19 Feb 2021
Technology requires the human touch
Continual development and advances in technology are inevitable and the HR Professional may feel like a sci-fi movie extra when looking at the future of HR management. Talk of Artificial Intelligence, Chat Bots and Robotic Automation is prevalent and the human side of the job can take something of a back seat to the ‘rise of the machines’.
To ensure future growth, an organisation looks to technological advances for support, but should still remain focused on developing the people resources that power the organisation and drive it forward. The workplace is fuelled by engagement, productivity and creativity; qualities that require constant care and attention and, if neglected, can lead to employees becoming disengaged from their job and employer.
Use of technology should sit alongside best practice for recruiting, developing and retaining the top talent. Attracting the right candidate is a priority; however, some companies may fall short when it comes to recruitment technique and the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion. A focused, consistent approach is required and conscious (or subconscious) decisions based on gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation etc can have an adverse impact on both recruitment and the ongoing development of your team. Use of technology to support and enhance your processes, will ensure they are fair and equitable.
The HR team also has the challenge of aligning talent with business needs and objectives; positioning HR as a key driver of results. To be a strategic contributor to the business, HR can utilise data, metrics and analytics to measure success and identify areas for improvement and, thanks to the reporting and analytics functions within Human Capital Management software, this has never been easier. It is now possible to track the success of your recruitment process, the effectiveness of on-boarding and to monitor equality and diversity policies.
In the modern workplace, the traditional cornerstones of HR management are still in place; however, the cement between them can crumble and there is specialist software at our fingertips to fix this. Whilst technology supports management of the employee lifecycle, managing people will always require people skills and, no matter how much technology may transform the business of HR, it will always require the human touch. This is what powers an organisation, through engagement, productivity and creativity.
Human Capital Management software from Frontier Software delivers an integrated approach to recruitment, on-boarding, talent management and reporting from a single database. It will reduce workforce administration, improve productivity, align company objectives with employee performance and use proven technology to deliver efficiencies. But, the real success comes when all this is combined with human interaction.
Article originally published on HR Grapevine February 2021.