Companies are constantly on the lookout for an edge above the competition. Often the focus for finding that edge is on external variables: garnering additional marketplace awareness, providing a better customer experience, raising service levels, etc. But, sometimes the more mundane, internal processes get overlooked as we continue to focus on raising that bar. One department that often gets turned a blind eye is the Human Resources Department.
HR has always traditionally had very manual processes for receiving information, reviewing documentation, inputting data, and record keeping. Keeping track of expense reports, routing applications and resumes, maintaining employee assessments and the like through traditional means isn’t the norm in today’s business landscape. Companies are getting smarter and applying technology in order to work that way.
For companies of any size or at any stage of growth, cloud-based documentation within HR offers distinct advantages. We’ll go over three here.
Agility
Cloud-based HR streamlines a myriad of documentation needs, in addition to being flexible and accessible. HR departments that embrace cloud-based technology become, in a word, agile. Employees and candidates can upload documents into one central repository, managers can review cover letters and resumes faster from any location, and other documentation gets processed in a self-service environment, increasing speed and flow.
Efficiency
When HR workflows become automated, employees on both the sending and receiving ends have more time available to do the work they were hired for. They are no longer tracking and playing the follow-up game to figure out where things are. Going paperless, automating your manual processes, and storing your sensitive information in a secure environment with tracking and credentialed access does more than just create time savings and a central, trackable location for what used to be filing cabinets of paperwork. It decreases openings for human error and gives you peace of mind. Letting technology play a hand in freeing up staff helps create a more strategic partner in your HR Department.
Innovation & Retention
In HR, you know all too well about how tough recruitment and engaging top talent can be. Along with autonomy, one of the most important job aspects to millennials (who make up the majority of recruitable talent in today’s job market), is being part of a company that is innovative and forward-thinking. Companies who understand how to invest in programs, people, and process to become innovative and use advancing technologies continue to be more and more popular amongst jobseekers. With rapid growth in cloud technology affecting more areas of the business, it’s only natural that a higher level of functionality the cloud offers has become the expected norm.
Even if you aren’t ready to do make an investment to move everything to a cloud solution, taking the time to assess what your HR Department could look like with a few tweaks could be well worth your time. Finding a consultative partner like WorldView to help you through that is a great starting point towards building a strategic plan to get you to that next level.
