Maximizing HR Productivity by Leveraging Digital Transformation In A Post-COVID World
In recent months, HRs have had to take center stage in ensuring business continuity, rapidly shifting gears from their traditional roles as trusted advisors to members of the C-suite. Without warning, remote working became the norm and the HRs were entrusted with keeping productivity at its peak. Now, in the next few months, another shift is about to take place.
A chunk of the workforce is returning to the office, while many will continue working remotely. Surveys show that 83% of workers would prefer to work at least one day from home. There is a huge demand for flexible and hybrid working models.
The onus rests on the HR department to keep both morale and productivity up! So, it’s time to tackle the two biggest hurdles in their way.
The Two Barriers to productivity
Barrier 1: Poor Technology
54% of HR leaders cite poor technological infrastructure as the most significant barrier to effectively ensuring productivity, especially in a remote working setup. For most HRs adopting and incorporating new-tech has always been on the agenda. However, it always took a backseat. The past few months have highlighted why that is a mistake.
Organizations without proper task automation and digital infrastructure witness a slump in productivity as well as profits. The major issues faced by their employees include: getting updates, tracking tasks, and filing receipts.
Moreover, the hybrid work environment that’s emerging also poses a significant challenge to HRs who still stick to traditional methods for payroll processing, attendance collection or performance evaluation.
Barrier 2: Employee Experience (EX)
This barrier arises from the growing evolution of the employee mindset. During the last few months, ‘work-life-balance’ changed to ‘work-life integration.’ For HRs, this means that ensuring good Employee Experience is vital to growth.
However, this is not news. In a survey conducted before the pandemic began, 96% of talent leaders said that good EX is vital for organizations to “retain talent and grow their bottom line.” At the same time, 52% of leaders felt that a lot more needed to be done to deliver such an experience.
Fast forward to the present, and this survey can be read in a new light. Provisions to ensure good Employee Experience must be set up.
Breaking the Two Barriers
The key to improved productivity lies in digital transformation.
Crucial and time-consuming activities like onboarding, payroll processing, and compliance management, should be integrated with the right technology to make them streamlined and easy. Here are the key areas where digital transformation is a must for any organization:
- Onboarding Management
- Time & Attendance
- Leave Management
- Payroll Processing
- Analytics & Reporting
- Payroll Compliance
- Business Expense Reimbursements
- Exit Management
- Performance Management
- PFT Management
- Compliance Assurance
- Learning & Development
Setting up an Employee Self-Service (ESS) portal is also a highly effective way to achieve the digitization of these processes. It will streamline daily tasks such as attendance, progress tracking, and leave applications and consequently lead to excellent EX.
For HR managers, a robust ESS portal also means faster processing of pay, easy adherence to compliance norms, and accurate employee performance reviews. Moreover, automating these processes frees up more space for both HRs and employees to explore and innovate in their respective fields.
However, organizations must be cautious of the Digital Transformation strategy they adopt. Implementing one that does not align with the business goals will prove disastrous rather than profitable. It must be fully customizable across every organization-employee touchpoint.
The Bottom Line
Change and automation in the HR industry are inevitable. According to Daniel Gallo, director of people and culture at McLaren, “If you try to micromanage a workforce across different locations, different time zones, you’re destined to fail.”
Gone are the days of HR managers having to scrutinize employees to the dot to ensure productivity. The present scenario calls for Smart HR management aided and abetted by the power of digital transformation.
Allsec delivers robust Customer Experience Management strategies with the right balance of innovative technology. Reach out to us for more information.
