HR in the ‘Digital World’
HR in the ‘Digital World’
In this fast paced world everything from purchases, bookings, payments to registrations etc, is being accelerated through a digitalized platform. The digital revolution has not forgone penetration even into the most docile industry. Businesses are integrating their processes, units, systems, etc through digital transformation. The fundamental concept of creating and delivering value has changed manifolds in this digital age.
Digital transformation has unsettled the organizations to come out of their comfort zone and experiment with the new style of working. Organisations are getting into terms with initial failures that result in better course of learning and huge prospects of business expansion. There may be many economical reasons to undergo digital transformation for businesses, but the most important of all is the instinct for survival. In case of any failure to evolve, businesses fear failure to perform.
What is Digital Transformation of HR?
Human Resource is one major function that has been significantly affected by digital revolution. It is fundamentally the course of digitalising all the HR related processes in an organisation. Here, the HR team of the organisation is entrusted with the responsibility of transforming not only the processes but also the work culture of the organisation. Digital transformation of HR as a function comes forth with innovative techniques of streamlining the major HR undertakings like learning and development, people management, recruitment, etc. It subsequently leads to more engaged workforce and adoption of more innovative techniques.
What is the need for Digital Transformation of HR?
The need for fostering HR Digital Transformation is far reaching. Digital revolution in HR, as one of the primary functions of an organisation, can not only help in building a faster and a more economical network of processes, but also shall open larger avenues for growth by encouraging process evolution. Digitalisation of HR works on two major areas, processes and human capital. In terms of processes, technology supports basic transactions that include, managing recruitment and payroll system, handling organisational data and day to day administration. Further in terms of human capital, digitalisation assists in people management activities like, performance management, training and development, talent pool identification, etc. This digital age primarily focuses on reducing cost and achieving HR operational efficiencies through automation.
How are HR practices evolving with digitalisation?
The HR practices are evolving as more and more organisations are getting dependent on technology driven processes to handle their HR function. E-recruitment through portals or websites, performance management system software and e-learning systems, talent management systems, are some of the areas where digitalisation has been majorly adopted.
Digitalisation in Recruitment
The recruitment process has been digitalised by conducting recruitment drives through company’s own website, handled by a dedicated team, commercial job portals which connect the employer and the prospective candidates. Organisations have started collaborating with those job consulting firms which are technologically better equipped and can provide the required digital platform, without the organisation incurring the investment of digitalisation.
Digitalisation in Training & Development
Technology has made the training and development process more attractive and interesting for employees by facilitating use of audio-visual technology based tools for learning. Training has evolved from classroom and lecture based modules to getting trained in a virtual environment using the latest digital channels of communication.
Digitalisation in Performance Management
Digital transformation in handling performance management has not only made the process more reliable, but also more economical in terms of man hours. Electronic performance management enables an organisation in keeping a track of development of its employees on a regular basis thus facilitating better employee management.
What are the pre-requisites for adopting HR digitalisation?
The organisations intending digital transformation of the HR function should keep in mind some important guidelines before kick-starting digitalisation.
Identify the organisational goal
It is really important to understand the need for digitalisation in a business and how it is going to affect the overall functioning of the HR. The process should be aimed at filling the gaps between the current and future digital competencies.
Get Ideas from the end users
Invite more and more ideas for digitalisation from the employees who handle the HR processes and are going to be the end users of the technology. Prioritise the ones which will affect the business more than the others.
Start with simple processes
It is always better to start digitalising simple processes first and then move on to more complex ones after understanding how well they are integrating within the organisation. This saves on any kind of economical wastage.
Gauge performance of the tools
Before implementing any new technology and making it live it is always advisable to assess its performance by making it available to a small set of people who can give a feedback on how to make it more user-friendly.
Promote change in work culture
As digitalisation happens in an organisation the work culture gets affected manifolds. The employees are expected to work in a much faster and a systematic way than before. Hence, proper training for the employees should be arranged to handle new technologies. They should also be motivated to shed off any apprehensions attached.
How is value proposition of HR changing with digitalisation?
HR function of organisations is going through a paradigm shift from digitisation to digitalisation. Organisations that have adopted digitalisation of HR have improved their interactions with stakeholders, primarily their internal customers, to a great extent. Digitalisation has provided opportunities for reshaping and reinforcing the role of HR in an organisation. The incorporation of digitalisation has greatly benefited in transforming corporate culture by reducing significance of hierarchies and enforcing open door policies. This has enabled the HR of digital age organisations to be more transparent in its activities than before.
