By Coenette Bosman, Head of Product Management: Sage X3 People, R&D

I recently attended the HR Tech Festival to talk about the new-age of human resources (HR) professionals, where I discovered that many HR departments are excited about the potential to use technology to support their role in the business. Much like our colleagues in marketing, HR faces the challenge of embracing data-driven decision-making so that we can position ourselves as true strategic partners to the rest of the business.

Most of the people I spoke to at the event understand that HR managers must become more tech-savvy to cater for a changing landscape. We’re already seeing seismic changes in the way that people work and in the way that they engage with their employers. In many respects, HR is struggling to find supporting tools to help them keep up with trends such as employee demands for more flexibility, the management of virtual teams, and remote working challenges. 

If HR departments do not embrace the benefits that technology offers, they will be unable to manage these changes in the workforce, engage effectively with today’s employees, and support the business’s requirements.

HR departments can transform from merely providing administrative back-office support to being strategic partners in the business by taking advantage of four key trends in technology. These are social, mobility, analytics and cloud – often referred to as ‘SMAC’.

1. Social Platforms

Recent research by the Society of Human Resource Management shows that in the past five years, recruitment using social media has increased by 54%, with one out of five candidates applying for a job through social channels.  

Social platforms provide HR with a vast amount of information about potential candidates: from their skills and experience to shared information about their lifestyles and values, and even if they will be a cultural fit for the organisation. If successfully employed, social networks can provide the platform for collaboration, innovation and employee engagement on a much wider scale.

2. The mobile workforce

The rise of the flexible worker requires technology to support the mobile workforce. Today’s “anywhere worker” is “always on” and connected through a number of mobile devices. This connectedness provides valuable information to employers on what employees are doing and how they are conducting their work.  Employers should focus on how to integrate the information available to them in order to effectively utilise the talents and special skills of individuals in the workplace.  

3. Analytics

According to Deloitte, 90% of high performing organisations are provided with analytics data by their HR leader, compared to only 33% of non-performing organisations. For an organisation to anticipate problems, stay agile and continuously improve, predictive analytics is key. Analytics are effectively used to drive business decisions by providing insight into efficiencies, performance and cost, which impact the bottom line.

4. The cloud solution

The availability of cloud HR solutions provides HR with the opportunity to adapt to the agile organisation’s demands by providing technologies to support the business. Cloud software providers are able to provide the latest and most innovative solutions to solve business problems which include mobile tools and business analytics within a flexible and integrated infrastructure.

Closing words

HR technology plays an important role in supporting HR departments as they adapt to a rapidly-changing environment impacting the world of work. As they fulfil their compliance, administration and workforce management roles, HR practitioners need to adapt to an era of seismic technological changes and digital invention. We provide them with solutions to simplify their business processes and prepare for the future.