According to the 2019 HCM Trends report from The HR Federation, global HR technology venture capital topped $3.1 billion in 2018, more than triple the amount invested in 2017. While there are a wide-range of technologies coming on to the scene, none are more exciting and promising than artificial intelligence and automation. There is a tremendous shift happening in HR, thanks to AI and intelligent robots.
CareerBuilder CEO Irina Novoselsky says, “What is exciting is that we’re just at the cusp of what this technology can do.”
Here are 5 ways technology is changing HR:
Efficient Recruiting
The core tenants of HR are finding top talent, making them productive, and then retaining them. HR Tech has the power to scan through resumes at a far faster and more efficient rate than humans, while also removing bias toward potential clients. From a man power perspective, these programs can also “read” resumes that might have typically been passed over by HR managers, simply because they don’t have time to review every resume.
Better Hiring Practices
Once a candidate is hired, the pre-boarding and onboarding process begins. Chatbots today lead the way, communicating with new employees, and making sure that these employees have all the information they need or are requesting. Systems like our Xenqu compliance platform drive the onboarding process to guarantee that I-9s are filled out correctly, and health insurance forms are completed, as well as the many other documents that are required for employment.
Higher Retention
HR technology also helps measure actual employee performance and productivity. The measurements for a worker’s productivity can now be accurately quantitated, helping employers help underperforming employees, while acknowledging those who are performing well.
Training can be done via technology, holding all of the employee acknowledgements, with markers of what was taught and covered in the training. Tests for comprehension can be administered through the system, assuring that employees are understanding the training content, helping not only the employee grasp the topic, but also helping the company maintain compliance.
All of these processes help in evaluating the development of an employee in numerous areas, providing feedback to an employer on what is needed to engage the employee, leading to a long-term stay with the company.
Compliance is More Efficient and Cost Effective
Maintaining compliance is priority number one with HR professionals today. Even with the mandates to recruit, hire, train, and retain top talent, all of those processes are undergirded with compliance regulations.
Laws and regulations are constantly being changed and updated, requiring vast amounts of paper and human hours to maintain compliance. Paper and records-based systems are now being replaced with cloud solutions, assuring that documents are kept safe, and accessible to those who need them.
A true game-changer is the implementation of automation in compliance processes, as intelligent bots and AI are able to “push” content to both employees and employer on next steps required to complete tasks in compliance, and on time. This allows for compliance to occur consistently, with less human effort, as the bots make sure the process is followed to completion, driving the communication to the parties who need to respond.
Inclusion and Diversity
Parijat Sarkar, senior director of product management for Zenefits, says that as awareness of the value of diverse teams grows, organizations will increasingly leverage workforce analytics to tackle diversity and inclusion issues. “This is important as more companies — especially with today’s political climate — are pressured to take a stance on D&I workplace issues,” Sarkar says.
Today’s technology has the ability to measure big data, meta data, and just about every other kind of data that’s out there. This data can reveal the true depth of inclusion and diversity in a workforce, bypassing what humans think is accurate.
The world around us, including consumers and customers, are looking for a more diverse experience when they interact with our businesses, and today’s technology helps in eliminating bias and prejudice that is intrinsically found in all humans. It also helps make our processes more efficient and consistent, giving HR professionals the opportunity to spend their time investing in people with training, leadership and development, and the communication needed for productivity and success.
