Why disjointed HR systems and processes are hampering your EX (& how you can avoid it)
Here’s a quick question to start with - what does your current HR software portfolio look like?
Some combination of the above, we assume.
Your HR tech stack most likely has independent recruitment, payroll, HRMS, rewards & recognition, background check, talent management and L&D tools; some integrated with each other and others, not.
And in all likelihood, you are looking at adding a few more to your tech stack soon.
Interestingly, you’re not alone.
Investment in HR Technology is growing
Nearly 12 million employers spend more than $5 trillion annually on payroll, benefits, training, and other employee programs; of which the L&D marketplace—from onboarding to leadership development to technical and power skills—is worth more than $240 billion. Almost similar is the case with wellbeing, benefits, and productivity tools too.
And if we are to go by the reports, HR technology budgets are expected to go up again this year, especially among larger employers.
Of all the technologies that are currently available, the demand for Machine Learning, Chatbots and Robotic Process Automation are expected to increase by 25% and almost 30% of organizations are already evaluating an HR application with Predictive Analytics capabilities.
Clearly, HR teams are taking technology very seriously and embracing digital transformation rather rapidly.
Simultaneously, the HR workload is rising
The War for Talent and the post-pandemic shift in employee behavior and expectations have made Employee Experience a top business priority.
As a result, there is a renewed and a rather loaded expectation from HR.
From just optimizing employees’ career needs in the pre-2010s, the job of HR has shifted to rethinking employee needs beyond work too.
People teams are now expected to re-architect work in ways that attract the best talent and retain them.
And organizations are readily investing in it, especially in the following areas:
- Personalizing worker experiences
- Introducing employee well-being programs - physical, mental, and financial
- Employee engagement/listening mechanisms including feedback and action plans through management buy-in
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives and accountability with belonging as a foundational component
- Rewards and recognition programs
- People analytics to gain data insights from surveys, assessments, and overall HRIS tracking
In short, while the spend on HR tech is increasing, so are the workload and expectations from HR teams.
A not-so-silent red flag: Tech spend vs. HR workload
Increasing technology spends in the HR space is something to celebrate, but the same can’t be said about the increasing number of tools they are forced to juggle and manage as a result.
Let’s further understand the complexity of introducing multiple HR tools with one scenario - recruitment.
You might receive the requirement for a new hire via an email or a word document from a team manager.
You then manually set up a new work structure information in your tool number 1, the HRMS.
Once that is approved, you, most likely, take that information manually and create a vacancy in tool number 2 - your Applicant Tracking System.
Once the best candidate is chosen, you then go back to tool number 1 to make updates.
From there on, the complexity of the process only multiplies. With background checks, digital signatures, email automation, document submissions, and more, you introduce tool numbers 3, 4, 5 and 6 to the mix.
Of course, as individual HR tech solutions, each of these platforms is delivering some value for you that cannot be done away with. However, on the downside, they all mostly come with separate sign-on, different user interfaces, mobile experiences, and fragmented data - that forces HR to learn multiple technologies from scratch and manage them - creating siloes, frustration and inefficiency.
In fact, a study published by the Hackett Group suggests that the adoption of technology and digital transformation have already led to a skill gap in the Human Resources fraternity.
This dilemma for HR is predicted to get worse with two other insights revealed in the same study.
- HR operational budgets will reduce by 0.2%
- But their total workload will increase by over 9%
With an increasing workload, crunched resources, rising expectations and a good number of tools to manage, what HR and people teams need is not another bunch of new tools but unified systems and processes that will simplify their efforts and enable them to demonstrate and deliver real value.
The Solution: Unifying HR systems and processes
One thing is right - in technology lies the solution to most challenges facing HR teams today. However, adding more and more tools and software may not resolve them, but instead add to the existing problems.
The best way to deliver a solution and enable people teams to deliver a better EX is two-fold.
- Empower HR in their new mission to re-architect work
HR tech is necessary but make them friendlier to use. And this can be done by:
a. Making information accessible and easily decipherable. That means, drag-and-drop, easy-to-read reports and analysis along with intelligent insights vs. HR having to crunch the numbers and double up as data scientists.
b. Connect every system and app. This way, HR will have the ability to zoom out to see the bigger picture (e.g. No. of offer drops over the last 6 months), while also being able to zoom into specific problem areas or bottlenecks (TAT for background checks).
Watch 📺: Tydy Co-founders, Kiran Menon and Gaurabh Mathure, discuss the need for HR system and process integrations in this webinar.
- Treat EX as an organizational commitment, not just an HR one
Through the unification of systems, companies can create a collaborative platform for departments to work together in designing and deploying the best experience for their employees, without the onus lying only on the HR team.
While HR can steer the ship called employee experience, it can reach its destination only if managers, leaders, and other departments work together to keep the ship afloat.
Conclusion: Unify your HR systems and processes with Tydy
Tydy enables you to deliver an exceptional employee experience from pre-boarding, onboarding and beyond.
It connects every HR system and app to ensure each new hire journey is simplified, seamless and personalized, while also eliminating duplication of data and efforts.
It brings together HR, IT and Operations to collaborate, delegate and deliver an experience that ultimately impacts things like productivity, attrition, and even company culture.
Listen🎧: Want to know more about how Tydy unifies HR tools and processes? Catch Kiran Menon, CEO of Tydy discuss ‘Unification for HR systems - set up for success’ with Meghan M Biro on the #WorkTrends podcast.
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