HR Tech
Sham Majid
13 Apr 2016
Henrik Petersen, Sales and Marketing Director of Deskera, maker of cloud enterprise software, says that whether a company is a publicly-listed or privately-owned, it will have multiple stakeholders who expect it to utilise resources effectively while maintaining compliance with regulatory requirements.
“The mounting pressure from stakeholders means your company needs to effectively leverage the best talent available to deliver better business results as efficiently as possible,” explains Petersen.
He says HR technology can provide a supporting framework to help a company align its people management through better hiring and performance appraisals.
“Processes can be automated and simplified to improve both employee and HR staff productivity, through employee self-service and mobile apps,” says Petersen.
“A solid HR technology framework will ensure compliance with current and new regulatory requirements. For example, if new payroll rules are implemented, your payroll software should automatically be updated to support the new requirements.”
Peter Lee, Director of software firm Info-Tech Systems, says HR technology helps businesses manage their globalised workforces by guiding corporate strategic decision-making, while staying within laws.
Merging technology with strategy
According to Information Services Group’s (ISG’s) second annual survey, Industry Trends in HR Technology and Service Delivery, HR organisations continue to shift their management systems to cloud-based systems. They are seeking out enhanced user experiences and more robust alignment with their businesses.
The survey revealed that more than 70% of respondents cited that they already have implemented or will move to a HR software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform in the next two years.
“When it comes to HR technology and service delivery, HR organisations are shifting their focus from cost savings to strategic business alignment, process improvement and employee engagement,” says Debora Card, a partner with ISG HR Technology and Delivery Strategies.
“We’re seeing signs that enterprise-level HR decision-making is becoming increasingly data-driven, and we therefore expect HR analytics will continue to grow in importance.”
Petersen explains the first advantage of incorporating a cloud-based HR application is that it does not require any expensive consulting to get started.
“Your company and HR executives can focus all their efforts on the HR strategy and business processes, instead of worrying about IT hardware and software installation,” he says.
“For growing companies with limited resources, it is usually best to break the HR project down into smaller projects (see: boxout),” he advises.
Depending on the maturity of a company’s HR strategy and general business priorities, the implementation priority may also differ.
“Some companies start with business compliance to meet new regulatory requirements, for example, the itemised payslip requirements being implemented in Singapore by April this year,” Petersen elaborates.
“Other companies start with productivity and focus on removing manual data entry tasks to ensure HR executives have more time available to focus on increasing business value.”
Meanwhile, Lee says businesses should engage the help of an HR partner who can look specifically in terms of consumer-designed and intuitive tools for all users.
Company gains
From Petersen’s perspective, organisations can amass a multitude of benefits by incorporating HR technology into their business strategy.
Firstly, he says companies can achieve productivity improvements and avoid compliance issues.
“Avoiding compliance issues is critical because they can be costly and can impact your ability to secure work passes and attract new talent,” he says.
“When new CPF rules are introduced, the payroll software helps ensure that calculations and reports are made in accordance to the new regulations.
“HR executives often spend a significant amount of time keeping records updated. HR technology can help remove many of the manual data entry tasks, which frees up your HR team to spend more time on delivering real business value.”
For example, Petersen explains with employee self-service applications, workers can update their HR records, view leave balances, and manage medical leave online.
“HR technology provides a strong framework to help your company with recruitment, and implement performance appraisals and employee development programmes,” he elaborates.
“This can help your company leverage employees more efficiently and deliver increased business value by keeping employees focused on tasks that deliver measurable business results.”
Lee adds that HR technology services provide businesses with a competitive advantage, by helping pull in the best talent, increase retention, streamline organisational processes, stimulate productive collaboration, and avoid legal issues.
HR technology offerings
Petersen elaborates that the Deskera HR Management System offers a complete suite of HR tools to help companies with their most important assets – theirs employees.
The suite comprises of payroll management, recruitment management, performance appraisals, timesheet management, employee self-service, personnel administration and other applications.
Meanwhile, Info Tech’s integrated HR system includes a time attendance system, payroll and HR software , a web-based online leave module, e-mail payslips, an online portal for employee self service, and project costing software. All of this is fully integrated with fingerprint and biometric time recorders.
Deskera’s framework
The Deskera HR Management System includes the following apps:
Payroll Management – Fast, accurate and efficient payroll processing that helps an organisation save time and stay compliant
Recruitment Management – Hiring top-quality talent with streamlined recruiting and onboarding experiences for recruiters, candidates, and hiring managers
Performance Appraisals – Automated performance appraisals to align a company’s workforce with organisational goals
Timesheet Management – Automated timekeeping and scheduling tasks with detailed reporting
Employee Self-Service – Empowering employees to take control of personal information and handling day-to-day operations, by automating tasks to save time and effort
Personnel Administration – Achieving effective personnel management and employee tracking through a comprehensive line of employee administration features
Breaking down the HR project
Henrik Petersen, Sales and Marketing Director, Deskera, explains that for fast-developing firms with restricted funds, it’s optimal to dissect the HR task down into small assignments.
A firm could sort the assignments into the following groups:
Increase business value
– Attract, hire and retain the best talent
– Leverage people for maximum results through performance appraisals
– Skills and capability development
Improve Productivity
– Process automation
– Employee self-service
Business Compliance
– Correct record keeping and employment contracts
– Payroll and reporting
HR Tech
Article Summary:
From cloud solutions to software-as-a-service platforms, HRM shares how HR technology is increasingly dominating the discussions of C-Suite figures.
Sub Category:
Cloud Computing