3 Hottest Trends in HR Technology

Transcription

1 3 Hottest Trends in HR Technology I

2 Table of Contents Introduction... 3 Talent Management... 4 Integration... 5 People Analytics... 6 Conclusion

3 Introduction Advances in technology have made many human resources functions -- recruiting, retention, benefits management, performance tracking and more -- simpler and more efficient. And things are changing quickly. Entrepreneurs and investors are beginning to realize that the HR space is ripe for disruption, so there is a great deal of movement in the sector, says Maisie Devine, co-founder and CEO of Poacht, a job-search application. As organizations see what s possible, technology will continue to develop to meet their needs. While organizations can pick from many technology trends to make their HR departments more efficient and effective, three stand out among the pack: talent management, integrated solutions and people analytics. Here s what your organization needs to know about these three hot HR trends. 3

4 Talent Management No matter how large or small your company, you re probably engaged in a war for talent. As organizations compete to hire the best candidates they can, new technologies make it easy to keep track of talent, recruit candidates, track applicants and store data about rejected and accepted applications. Talent-management software is what makes it all possible. Talent-management software addresses a variety of human resources needs: Active and passive recruiting. Applicant databases. Performance management. Career and succession planning. Education and training. Bersin Research says the talent-management software market is valued at more than $4 billion, and experts believe it will continue to grow. HR professionals and hiring managers are sick of entrenched and antiquated platforms, Devine says. Candidates dislike using the systems as well, and may opt out of applying through them before or during the application process if they have to go through many pages or can t easily import their contact and resume information. New recruiting software and ATS systems are beginning to pop up daily, Devine says. Greenhouse and Lever are applicant tracking systems that look promising. Features of easy-to-use ATS systems include importing information from social media profiles, as well as custom pages that reinforce a company s brand. And as with all industries, HR technology is embracing mobile options. Mobile applications will come to dominate the recruiting space as job seekers are looking to apply to open positions on the go, Devine says. Job candidates from Generation Y -- also known as millennials -- in particular are comfortable applying on mobile devices, and companies trying to reach that demographic are looking into incorporating more mobile options into their hiring processes. As companies rethink the way things are done when it comes to talent, the technology companies that see the world as it could be and build the tools to facilitate that is where the HR technology wins will be in the coming years, says Chip Luman, chief operating officer at HireVue. 4

5 Integration Integration is a popular term in technological circles, and it s getting traction in HR. Debby Carreau, founder and CEO of Inspired HR, says that The biggest trend in HR technology is end-to-end cloud-based solutions. As technology moved into the HR field, organizations often brought on different software programs to take care of different HR duties. But now, as technology has improved, employers can now have one program that is their applicant tracking system, performance-management tool, peer-to-peer recognition, electronic employee file, time and attendance, company calendar and bulletin board, and vacation-request tracker, all in one, Carreau says. These kinds of software can integrate seamlessly with payroll and benefits as well. Gone are the days of software programs that don t play nicely together. Integrated solutions can help take advantage of the cloud as multiple programs are used consistently and can be accessed anywhere through integration, making it easy for any HR employee at any property to access and manage the same employee data and information that other properties do. She says Tribe HR is a great example of an integrated HR tech solution. It s not just personnel data that HR technology is integrating, however. Another one to watch is integrated health and safety programs that manage employees off on workers compensation or disability and their return-to-work program, she says. These kinds of programs may need to work with benefits managers or other vendors, and so integration is key. These new tools interact with industry specialists, physicians, workers compensation boards and the employees, she says. The increased efficiency and accuracy can mean savings across the board. These programs help employers save millions and prevent accidents by getting workers back more quickly, ensuring they have the correct course of treatment and that future risks and trends are identified to make workplaces safer. Integration can also play a part in collaboration, communication and social learning through technology. Internal blogs, secure instant messages and other communication platforms make up social-learning technology that can be used to form learning hubs, says Randy Emelo, CEO of social-learning software company Triple Creek. Using social-learning technology as the centerpiece, the learning hub will create a personalized learning environment for users that draws in complementary data and support materials from various other technologies that are oftentimes already in place at companies. This could include resources that the company already has in place -- databases, for example -- or use relevant content from other sources, Emelo says. The learning hub could also recommend courses from a [learning management system] or share messages from a social business network. The trend is that it is a centralized place for people to get all their resources, which are then tied to social-learning engagements, goals, interactions that form within the learning hub. 5

6 People Analytics Analytics and Big Data are among the technological buzzwords in almost every industry these days, and HR is no exception. Organizations are scrambling to see how they can use them, and market-intelligence firm IDC estimates that the people-analytics software market will reach $50 billion in Traditionally human resource professionals have relied on their gut, intuition and relationships to make decisions, says Josh Lucas, business-development manager at leadership-training firm Bartell & Bartell. Recently, however, people analytics tools have been emerging that allow human resources decisions to be based on real data, and less on subjective measures. It s no secret that analytics is all the rage in HR right now, says HireVue s Luman. We do believe organizations will increasingly use data to proactively manage talent, much the same way businesses get ahead of other functions such as customer service. In HR, Big Data refers to all of the information you gather about candidates and employees. It becomes important when you organize and crunch it in new ways with new software to make predictions about how they might perform at your company. Many companies keep employee and applicant databases, but new software has made it possible to gather information from social media platforms and other outlets about employees, applicants and others who have expressed an interest in the organization. Companies can then use analytics to make predictions about how hires might perform over time, what ideal candidates might look like, which candidates might stay at the organization longest, what generation is most interested in working at the company, and so on. The problem, Luman says, is that organizations may have trouble dealing with so much data. As more organizations adopt data, we foresee situations where they are struck by information overload, much like a Twitter feed, and can t keep up or use the data effectively, he says. We believe the HR function, using technology, is responsible for striking the balance in terms of how we use data effectively. Solutions include software that can filter out information that isn t useful and aggregate data that is. What is deemed useful information can also depend on a company s goals, which may change over time. Considering that people costs can approach 60 percent of corporate variable costs, the use of accurate people metrics/analytics is essential to a business s success, Lucas says. As the people-analytics trend continues, HR will soon have the same tools as other organizational functions (finance, supply chain, marketing, etc.) to make strategic decisions based on factual data. Conclusion The human resources industry is always a fertile place for innovative technology. Managing people is one of the most important things any organization does, and finding more efficient and effective ways to do so is paramount to the success of a business. Being aware of the hottest trends in technology can help your organization manage and develop your employees to fulfill their potential and the potential of the business. 6