More recently, organisations must navigate a complex landscape, with the last few years showing us how unpredictable the economy can be, which is even more evident now with business-as-usual disrupted by new competitors in the marketplace.
Competitors are generally more tech-reliant in delivering their products and services and are much more agile and client-responsive. The shift has seen the development of a more sophisticated and fast-paced customer buying journey and expectations around the service they require.
Generally, potential employees have the same expectations from these companies too. Organisations need to market themselves as an employer of choice to attract potential recruits and will be scrutinised by candidates at every step of the process. From experience during the interview stage to onboarding and induction, through to when they are fully-fledged employees looking for added value to their work experience.
Once employed, we then see the expectations from the employer grow as well in terms of gaining commitment, achieving performance levels, and being productive. The two-way expectations of employees and employers, in recent times, have meant that organisations have had to elevate their People Strategy, review what they need in terms of talent, and consider how to implement a competitive and engaging employee experience.
HR leaders have become marketeers and employee experience gurus. However, if you look at what commercial B2B or B2C companies do well, their metrics drive their success. From the data, these organisations refine their service offerings, target customers, and identify what type of people they need to deliver these goals, and it is no different for HR.
In the past, HR has been more reactive to demands and often several steps behind the business, trying to catch up and get the people strategy deployed. Although, as soon as they were partially finished, the organisation had changed its requirements. More recently, we see HR being much more proactive, staying close to and understanding the external market, the recruitment market, and the talent market, and being aware of up-and-coming companies in their space and plans. HR can stay one step ahead and bring these insights to the Exec table, understood through data and meaningful analytics.
Unless you work in Finance, it is not easy extracting data; running numbers in Excel, working out the meaningful data, establishing which data provides a robust benchmark, and identifying the story the data is telling. Unless this is understood, it would be difficult to deploy effectively and be clear on the direction of travel. Considering how many resource hours it takes to set up, compile data and information, make sense of it, refresh, and present back - it's extraordinary. The time can be better spent, and the outputs can be more effective and strategic when this legwork is carried out for you by easy-to-use HR software.
HR software has expanded in the market with some innovative and engaging platforms available. These systems no longer require lengthy and expensive integration or a commitment to a solitary, bad-fit, holistic system. For the most part, they are cloud-based, are out-of-the-box solutions, and are often relatively inexpensive. The beauty of these platforms is that you can pick and choose the best-in-class and, with API technology, they can work seamlessly together if preferred or kept as separate and distinct systems.
HR software not only does the back-end process and analytics but also connects employees to the process flow. For example, using recruitment software, if the right software is selected, not only would it allow a candidate to engage and move through the recruitment process smoothly - but it also allows the recruiter and the potential hiring manager to communicate and engage in the system too. The advantage is using the insights to improve great quality candidate selection or the recruitment process.
Of course, recruitment software is just one of many HR platforms available from various providers. For example, at Innecto, our digital software platforms help our clients leverage their reward strategy - with tools covering external and internal pay insights, compensation management, job evaluation, organisational design, and Employee Engagement and Recognition.
People Strategies are often well-considered and have the approval of the Exec and/or Board, but implementation and deployment are overlooked and under-budgeted. For continued success, ensure your HR digital strategy is part of your people strategy.
If you are interested in finding out more about Innecto’s HR tech can support and enhance HR processes, click the links below:
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