By Sandra Swanepoel, Managing Director, Sage HR & Payroll.

Never before has human resources (HR) been more important to the success of a business than now.

In a world where technology is more pervasive and the new millennial generation are entering the workforce, business will rely more heavily on the human resource department to ensure that key talent is found, and retained.

Here are key themes to look out for in the ever evolving HR space:

1. Cloud is revolutionising HR

Today’s corporate reality is the digitisation of business models and industries. Technology is transforming the HR and payroll environment. The modernised HR and payroll environments are aggregating employee data into a single location and it allows for platform integration to save time and money as well as improving employee engagement.

Cloud-based applications continue to transform the HR and payroll environment. Access to cloud also facilitates quicker decision making with workforce planning and predictive analytics to make critical decisions in the future by providing access to rich data.     

2. Systems integration

HR, payroll and business management solutions are moving closer together as organisations adopt integrated solutions. From recruitment to performance management, integrated HR systems are breaking down the silos within an organisation and they provide a complete view of the business’s relationship with its employees.

With integrated solutions, businesses can achieve higher levels of automation across their businesses, become more productive and efficient, and gain better visibility into their performance.

3. HR’s change to data driven decision-making

A recent report by Deloitte on Human Capital Trends revealed that 77% of executives now rate people analytics as a key priority, as technology makes data-driven HR decision making a possibility.

HR departments should refocus on strategic talent management, skills development, building the employer brand, and performance management. When they automate routine processes, they can free up hours for the more strategic aspects of their job.

Automated systems also capture rich data HR managers can use for talent analytics that give insight into trends such as staff churn, the costs of training and development, employee and organisational performance, and the skills they may need to attract and develop to support the business’s future growth. 

4. Embracing Mobility

A 2015-2016 HR Systems Survey conducted by Sierra-Cedar also revealed that in the last three years there has been a 70% increase in company’s investing in mobile-enabled HR technology, 20% of these are planning a major initiative in the next 12 months. This just shows how mobility is becoming more integral to business and how we as HR practitioners will need it to be able to facilitate this organisational change.

5. Compliance

We will continue to see more demand for software that helps companies to improve record-keeping and decision making thus helping them to become more efficient and productive. Businesses also require solutions that will ensure compliance with stricter tax and labour laws that are always changing.

6. Online recruitment will come to the fore

There are many tools that can streamline the recruitment process, from managing job applicants and filtering CVs, to interviewing and screening candidates, right up to the on-boarding process. Though the human element will always be important in HR, companies will continue to extend their tools such as online applicant tracking systems, talent communities, social media and internal career portals.

Online platforms such as Sage SkillsMap, give organisations direct access to people in Africa and abroad who are looking for jobs, as well as the tools they need to publish their jobs to the Web and track the applications they receive. These tools help automate a lot of the manual processes for them, so they can make better informed decisions and spend time growing their businesses.

Conclusion

The gist of it all is the increasing role that technology is going to play in the HR function. The future is mobile and we at Sage are giving our customers the power to control their businesses from the palm of their hand. For HR practitioners this is an exciting time, where we will be able to broaden our skills base and become trusted advisors within organisations and play a larger part in its success.