How do you determine the right solution for your organization? Don't set out to overhaul the whole system or fall for a slick presentation that sells you on revamping current processes to buy into a hot new technology. Use the tips below to look for a solution that integrates with existing processes and business systems to improve workflow, reduce repetitive handling of information, and improve communications.
Get Automated: Eliminate or greatly reduce paper shuffling
Finding the right technology solution is the key to organization. It's a fact that automation boosts productivity, but finding the right solution requires some legwork. HR representatives should evaluate all processes in the office and measure how much time each of those tasks takes and seek out technology solutions that automate tasks to free up employees' time. For instance, document scanning can reduce the busy work of data entry and file searching so employees can focus on more important problem-solving and business building tasks and customer service issues.
For example, the HR department at InHealth, a national sales organization headquartered in Atlanta, integrated a technology solution to reduce their tremendous volume of paperwork. From the first phone interview, to suitability testing, to the generation of an offer, paperwork accompanied each step of employee recruitment. Company regulations required the information to be securely stored for one year whether the interviewee was hired or not. InHealth implemented a technology solution that greatly reduced paper handling by electronically scanning documents and managing and storing information. Now data is easily entered, retrieved, sorted and compliant with regulations. The company has benefited in greater workflow efficiencies, a reduction in physical storage space, and better insights into employee performance issues.
Keep Everyone in the Loop: Improve Internal Communications
Technology must be accessible and easy to use for internal communications. SMBs with inefficient internal communications suffer lower productivity and poor employee morale. The information knowledge base includes all ways in which team members communicate, so the silos where information is stored need to be integrated into the overall organizational plan.
For instance, unstructured content represents much of a company's information in the form of memos, electronic files and documents, emails, instant messages and Web content. Since internal communications fall under record retention requirements, they should be classified and stored in an organized manner with other documents. Intranets managed by HR executives are also an efficient way to provide up-to-date information company-wide because of their accessibility and ease-of-use.
If a HR representative responds via email to an employee's inquiry, that email should be automatically tagged to the employee's profile in the database. Or, voicemail messages should be notated electronically and categorized according to the record to which they correspond, so the information HR representatives need to do their jobs better is at their finger tips. Strong internal communication fosters collaboration and builds a foundation for good decision making.
Go With the Workflow: Organize and improve workflow processes
Organization is about how easily and quickly information can be accessed within and outside the HR department. The abundance of human resources records for scheduling, recruiting, personnel, payroll, and benefits are often kept in paper files or separate databases and not organized for efficient retrieval. Streamline how information is identified, located, obtained, and maintained within the organization. Implement a good search and retrieval system that provides instant access to information through multiple search tools for documents, content, relationships and data. Digital versions of documents should be quickly and easily found through user-defined key words and criteria or through full-text search. Giving access to managers who need to retrieve secure files alleviates the need for special requests and retrievals from HR.
Find a technology solution that complements existing office procedures. In many companies, HR technology is not connected to operational processes and associated software. By linking HR technology to the organization's overall technology and workflow planning, the automation of HR workflow improves productivity. For instance, the addition of new employee information can be seamlessly and automatically updated in telephone directories, employee lists, payroll, benefits, Web sites and other areas in the information chain within the company.
Technology can improve productivity by reducing administrative costs and allowing a greater focus on strategic initiatives. With more focus on development issues, HR can further improve workflow productivity by following the employee after hiring. With workflow planning, technology can integrate HR data with other business information to improve efficiencies, increase employee satisfaction and reduce turnover. As workflow becomes more automated, human resources employees have more time to focus on human resource management issues such as staff development and aligning employees with management objectives.
With expertise in work patterns and the inherent knowledge of the business, HR lends essential skills to selecting a workflow solution and understanding how to best merge new technology with established work processes. A good workflow system should automate and monitor internal procedures, assign critical path processes to tasks and information flow of data and documents, and enhance existing processes to improve task management with multiple levels of accountability and control.
Integrate and Consolidate: Centralize to improve information efficiency
Centralization of information increases efficiency and productivity. Perhaps the greatest inefficiency in HR is repeating the same steps and handling the same information more than once. This redundancy could take many forms - from making duplicate paper copies of the same document for different filing systems to multiple people reviewing information independently of one another. The problem can be solved with a central file that can be accessed, updated, and shared from a main information management system. Make everything accessible that can be. For security and compliance reasons use authorization levels to access data.
As an example, managing and administering employee benefits have typically involved duplication of work. Historically, employees have completed enrollment forms and change requests, and then submitted the information to HR employees to be entered into a database. With the shift to self-service solutions, employees enter the data and it is updated in all of the databases. The process reduces the handling of paper, eliminates the duplication of the task by employees and HR staff, and allows employees immediate access to benefits information. The International Association of Human Resources Information Management reported an 18-20% cost savings recognized by companies that moved to self-service in human resources departments.
To maximize productivity, find a technology solution that will interface with existing software to centralize information. The right technology solution should integrate document imaging with information management and efficient workflow processes to provide ease of use, security, and compliance with government regulations.
What about the human factor of HR?
A Special Expertise Panel on Technology and HR Management recently reported that IT is being leveraged by HR to benefit most aspects of daily operations. Compliance requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley have pushed companies to automate to stay out of trouble with government regulators. Will automation, self-service solutions, and centralized technology erase the human factor from Human Resources? The right technology should allow human resources personnel more time to do what they do best - serve the people within the company.
With a centralized technology solution, human resources personnel can get out from under the paperwork and tedious tasks to increase productivity and make the leap to handling value-added functions. Focusing on developing employees and aligning their contributions with management objectives, a valuable resource to any company, is one of the greatest benefits technology can bring to HR.
Notes:
[1]"Technology aids the human touch. www.hrmreport.com.
[1] Mary Kesel. www.ihrim.org December 2004/January 2005.
[1] "Technology aids the human touch. www.hrmreport.com.
