An integrated HR management system can deliver a host of benefits that will enable the HR function to become an advisor to the business, writes James Hewitt
Few would argue with the fact that the talent market has become increasingly competitive in recent years, and today companies throughout Australia are struggling to attract, motivate and retain employees at all levels of the organisation. As a result, now more than ever, it is critical that HR develop a robust HR infrastructure that helps achieve business objectives, build their bottom line and deliver sustainable growth.
Implementing a solid technology framework helps the organisation achieve these goals by attracting top talent, improving worker efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity, and nurturing a culture of high performance.
Most companies fall a long way short of this utopia despite the availability of myriad technologies to help HR professionals drive workforce excellence and efficiencies. Whilst many organisations have introduced some level of automation, few have fully automated their human resource management systems.
To compound this lack of automation from a business process perspective the integration of HR functions is partial at best. An alarming number of companies still use spreadsheets for activities such as storing employee job profiles or benefit plans.
“Technology and automated HR processes are extremely important in the journey towards becoming more strategic”
This reality is somewhat predictably reflected here in Australia, where many organisations continue to use paper-based systems and processes. If HR is to help drive business growth and create a high-performance workforce, the function must implement a robust HR technology infrastructure that automates processes and frees up time to focus on more strategic activities.
David Guazzarotto, CEO of leading HR consulting firm Future Knowledge explains: “Technology is critical in shaping the role of HR moving forward and strategic players are harnessing smart tools to support the HR function. Importantly, by automating HR processes you can eliminate much of the grunt work, freeing the team up to focus on providing more consultative and advisory services to the organisation’s managers and leaders. Beyond that, technology helps HR engage the organisation more broadly in these HR processes.”
Guazzarotto is not alone in his beliefs. Simon Prior, head of leadership & learning for Asia Pacific with Dentsu Aegis Network, concurs.
“Technology and automated HR processes are extremely important in the journey towards becoming more strategic because they help relieve the burden of administrative tasks and streamline workflows. I think it’s critical because it frees up capacity for us to focus on becoming more strategic, and it’s really important for us to unlock that time and challenge ourselves to learn. Technology is a real enabler for us, and something that we need to get better at exploiting.”
Technology that talks
Simply introducing new systems is not enough to optimise results, and companies must also ensure that their HR technology is fully integrated so it can act as a facilitator for both HR and the business. All too often, organisations implement individual solutions for recruitment, payroll, performance management, and learning and development for example, only to find their systems don’t talk to each other.
In turn, this creates additional work for both the HR team and the business. In order to really add value, they must create an HR ecosystem that operates seamlessly and is seen to be an enabler throughout the organisation.
Prior believes that Dentsu Aegis Network is on journey towards a seamless HR technology infrastructure, commenting, “A project is currently underway to launch a global HR system (HRIS) that will mean we’re on a consistent platform all over the world, which will definitely help. We’ve got a local HRIS, but it’s a bit clunky and it probably causes more grief than good at times, both for the HR team and also the staff, so the self-service piece is obviously quite important.”
“But it’s also really important for us to have that solid central platform because it feeds into other technologies. We already have learning management and performance systems, and we’re working on the implementation of SilkRoad’s RedCarpet onboarding system at the moment, but there’s no solid single source of truth and data from those touch points.
“We’re very much in the early stages of trying to develop a solid foundation to build upon. Previously the technology didn’t interact effectively, but hopefully having a single platform will put us on a better footing moving forward.”
A strategic advantage
While the benefits of a strong HR technology framework are obvious in terms of automation and freeing up time so HR can be more strategic, perhaps more interestingly an integrated human resource management system can also deliver a whole host of benefits that will enable the HR function to become an advisor to the business.
For example, in the era of big data, today’s technology can also help HR gain accurate metrics to improve organisational transparency, convert data-driven insights into strategy and secure a “seat at the executive table” by creating a strategic vision. As such, it is absolutely essential that companies implement an integrated solution if they are to be viewed as a strategic partner to the business.
James Hewitt is Asia Pacific director of SilkRoad, a leading global cloud-based talent management technology company.
