How To Drive The ‘Great Reboot’

Three key changes that all HR departments should keep in mind

The Covid-19 pandemic brought along many challenges for businesses and HR departments — from hybrid workspaces and new remote technologies to an exponential uptick in resignations, it's clear the landscape has shifted drastically. However, this transition period has also brought about the “Great Reboot”, a massive opportunity to rethink the way we work and how companies can better support employees moving forward.  
 
As we’ve seen in recent months, companies have begun brushing up on benefits, providing more educational and team-building opportunities, and embracing remote work in order to keep up with these changes and boost employee retention programs. Ripcord, the world’s first robotic digitization company, is taking advantage of this critical moment; through a recent survey of over 800 senior-level executives and HR professionals on the current state of HR practices and documentation, Ripcord has uncovered the major pain points for HR professionals, what the future of digital transformation looks like moving forward, and what solutions exist to help HR teams through the Great Reboot.  

The survey highlights three key changes that all HR departments will want to keep in mind as we continue navigating this new chapter:

 A majority of respondents (72%) reported experiencing significant backlog issues for HR paperwork since the pandemic began and 25% indicated that their current method of document management is not working. With remote work and technology-based practices becoming increasingly popular, a heavy reliance on paper is likely the issue.  
 
While 40% of respondents noted that paper still holds strong value, paper-only management solutions can harm companies’ effectiveness in managing operations. In fact, 62% of respondents have already shifted to digital-only documentation and only 1 in 10 respondents said they plan to rely solely on paper.  
 
This shift to digitization is critical, according to Ripcord, since backlog issues for HR paperwork can inevitably lead to other business management issues. HR departments are encouraged to start digitization now, in order to avoid significant backlogs and delays in the future.

More than any other industry, the technology sector has experienced major changes in the past two years, including more remote work environments, new IT infrastructure, and a push towards automation. While these changes have helped companies weather the pandemic, they’ve also created issues for employees — 98% of respondents in the tech sector reported that they are struggling to catch up on documentation and 7 in 10 tech workers have said they’re considering leaving their current jobs within the next year.
 
A fluid documentation practice that can scan, read, catalog, and organize documents in real-time is critical to supporting employees and driving down resignation rates. Further, while the tech sector is seemingly struggling the most, their bigger budgets and technical expertise puts them in an excellent spot to take advantage of document management systems. Their knack for automation and data-led processes can reduce time spent filing, sorting, and scanning and, instead, improve accuracy and help them catch up on their backlog of paperwork.

With almost half of respondents reporting their desire to be fully digital within the next 3-5 years, it’s clear that companies and HR teams are eager to get the ball rolling and make the switch. However, 56% of respondents cited a lack of resources as the primary barrier towards digitization, followed by technology readiness at just under 50%.  
 
It’s critical that HR teams dedicate enough resources to digitization, especially as the HR documentation backlog will only lead to further business management issues. While HR teams cannot always dictate when they will be able to dedicate enough resources to digitization, Ripcord’s findings point to starting the conversation now so, once resources are available, your business and your employees can immediately reap the benefits.  
 
As our workforce looks to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s clear that HR departments have a new and important role to play – creating and supporting initiatives that not only move the company forward but also ensure success for the business and its employees. Digitization is the key here and, by bringing documentation into the digital world, HR can prevent employees from being left behind and ensure their organizations are leading the charge through the Great Reboot.  
 
Survey Methodology: The survey was sent to approximately 800 HR professionals from September 28 to October 18, 2021. The respondents, 50% of which were at the VP level or higher, represented technology (23.60%), followed by retail (14.91%), healthcare (16.65%), manufacturing (13.04%), energy (7.45%), education (11.55%), and the financial (8.57%) sectors. Business sizes ranged from 1-50 and 5,000 and greater, located across the U.S. For additional survey findings, visit Ripcord’s website.