Much like every other corporate department, the role of the Human Resources division is remolded in parallel with emerging technology. HR is not immune to the technological revolution, and savvy HR departments embrace new tech with open arms.
Here are four technological developments that are catalysts for change in HR.
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1. Payroll Automation
All companies want to reduce the workload given to departments in order to create a more efficient organization. HR departments tend to spend a great deal of their time on the rather dull tasks involved with payroll management.
Payroll management tasks may be boring and repetitive, but they are absolutely essential to keep a business running. Employees need to be paid correctly and on time if a company is to have any hope of retaining the right people.
Payroll automation software removes the need for manual completion of pay management and generally takes a huge amount of work away from HR departments so that they can focus on more complex and human-oriented tasks.
2. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is a term used to describe the actual or imagined ability of a computer to make decisions and complete tasks using analysis in the same way that a human is able to. AI has several potential applications in Human Resources.
One of the most obvious applications comes in the form of inquiry automation. Chatbots will be able to take the place of human HR operatives in fielding workplace and employment questions.
3. Big Data
All company departments are increasingly working in a data-driven fashion, and this includes the HR division. Big data is a catch-all term for any dataset that is so large and varied that it can only be coded and analyzed by a computer.
Due to our increasingly networked, online world, big datasets are created and harvested more swiftly than ever before. By using big datasets, HR departments can effectively analyze employment and effectiveness trends. They can see how long, on average, employees are retained for, what they expect to be paid, and their average qualifications.
They can use their analysis to create effective forecasts of the future. These forecasts can then be utilized in the identification of roles to fill and changes to make within an organization.
4. Virtual Reality
Virtual and augmented reality might not have an immediately obvious function in the realm of Human Resources. This technology can, however, allow for the effective dispersion of an immensely important thing: training.
If a company is able to distribute VR headsets to employees and has the budget to be able to commission a training program, then it is quite plausible that education will be able to be effectively carried out remotely.
HR innovators are paying close attention to developments in Virtual Reality due to the ongoing – and almost certainly long-lasting – impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. Remote working is, as they say, the new normal. Human Resources departments need to use technology like VR in order to mitigate the potential pitfalls of remote and hybrid working systems.
There you have it: the four technologies that will revolutionize HR.