All comment attributable to Roger Moore, General Manager at Bond Teamspirit
2011 has been the year in which many in HR and Payroll embraced the mobile app and all things online – something that is only set to continue and grow into 2012 and beyond. This is predominantly due to two factors: the first of which is simply because of the way that technology is evolving – people are increasingly relying on their Smartphones to manage their day-to-day lives, and as such technology providers will have to make it increasingly possible to perform employee self-service functions and similar HR or payroll activities via this medium.
Secondly, and perhaps not a new development, companies need to be able to manage what is becoming an increasingly disparate workforce. In recent years flexible working and home working have become increasingly popular, companies therefore need to be able to connect with their employees easily and extract HR and Payroll information no matter where the employee is.
However, the knock-on effect is that employers will begin to rely more heavily upon employee self-service. Employees need, and will most likely have to be given, control over their own information and the ability to logon from wherever they may be to submit data into the system as required. To this extent, mobile devices such as Smartphones and tablets are a technology that will become more and more important as a method for distributed access.
As well as the growth of the requirement for mobile access and employee self-service, 2012 will also see ‘Improved Leadership Development’ playing a critical role within HR. While many organisations have previously concentrated on management training, with the increasing pressure to be able to do more with less budget across all departments, HR will play a crucial role in ensuring that managers receive the appropriate leadership training with which to drive the business forward.
Many managers arrive at their position based on prior business performance, but does this make them good managers, especially when they have received no formal management or leadership training? HR will therefore become responsible for supporting the strategic and cultural priorities of the business by equipping them with the ability to manage all members of staff, to identify future leaders, be responsive to change and of course meet business objectives.
HR software will therefore be relied upon to give managers core personnel information, helping to identify who is likely to become a future leader within a company and enabling training to be managed sufficiently providing the skills to be good leaders. This identification for training is critical to ensure that managers are able to motivate employees and help inspire and empower them, resulting in high levels of commitment and increased productivity. The training also enables companies to manage succession planning by searching the system for employees who have the necessary qualities to take on roles within an organisation allowing a company to grow from within.
Alongside this, recruiters and employers will be spending more time on acquiring, developing and retaining talent. E-recruitment systems will enable organisations to streamline what is currently a very labour-intensive and paper-heavy process. With an online infrastructure, recruitment becomes efficient and candidates are automatically placed according to meeting the necessary skillsets required by employers. Working from a single database, information can be easily transferred reducing the necessity to duplicate information into the HR system – therefore time-sensitive training plans can be met and employee records managed throughout the organisation.
For many, 2012 will be about streamlining and creating efficient processes with which to manage employee data, while equipping organisations with structure for the future. The web and online solutions will continue to provide companies with a solution which is both convenient and offers a connection with employees – while mobile access may not be the prime communication tool, it will certainly continue to become a popular mode with which to share data and information in the year ahead.
