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What is digital transformation?
Over the last decade, digital transformation has come to reshape how businesses operate as a whole. Those that readily embrace digital transformation look to automate and streamline their manual processes by using technology. However, businesses that are hesitant to adapt to the rapidly evolving digital landscape run the risk of falling behind while being plagued by outdated processes, decreased efficiency, and countless hours of manual work wasted.
Digital transformation has positively impacted every aspect of businesses, no matter their size, industry, or geography. So, before jumping into benefits involving Human Resources (HR), we start with a concise definition of what digital transformation really is. Digital transformation is the adoption of digital technology by an organization. Common goals for its implementation are to improve efficiency, value, or innovation.
Digital transformation has helped tens of thousands of businesses around the world create new - or modify existing - processes and experiences to the benefit of not only customers but also internal staff members, regardless of department or role.
Digital transformation and HR
HR, being the highly human-centric department and division that it ought to be, is heavily involved in processes. From recruiting, screening, hiring, and onboarding to keeping staff members engaged and happy, HR has a lot on its plate! Don’t mention employee terminations and being up-to-date with all things payroll and legal. People management isn’t for the weak.
Digital transformation is no stranger to the ever-growing needs of HR and it's an opportunity for HR teams to do this differently, and better. Processes can be streamlined and improved for everyone’s benefit. What used to be manual can now be automated. Siloed information is now easily centralized.
Here are the top 10 benefits that HR digital transformation is bringing to organizations and HR around the world today.
Top 10 Benefits of HR Digital Transformation
A lot of manual work and effort goes into managing and handling human resources processes. Team members are tasked with paperwork, follow-ups, and an ever-growing email inbox. Going digital by making use of software and tech tools will give your team the upper edge when handling a demanding workload. Your recruiting team can enjoy better tracking and visibility throughout the entire candidate lifecycle. If your HR team also manages payroll and benefits, why not have numbers and reporting done seamlessly in one, single place? By automating and digitizing processes that have always been manual, your team will save time, become more efficient, and have the opportunity to focus on work that really matters.
Although spending money on technology may seem and feel costly at first, the return on investment is clear in the long run. By reducing human workloads with digital transformation, businesses and HR departments no longer have to worry about tasking people with mundane, repetitive tasks that technology can easily take control of.
Consider solutions such as automated payroll software to simplify the process of paying staff or document management platforms to easily store, manage and track electronic documents while putting an end to the headache of endless paperwork.
Harnessing the power of technology means the risk of human error can be massively reduced. Identifying and eliminating human error in processes and operations is as time-consuming as things get. Examples of human errors that technology can solve for are spreadsheet blunders, compliance errors, and payroll and payment miscalculations. Adopting technology can solve and reduce the number of common mistakes people are prone to make.
Being able to improve, react and transform to current market needs, demands and trends requires agility. When organizations make use of digital processes, being agile and effective becomes much easier. Agile organizations are better prepared and equipped to navigate through uncertainty, define responsibility and accountability, mitigate risk and achieve specific outcomes.
Digital transformation in HR helps teams, departments, and organizations become more agile and innovative while boosting operational performance.
Just about everyone knows that decision-making without data is bound to go terribly wrong. And HR is no exception. The analytical capabilities of technology give HR teams all the information they need to make well-informed decisions to increase productivity, efficiencies, and effectiveness of their people while driving change throughout organizations.
The Great Resignation is redefining the future of work as employee expectations are on a rise. According to McKinsey, a recent survey found that nearly 40% of employees are thinking about leaving their jobs in the next three to six months. Companies are scrambling to find ways to reduce employee turnover, and it hasn’t been easy - especially for HR teams. With so many employees working remotely, it’s becoming a huge challenge to tell when workers are unhappy.
The efficient use of technology eases the stress and effort put into employee satisfaction. Now, HR leaders can make use of helpful tech tools, and even AI, to enhance procedures, from onboarding and consistent happiness surveys to recognition programs.
The voice of the employee is stronger now than ever and it's up to HR to create and maintain a competitive and positive employee experience. Attracting and retaining talent is one of the most crucial goals of HR and, by investing in digital transformation initiatives, this can be achieved with much less hassle.
Employers and HR teams need to create a deeper emotional connection with employees to ensure they are engaged, connected, and happy. Although each person has different goals, desires, and definitions of what satisfies them when companies leverage digital space to invest in their well-being - whether it be for mental health, upskilling, or coaching - employees will feel heard, valued, and cared for.
By using technology to make the workplace more enjoyable for employees, work becomes better and is done better.
Key to improving employee experience is how internal communication and collaboration is handled in businesses. In today’s ever-growing remote workforce, having access to the right channels and tools is a necessity. HR needs to be accessible and approachable for any employee, at all levels. HR initiatives such as employee engagement efforts, peer recognition, surveys, feedback discussions, trust building, and creating a safe place for employees to be heard can be simplified by using software and technology.
Your employees will appreciate it. Communication and collaboration is essential to building a healthy culture and is pivotal to successfully drive change within your business. Remember, businesses thrive when employees thrive.
Using technology to easily access, manage and store employee data will give you and your company a much better understanding of what’s happening internally. Visibility plays an important role in today’s workplace. By using solutions such as employee database software, HR teams have an easier way to gather, track and have quick access to insightful information such as personal data (demographic and qualifications), engagement numbers, activity monitoring, exit surveys, and performance measurement.
The Green Economy is the practice of sustainable development. It’s an economic model that prioritizes the success of human well-being and social equity while reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcity. There are many exciting opportunities for businesses to participate in adding to the positive changes brought about by the green economy. Digital transformation can help businesses go green by becoming more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
By investing in digital transformation initiatives, businesses can measure and track sustainability progress, optimize their use of resources, reduce carbon footprints and become more efficient. A clear example of the positive impact digital transformation has had on businesses and the environment is the use of paper. Businesses save money and become more environmentally friendly by reducing the amount of paper used through the use of digital technology, platforms, and software.
