According to a new study, human resources professionals like you need more time for their staff than ever before. There is a big difference between human resources (HR) and human capital management (HCM) in today’s world. Perhaps your aim should not be to do everything but to do what is the most important. How can you do it more efficiently and more effectively than before? This is easier said than done but by using technology in HR, it is possible.

Study by G&A Partners

According to a study by G&A Partners, human resources departments spend 73 percent of their time on administrative tasks. While the HR department wants to focus on programs to improve work performance and productivity, much remains to be done. There are still documents that are missing or out of date, forms that need to be filled in.

Here are five things your HR can do to increase productivity and how technology can help reduce workloads. HR managers should focus from office work on what really matters – people.

Break The Process

To us, it feels easy to trudge through a familiar process, but use this time to reassess the process. When there are more and more tasks to be done, it can seem impossible to reorient oneself. To break this cycle, we should commit to process review. This will have a huge impact on productivity in the long run. This means gathering all the stakeholders in one room and taking a step back. See what is unnecessary, what can be improved and where obstacles arise.

This lays the foundations for robot-based process automation, which can take over tasks such as filling in forms, filing documents, triggering workflows, etc.

Technology in HR Eliminate Papers Usage

If your HR department still uses paper forms and documents, a process check will show you how much more smoothly certain tasks could be if you eliminate them. Paper is the ultimate productivity killer. Digitally storing all your files in a single central repository makes it easier for employees to access the files they need. You no longer wait for someone to pick up the coveted key to your filing cabinet.

Your digital files are more secure than paper documents in the event of a disaster or theft. HR managers can control which roles have access to which documents, whether they are housed in an employee file management system or not. The transition to a digital world can improve the perception of HR as an organization for the company as a whole.

Technology in HR: Lesser Time On Compliance

A single repository of employee documents will help your team prepare better for future audits. But it can take time and be stressful to respond to an audit, especially when there is no system to proactively manage compliance. The good news is that our technology makes it easier for employees to pull files for review and quickly find documents that are missing or expired.

Solving Their Own Questions

Answering employees questions can take a long time, especially if it is a routine question. To ensure that employees spend less time on compliance and more on people, the first step is to centralize all their questions and answers – not just the most important ones. The solution is to help employees help themselves by giving them the opportunity to find answers to their own questions.

We live in a world of services where employees value simplicity and practicality. Where knowledge portals and personalised functions are a major part of our daily lives. However, the purpose of HR is not to be accessible, but to communicate the human touch.

if you have a major problem, you still need to pick up the phone and make a request, and you want to avoid doing that. You expect to make it as easy as finding answers on Google. Instead of spending time answering simple questions, spend more time guiding employees through important issues such as maternity leave or moving an employee out of the office.

Be Comfortable With Data

The need to possess analytical skills has become a “new world” for human resources. Data analysis is necessary to give HR departments time to focus on program changes that affect employee productivity and well-being.

The more comfortable HR work becomes with the use of data to optimize processes and programs, the more likely it is that resources will be spent on projects that actually make a difference to the company. Fortunately, human resources departments do not need a statistical background.  Although technology dehumanizes the workplace, when used correctly it can actually help us to be more human. Instead of taking care of everything, technology allows us to do things for people, rather than for ourselves.

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Written by: Elicia Yeo