This module provided you some insight into the latest technology trends and benefits that technology has on human resources today. You also learned how to use social media as an effective recruitment tool.
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