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Technology with a human touch

The HR Professional could be forgiven for thinking they’re an extra in a sci-fi movie when looking at the future for HR management. When talk of Artificial Intelligence, Chat Bots and Robotic Automation is prevalent, it can be easy for the human side of the job to take something of a back seat.

Development and advances in technology are inevitable for all professions, but this is only a small part of the overall picture. To ensure the future growth of an organisation, it should look to technological advances for support, yet remain focused on developing the resources that power the organisation and drive it forward. The workplace is fuelled by engagement, productivity and creativity; qualities that require constant care and attention and, if neglected, can lead to employees becoming disengaged from their job and employer.

Use of technology should sit alongside practices for recruiting, developing and retaining the top talent. Attracting and retaining the best candidate is a priority for recruiters; however, some companies still fall short when it comes to recruitment technique and the practices of equality, diversity and inclusion. Such practices are rapidly gaining momentum and require a focused, consistent approach to ensure the desire to employ the best is not impacted by conscious (or subconscious) decisions based on a candidate’s gender, background, education and so forth. The employee lifecycle starts with a structured hiring process, followed by on-boarding, before the employee is even through the front door. Technology can support and enhance the lifecycle but not make it happen.

Alongside technology and good recruitment practise, the HR team has the challenge of aligning talent with business needs and objectives; positioning HR as a key driver of business results. But this alignment does not happen automatically, it takes effort and a willingness to change.  To be considered a strategic contributor to the business, HR must understand the importance of using data and metrics to measure their success and identify areas for improvement. Fortunately, a data driven approach to recruitment and talent management has never been easier, thanks to the reporting and analytics functions within HR management software. It is now possible to track the success of your recruitment process, the effectiveness of your approach to on-boarding, monitor equality and diversity policies and retention rates and much more.  Through investment in recruitment, on-boarding and talent management tools to support best practice, you not only create a positive employee experience from day one, you will contribute to the overall success of the business.

In the modern workplace, the cornerstones of human resource management are still in place; however, the cement between them can crumble. There are now tools at our fingertips to fix this. We can use technology to help improve the entire employee lifecycle but, no matter how much it may transform the business of HR, technology will still require the human touch. This is what powers an organisation through engagement, productivity and creativity.

HR software from Frontier Software delivers an integrated approach to recruitment, on-boarding, talent management and reporting from a single database. It will reduce workforce administration, improve productivity, align company objectives with employee performance and use proven technology to deliver efficiencies.


Originally published in HR Grapevine July 2020.