Technology Redesigning the HR Eco-system
With the advent of the Digital World of Work, we have entered a brand new era of technological revolution which has transformed the way we lead lives. The influence of technology and the digital revolution has made its way into the domain of Human Resource Management, fueling the growth of innovative methods of recruitment, succession planning, performance management, employee engagement and more.Even today, the HR function is considered as a reactive department instead of a proactive one. Struggling with the tag of the ‘Human Resource department’, the function has come a long way since the integration of technology and the role of HR is evolving towards being a Business Partner.
It’s time that organizations shift their focus from the belief that their people are simply a cost centre to them being strategic assets to the company. Organizations like Google, Apple, and Microsoft, have demonstrated the power of their talent pools with uber-successful products and services.
The HR tech industry is evolving at a phenomenal rate and its presence has seeped into all areas - talent acquisition, employee engagement, performance management, succession planning and more. Let’s further explore the different facets of this multi-billion dollar industry.
Technologies in recruitment
Undoubtedly, online recruitment has taken the world of Human Resources by storm. However, nothing compares to the impact that social recruiting has made on global businesses when it comes to building an effective workforce. Among all channels, LinkedIn has been the major contributor towards the HR technology industry.
Organizations are shifting their focus to something
called as ‘candidate engagement’. They are recognizing the importance of building an employer brand and favourable candidate experiences. Recruitment campaigns are now implementing gamification and simulated environments to test the candidate’s hands-on skills.
The power of gamification was used by Marriot International in the online social media game, My Marriott Hotel. The game allows the candidate to manage a restaurant by taking care of kitchen supplies, managing orders, and ensuring customer satisfaction. The game not only allowed the company to identify potential hires but also increased the company’s brand recall amongst candidates, especially amongst millennial.
The next big thing in the recruitment process is the data-driven assessments. Even though companies such as Google have demonstrated that assessments lead to better quality of hire, less than half of organizations include it in their recruitment process.
However, with HR technology maturing, assessments have evolved from basic multiple-choice questions to simulated environments. Take for instance a top employment agency in Boston that wanted to assess IT professionals on their coding ability to build a pool of candidates who they can recommend to clients.
Instead of opting for the traditional MCQs or coding tests, they used an advanced front end coding simulator devised by Mettl. Candidates were expected to solve coding challenges in real-time and this enabled the agency to assess candidate skill set in a foolproof way.
This sounds quite appealing, though one question remains to be answered - integrity of such tests. With technologies in online proctoring such as web cameras to track eye movement and audio technology to capture sounds, this problem no longer exists.
Performance Management
An employee in a company is no longer at the mercy of his/her employers. They actually have more power than they ever did. Millennial now form a huge part of the workforce and they are always looking for more than just a job. After all, they have a myriad of other opportunities with online job portals and social recruitment channels at their disposal.
Traditional performance management methods are not enough and companies are looking for ways to help their employees grow through learning and development programmes, mentorship, 360-degree feedback, and much more. Close to half of Human Resource professionals are of the opinion that the processes in place for performance review need to be re-assessed.
Tech-savvy millennials are rating their employers with the kind of technology they offer. It’s easy, intuitive and user-friendly for both employees and their managers. Consider these scenarios:
• While in a one-on-one meeting with his subordinate, a manager can conveniently access performance goals and progress made by the employee on his smartphone or tablet.
• On his/her commute to work, an employee can review objectives and accomplishments on a smartphone while preparing to ask for a raise.
Technology can go a long way improving different aspects of performance management - collaboration, communication, real-time feedback, and constructive utilization of feedback.
For instance, PerformYard enables managers to conduct stress-free performance reviews by letting them document performance results and record positive interactions during review sessions. It improves communication in the workplace and helps recognize star performers.
Learning & Development
HR technology has helped evolve internal talent mobility and growth opportunities. E-learning, feedback portals, learning programs, and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have come into the picture.
Corporate learning and education has taken a whole new turn with MOOCs. It brings together the power of subject-specific knowledge with assessments, evaluations, and certifications. This gives employees an opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills to make informed decisions, while employers get a chance to own a skilled workforce.
An example of an e-learning software is Tin Cap API which has set higher benchmarks for the way learning management systems can be augmented. The software is revolutionizing how learning combines with performance data with goal tracking capabilities, games, audio-visual content, and mobile technology.
Conclusion
The $14 billion HR software marketplace is brimming with technologies like psychometric assessments, HR analytics, video interviewing, and mobile apps which are bringing about a transformational change in the HR software industry. It’s extremely important for HR and technology to merge so as to make the HR function as a more proactive than a reactive one, as conventionally was believed. The role of HR is evolving as they go on to align their objectives with that of the business. Tech startups are exploiting this very opportunity to help organizations solve their human resource challenges with new tools, softwares, and automation.
This sounds quite appealing, though one question remains to be answered - integrity of such tests. With technologies in online proctoring such as web cameras to track eye movement and audio technology to capture sounds, this problem no longer exists.
An employee in a company is no longer at the mercy of his/ her employers, as they actually have more power than they ever did
Performance Management
An employee in a company is no longer at the mercy of his/her employers. They actually have more power than they ever did. Millennial now form a huge part of the workforce and they are always looking for more than just a job. After all, they have a myriad of other opportunities with online job portals and social recruitment channels at their disposal.
Traditional performance management methods are not enough and companies are looking for ways to help their employees grow through learning and development programmes, mentorship, 360-degree feedback, and much more. Close to half of Human Resource professionals are of the opinion that the processes in place for performance review need to be re-assessed.
Tech-savvy millennials are rating their employers with the kind of technology they offer. It’s easy, intuitive and user-friendly for both employees and their managers. Consider these scenarios:
• While in a one-on-one meeting with his subordinate, a manager can conveniently access performance goals and progress made by the employee on his smartphone or tablet.
• On his/her commute to work, an employee can review objectives and accomplishments on a smartphone while preparing to ask for a raise.
Technology can go a long way improving different aspects of performance management - collaboration, communication, real-time feedback, and constructive utilization of feedback.
For instance, PerformYard enables managers to conduct stress-free performance reviews by letting them document performance results and record positive interactions during review sessions. It improves communication in the workplace and helps recognize star performers.
Learning & Development
HR technology has helped evolve internal talent mobility and growth opportunities. E-learning, feedback portals, learning programs, and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have come into the picture.
Corporate learning and education has taken a whole new turn with MOOCs. It brings together the power of subject-specific knowledge with assessments, evaluations, and certifications. This gives employees an opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills to make informed decisions, while employers get a chance to own a skilled workforce.
An example of an e-learning software is Tin Cap API which has set higher benchmarks for the way learning management systems can be augmented. The software is revolutionizing how learning combines with performance data with goal tracking capabilities, games, audio-visual content, and mobile technology.
Conclusion
The $14 billion HR software marketplace is brimming with technologies like psychometric assessments, HR analytics, video interviewing, and mobile apps which are bringing about a transformational change in the HR software industry. It’s extremely important for HR and technology to merge so as to make the HR function as a more proactive than a reactive one, as conventionally was believed. The role of HR is evolving as they go on to align their objectives with that of the business. Tech startups are exploiting this very opportunity to help organizations solve their human resource challenges with new tools, softwares, and automation.
