HR technology has certainly come a long way compared to what it was earlier. It has moved from excel-based system to completely automated systems. It has moved from using HR technology to only maintain data to doing transactions online. There is a lot of technology adoption in the HR space like mobiles, cloud or in-house applications, etc. Payroll automation has been there for quite some time. The shift has happened in terms of the HR processes like recruitment, performance appraisals, etc., which have a bigger role in terms of adoption of HR technology.

There are a few advantages that buyers see in adopting these platforms. One advantage is having reliable data. The pain area for most companies is the absence of single source of data. Companies are looking for a solution to have a single source of truth (One system which can reliably tell the employee statistics of a company). Companies do have multiple systems that give out data differently for different purposes. However, when using these systems, reliability is lost. Technology is now being channeled for creation of a single platform enabling the integration of different data.

Though people have used different technologies for different functions of HR, there is however a need for integrating these systems together. In India, peripheral activities, other than payroll, were ignored earlier, which are becoming the main key today. For example, in a multi-location company, there is always the pain of putting employee data together or carrying out activities like annual or biannual performance appraisals. The manual system is prone to errors plus it takes longer to complete. The quick benefit of HR automation is that one is able to complete appraisal systems reliably much early and everybody in the stream is allowed to view the process and thus, transparency is ensured.

Social media adoption is something where people are testing waters. It is mostly used for recruitment, to validate candidates, check their profiles, etc. More and more self-service applications will become mainstay for organizations. Also, automation gives you the option of creating an alumni network of ex-employees, which could be a very good venue for advertising one’s brand and getting more players on the circuit. It is a good source of recruitment as well and helps you stay in touch with employees.

When choosing a vendor, a critical element, which anyone should look for is stability as a service provider and ability of solution to meet business needs. Scalability of applications is important because all companies do have a growth plan.