Believe it or not, automation is changing our entire lives, the way we live, think and work. As quoted by Mr. Abhijit Bhaduri, author of Digital Tsunami, “Humans resist change, machines don’t.” We are at a age where we no longer can nor should resist change. That said, technology is also massively impacting the HR functions. Most of the traditional support functions of HR, such as payroll, attendance etc. are being automated. Adding to the progression, chatbots are further driving more engagement with its personalized attributes, and is further adding up to redefining the HR role.
One might wonder, will the rapid pace of digitization re-define HR? Of course yes, with millennials making up more than half of the current workforce — and predicted to make up 75 percent by 2020 — HR has to embrace technologies to keep at par with employee and business demands.
The Effect of Big Data
A lot of work in HR used to be related to adherence to compliances and therefore, huge amount of work related to paperworks was involved. But, now things have changed. Online portals and platforms provide HR with all the information that they need. Today’s technology gives HR professionals access to the power of Big Data and changes the way businesses understand their customers, build their own brands and communicate to prospective employees.
One of the boons of Big Data is Predictive Analytics. In big corporations, it is very difficult to keep a track of each employee. Predictive analytics enables HR to understand which employee needs an additional training.
High Up in the Clouds
Another technology which is impacting HR in a big way. Gathering and storing of information has always been a major function of the HR department, and the stack of files not only waste office space but are very difficult to trace as well. Can you even imagine, a millennial, who is always glued to his smartphone will have the patience to go through all the piles of paper?
Thanks to cloud technology, all of this information can instead be stored in the cloud. No longer does an employee need to tick the boxes while filling up a feedback form which again runs the risk of getting lost. All the employee information like tax documents, payroll, feedback etc can be stored online securely.
Cloud-based systems and Big Data go hand in hand. With Machine Learning emerging steadily, all these data will make a lot of sense few years down the line, it all depends how well can one derive relevant information out of it.
Chat with the Bots
There are some information which are very subjective in nature, like how to fill the Form 19 or file for the income tax returns. It makes no sense if the employee walks up to the HR managers for day-to-day queries or any concerns they might have regarding their pay, leaves, performance etc. To narrow down the gap of communication between the employees and the HR, PeopleStrong recently launched India’s first HR chatbot ‘Jinie’. From a transactional interface with employees to a conversational interface, Jinie the India’s first HR Chatbot will be able to provide the next level of experience to its employees.
In the era of smartphones, this will be a great boost in employee engagement.
These are few of the many ways in which the HR domain will change and adapt itself to digitization. With the burden of a lot of paperwork gone from the shoulders and with new data in hand, HR department will be fully equipped to make the employees life much easier and will add more value in business.
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