Have you ever thought about the fact that we do things at work that don't quite make sense? We invest our own time and energy, and that of our employees, disproportionately to the needs and results of the business. Does this busy work resonate with any the things you had to do today?
The everyday reality of HR
I recently asked myself why so many issues related to employment, pay, bonuses, appraisals, dismissals, travel etc. require a personal visit to HR or at least a phone call or email? The managers I have spoken to share this concern. HR departments are drowning in paperwork and employees quickly lose patience with dealing with certain issues.
Now that we know how things are, let's look at why, and how things could be.
Why can HR be "difficult"?
Every organisation has its own reasons. Maybe it's a matter of getting used to what's been done before. Just remember that what has worked in the past is not necessarily the best solution. Another reason might be lack of time to make adjustments - but what if ditching outdated, time-consuming methods could save that time?
The speed of change
Everything is evolving. We have found that the reality around us can change rapidly, directly affecting our businesses. Access to online forms and data in pre-made graphics and charts are obvious solutions to young employees. After all, who wouldn't want to concentrate on his or her tasks instead of dealing with administrative processes?
Employees in their organisations would like to be served as customers. They would prefer to interact efficiently, using data forms, automatic processes where applicable rather than book meetings
In our private lives, we use information technology almost everywhere. We buy on the Internet, pay our bills online, communicate via social networks, check the status of our orders, bookings and so on. On the other hand, many processes still require paper, a stamp, a phone call or a personal visit to the office, however, these are increasingly becoming rare as access to malleable technology solutions have become far cheaper over the years, enabling even small user base estimates to be viable enough for an investment into technology infrastructure.
As a matter of fact, work matters are not very different in nature from what we do in private. We communicate, search for products to buy, pay our bills, get a TV licence, estimate our budget or plan leisure activities. These and many other activities can be done from the level of a laptop, smartphone or tablet. Various applications make our everyday life easier and save our time and energy. Is it possible, then, to transfer these efficient solutions to our offices?
Not only is it possible, but it actually should be the preferred solution. Fortunately, it is easier than you might think. There are ready-made IT systems available on the market, designed to manage human resources. A good HCM system with wide functional scope in the field of HR, sales and revenue management such as PipeDrive or Salesforce and accounting tools such as Xero and these things make life much easier for all: employees, HR specialists and managers.
Yet, it is not all about data, graphs and charts, but about people, their capabilities and needs. For all of them, a good system will enable remote access to everything that is needed to accomplish their work productively.
