Why invest in HR technology?

All businesses, understandably, have to weigh up their priorities. Very few firms have a bottomless pit of cash and that means they need to weigh up where to spend their budget.

This is why it’s important to zero in on the word ‘invest’ in the title of this post. HR technology isn’t just something that businesses buy to look good or to keep up with the Jones’ – it should be a calculated investment to help you to get the very most from your people, the most important asset to any organisation.

So, why is this an investment that will deliver?

It’ll save you time

One thing that every business is short of is time. Companies need to do all they can to free up their employees to be able to do the skilled, face-to-face work that only a human being can deliver. By automating some processes, reducing form filling and cutting paperwork, HR technology can save a significant amount of time for your business. Don’t lose sight of the fact that this can also save time for your employees too. Self-service systems allow people to easily request holidays, log periods of sickness and sign and store key documents such as their contract and code of conduct. A few clicks can take the place of hours of paperwork and process.

Productivity

Saving time isn’t just about reducing the workload burden on your staff – although that is important too. By freeing up HR experts to be able to spend time understanding and helping the workforce, you’ll ensure that your business is more productive. This is the hard-headed, economic rationale behind your investment. Spending time understanding employees – and using cross-functional data to build a richer understanding of your workers – will help you to get the most from them and identify and address problems before they escalate.

Security and space

Looking after the data of your employees is vital – more so than ever in the world of GDPR. Robust HR software with appropriate protection and firewalls can ensure this data is stored securely – and makes it easier to restrict access to those who need to know. Paper records are not only less secure, but they also eat space – and can get in the way of important workspace that can be utilised in a more effective way.

Fairness

How do you ensure you’re being fair to your employees? Whether it’s equal pay for men and women in your organisation or consistent treatment across all of your line managers, you need to be able to track that everyone is being treated fairly. Software allows you to quickly see the data you need to ensure this is the case – especially important if you need to report on this to senior leaders of external bodies – and act upon any instances where you are falling short of the mark.

Forward thinking

It pays to have the ability to be proactive as a business. If you’re forever ‘fighting fires’ and reacting to problems, then you’ll struggle to get to the bottom of wider issues in your organisation and you risk acting once it’s too late. Using data and HR analytics you’re able to spot teams where certain types of absence are rife or on the rise, for example, and consider ways to address this before the matter gets worse. This also allows you to be a progressive employer – showing that you care about your employees and are ready, willing and able to act on their concerns. Not only that, but using cutting edge software allows you to operate in a way that befits the modern workforce – with employees well-versed in using apps and software to run their day-to-day lives through their smartphones and increasingly expecting their work systems to be every bit as intuitive.

Want help getting the most from HR technology? We can help you to unlock all of the above benefits for your business and help you have an engaged, active and productive workforce. Get in touch to see what we can do for you.