The only thing that is constant is change!

History in many ways is what aspires growth. What did it take to end great empires? What did it take to revolutionize change, to invent the wheel? The past is forever a god of infinite wisdom to learn from.

Nothing is immune to change, be it people, fashion, or even trends. But among them, technology has always remained a beast in its own league, aggressive with its growth in weaving a fabric of change. It has certainly affected us all.

Within Human Resource Management as well, technology has altered considerably over the last decade— empowering HR from being a reactive to a proactive role.

Through advancement in HR technology HR professionals view their roles not as mere administrators, but strategic enablers for key organizational decisions.

Here is a glimpse into the journey from being reactive to proactive HR:

Building a future-ready workforce

It wouldn’t be long when the traditional paper-résumé-screen-interview-selection method will be a history. Today it is hardly the most optimal method in matching talent to the right job. Application tracking system, online recruitment platform, AI and chatbots, social recruitment has brought a great deal of efficiency and effectiveness to the recruitment process.

The technology has not only made the recruitment and the overall process of Talent Acquisition process agile, but also expanded a recruiter’s capability to strategize the candidate experience, onboarding and building a diverse workforce. 

Making better decisions:

Committing to a data-driven approach HR have set a tone for better  insight and confidence to make smart business decisions and enhance relationships with employees. Powered by the new wave of technologies such as Analytics,  ML and AI, the HR industry has developed efficient and data-driven operations solutions with predictable ROIs, an indication of the graduation of the role of the HR from an administrative and compliance department to key decision and impact maker.

Take this example of a UK based Telecommunication Company which lost 7,500 customers due to poor candidate experience. This cost the company with a loss of £4.4 Mn just because of poor candidate experience.  To mitigate the challenge, the company invested in people analytics in an attempt to improve people related decision-making which further improved candidate experience. The enhancement in candidate experience created new customer revenue stream of £5.6 . 

The improvement in technology has enabled effective data-driven decisions around candidate experience, engagement, performance management , promotions, compensation, training, and employee retention.

Building a high-impact workforce:

Today, as companies operate as a network of teams, careers and learning are strategic, and companies are focusing on purpose-led work,  the need to align goals, provide feedback, and coach for performance is real-time, continuous, and multidirectional.

Recognizing that just ‘ratings’ wouldn’t do justice in building a future-ready workforce, HR has taken a  proactive role when it comes to measuring performance and bridge performance gaps. Ratings or Bell Curve, which was once a legacy HR practice is now dropped and a more qualitative and continuous approach is adopted to manage employees performance and augments their capabilities and productivity. 

The current technologies enable employees to receive continuous feedback, learning suggestions and manage their learning through various platforms like MOOCs, Gamification, etc. The technology has not only enabled HR in managing the performance but employees also who can take charge of their learning and performance.

Empowering employees:

According to a Harvard Business Review Analytic Services survey, the overwhelming majority—86percent—believe that technology has a greater impact on employee engagement today than it did three years ago, and a similar number say that technology will continue to be a major factor in engaging the workforce in the years ahead.

However, the role of HR has moved beyond just engaging employees and delivering irresistible employee experience. Over the last few years or so, a big shift has occurred from a technology deployment standpoint to a people-centric and user-oriented view of technology.

HR technology is getting more and more personalized that empowers employees to manage their workflow and processes and doesn’t require them to depend on their managers or HR. 

In today’s competitive landscape, an evolved approach to HR is a competitive advantage. The talent landscape is changing, and generating the largest disruption business has ever seen—putting talent in a position where they are guaranteed to win. With technology, Human Resources will keep enhancing the business value, which would in turn make it possible for companies and organizations to achieve their goals.