Applying Technology to HR: How and where to start

Technology changes the way HR\ndepartments contact employees, store files and analyse employee performance.\nWhen used well, technology makes HR practices more efficient. When used poorly,\nit can get in the way of managing the company's human resources. Technology\nmakes it easier to gather and break down data of employees to get an overall\npicture. Good HR practices maximise the benefits and minimize the problems when\ntechnology is used well.

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What is technology? Technology is\nthe sum of techniques, skills, methods and processes used in the production of\ngoods and services. It helps make things easier or resolves problems since it\nis a practical application of knowledge. Applying Technology to HR is providing\ngroundbreaking HR automated technology solutions that re-shape the way people\nwork and how they think about HR.

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The adoption of automation and\nartificial intelligence (AI) marks an acceleration over skills shifts in HR,\nthe future of workforce. This will transform the workplace as people\nincreasingly interact with ever-smarter machines. Technology makes the tasks of\nrecruitment, payroll and performance evaluation more manageable and allows HR\nstaff members to better engage with the company's employees. Automation and\n'thinking machines' are replacing human tasks as well as changing the skills\nthat organisations are looking for in their people.

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These technologies, and that\nhuman-machine interaction, will bring numerous benefits in the form of higher\nproductivity, GDP growth, improved corporate performance, and new prosperity,\nbut they will also change the skills required of human workers. There are wide\nvarieties of HR technology groundbreaking solutions that have begun to give\nshape and substance to the world of human resources. Some of them include:

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Recruitment\nPortals

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As the name implies, recruiting portals\nstreamline the hiring process. HR specialists can post job ads, accept job\napplications; manage candidates and do more without the hassle of manually\ntracking everything by themselves. Predicting workforce demand and attrition,\nsearching for the right candidate, primary screening and interviews can all be\nachieved by a few clicks with intelligent AI Recruitment Portals. Candidates no\nlonger need to send their CVs every time there is a job opening, therefore,\nonce they register on these portals and upload their CVs the Recruitment Portals\nwill automatically shortlist them if they are suitable for the position.

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Performance\nManagement Applications

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Performance Management is a\nprocess of ensuring that a set of objectives and pre-set goals are met over a\nset period. Technology has streamlined the process and eliminated a lot of\nunnecessary steps for evaluations and tracking of performance between\nsupervisor and employee. The Performance Management applications can assist\nmanagers to track their staff member's performance throughout the year, saving\nnotes and feedback to prepare both manager and employee for the evaluation with\na few clicks.

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Salary\nPortals and Advisors

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Salaries portals such as Glasssdoor, PayScale and IPC\nPayGenius help\nemployers and employees compare their salaries against market trends. Here\ntechnology has also streamlined the process of salaries and benefits data\ncollection, analysis and report generation by a click of a button. It is well\nknown that employee compensation is a business activity with constantly moving\nparts and it needs to be continuously updated and managed especially in these\ntrying times. Technology has increased the efficiency of business processes and\nfrees up HR from many of the manual tasks it performs.

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Betterworks CEO Doug Dennerline says HR will\nsee a new level of data competency in 2019 with the rapid and widespread\nadoption of people analytics that help managers and executives make decisions\nabout their workforce. “The raw data pulled from analytics can be used to\ncreate actionable insights and ultimately support data-driven decisions around\npromotions or compensation, development and success planning, and agile\ncross-functional team staffing,” Dennerline says.

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While technology plays a crucial\nrole in transforming human resources management software and operations from\npersonnel management to business execution, technology itself does not create\nthis change. HR managers must leverage technology to drive real value to the\nbusiness. If you want to get started with a powerful yet cost-effective HR\nsoftware, I recommend that you start with a solution that is in tune with the\ntechnological trends mentioned above. You can contact IPC at bis@ipcconsultants.com for a free trial today.

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Kudzai Derera is the Business Systems\nManager at Industrial Psychology Consultants (Pvt) Ltd, a management and human\nresources consulting firm.

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LinkedIn: https://zw.linkedin.com/in/kudzaiderera

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Phone: +263 242 481946-48/481950

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Mobile: +263 773 523 084

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Email: kudzai@ipcconsultants.com

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Main\nWebsite: www.ipcconsultants.com.