Automating Business Processes through Technology

By Jenni Lim, HR Head, SEMPERIT [VIE: SEM]

Jenni Lim, HR Head, SEMPERIT [VIE: SEM]

In your opinion, how has the HR Tech landscape evolved over the years?

HR has grown to become an instrumental part of growing companies, building an organization’s branding, partnering with the business, and be a change ambassador. HR technology has evolved to meet the needs of the HR function, the employees, and the organizations. Creating personalized user experiences as well as mobile experiences for current & future employees, has become essential.

Systems of engagement replaced systems of record. Tools that address the needs of HR are replaced with those that address the needs of employees. The focus of technology changed from automating HR processes to improving and enhancing them. All that innovation contributes to is for the development of technology where the employee experience is the key and center.

What are some of the advantages of the current technological evolution?

Technology allows for more and more tasks to be automated. For example, the ways of finding and retaining the best talent has already evolved. The technology used in human resource management is now benefiting the talent acquisition process. In addition to digital message boards and social media assistance in publishing and sharing job postings, technology has made searching through resumes simpler by using filters that match the job posting or requirements. This change in human resource management due to technology is one that can benefit both employers and potential employees.

Technology has changed the way people work. One way is by enabling greater accessibility, while also offering mobility. Technology provides the resources and data in a secure way that enables employees to access remotely. This supports telecommuting and work from home options to adopt for the organizations

Another impact of technology is helping organizations and HR to measure employees’ engagement levels. Technology has allowed for employee feedback to be collected and that data to be analyzed to create better experiences for employees.

All That Innovation Contributes To Is For the Development of Technology Where the Employee Experience Is the Key and Center

What, according to you, are some of the challenges plaguing the HR Tech landscape, and how can they be effectively mitigated?

The implementation of new technology in a big organization can take a long time to get approval, and in most cases, get pushed aside due to other priorities. For most small organizations, lack of budget is one of the main challenges that come in the way of technology adoption. The lack of buy-in from the organizations and employees when they fail to see the benefits of the new technology benefiting them.

This can be effectively mitigated by investing in awareness programs and training to get the organization to speed with the latest technologies. Help your employees adapt to technology by making them see how a particular tool can help them to increase their productivity and efficiency. Ensure that the technology is the one that suits your business needs and can easily be integrated into your current processes to minimize downtime and expensive IT interventions. Further, it should be scalable to support the expansion of your business. Go for technology that lets you do more with less, which automates much of your manual work.

Which are a few technological trends influencing HR Tech today? What are some of the best practices businesses should adopt today to steer ahead of competitors?

Some technological trends that influencing HR Tech today are gamification, big data analysis, and processing, end to end full suite service, on-demand content, cloud solution, and security protection. Other than that, the organizations also focus on user experience as they expect the system is user friendly and intuitive. The business should actively drive and manage change, it is critical in accelerating the process. Be comfortable to work in complex environments and processes, at the same time, find options to reduce complexity. Always involve people, bring people along, also support those who are struggling so that everybody is on board.

There is no one size fits all. Learn and understand how HR Tech could fit into the greater context of your business strategies. You need to adjust and customize according to your business needs. You have to make sure the business, processes, and people are ready for it before jumping to the next latest technology.

Do you have any advice for industry veterans or budding entrepreneurs from the HR Tech space?

Considering the technological trends that are influencing HR Tech, it’s not enough to integrate processes and data not only in backend but at the frontend as well . A connected experience is a holistic experience that drives deeper engagement.

The future of work is meeting employees where they are in the technology they are in every day. Employees and managers expect the tools they use are always accessible.

Technology should be a resource that is agile and inspiring for its employees to be productive and efficient.