As we enter 2010, Human Resources (HR) professionals are looking for more functions than ever before from their software. Initially, HR software provided little more than a database system and a means of managing payroll processes, says Gabriela Skeoch, Global Head of Technology Consulting at Alexander Mann Solutions. She continues: “Today, companies are looking for a system to add more value to HR and provide a greater return on investment through technology solutions that help HR work more efficiently; by automating time-intensive processes and integrating more effectively with employees’ day-to-day working lives.
Due to the recession, Roger Moore, General Manager at Bond TeamSpirit expects the main area of focus this year will be around time recording and workflow. He says that given the resizing of businesses in the last 12 months, the number of staff a company employs is at a minimum, and hence the deployment of the right skills at the right time for the right job is becoming a major administrative overhead. Companies are therefore asking for the ability to record hours worked or absences based on a flexible working arrangement. According to Roger Moore, this is leading to more and more demands for workflow-based alerts to be established, such that if the number of staff available falls below a certain level, management can be alerted to the fact and can respond accordingly. He says: “This is particularly true in those environments (such as retail concessions) where a manager may be looking after several distributed outlets. However, with concessions, this can lead to problems around the infrastructure of IT as in many cases there are limits as to what can be deployed within the concession environment. To this extent more and more solutions are taking advantage of GPRS (mobile phone) technology using low-cost clocking terminals which transmit live attendance information via the GPRS network to the HR application. This in turn can be set up to advise/alert a manager if there are staffing issues that may require their attention.”
Software as a service (SaaS) is a relatively new way of providing software. It can be delivered via the internet, and is increasingly popular as a cost effective, easily upgraded solution. Larry Cucchi, Managing Director of International Operations at Peopleclick Authoria says: “This means that HR software projects can be readily approved by the HR department especially as little or no involvement is required from their in-house IT services support team. Furthermore, providing that the users (typically hiring managers or recruiters) have access to the internet then the rollout of SaaS type applications can be quickly achieved with limited instruction or training required for end users as these applications tend to be designed to be intuitive to use.” Gabriela Skeoch comments that SaaS will remain popular due to lower initial outlay and maintenance costs while providing facilitated system upgrades and ongoing new functionality. The notion of everyone within a business being able to use software technology is increasingly important. Hence she says software therefore has to be intuitive, user friendly and easily accessible in order for its audience to carry out the spectrum of required tasks from self-appraisal in a performance evaluation to changing their address details for payroll purposes; all from a single access portal. Gabriela Skeoch continues: “Vendors are responding to these changing requirements. HR software is becoming increasingly integrated, allowing different functions such as recruitment, payroll, performance management and employee development to be carried out within a single system. HR software is also being more closely integrated with other day-to-day business tools such as Outlook, thereby helping to boost adoption of the software throughout the business.”
Organisational readiness and agility will be the name of the game this year, says Richard Doherty. He says: “Massive Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems can be difficult to scale and tailor to the unique needs of individual businesses. Many businesses cannot wait another 18 months for these systems to flex to changing market conditions, and are therefore turning to specialist HR and talent management vendors to deliver the solutions that best fit their business.”Karen Bull, product strategy manager, at MidlandHR agrees this will be a key growth area for 2010. She sees human capital management (HCM), encompassing talent and performance management as being critical to ensuring that organisations can ride the storm during another difficult year. She believes: “An organisation’s talent is a main driver of performance and so as resource becomes scarce it is vital that organisations are able to retain their best talent. Performance Management software enables organisations to identify and reward their highest performers and manage poor performance. In the rapidly changing economy when organisations are required to respond to new business goals, software plays a critical part in ensuring visibility of goals and tracking the alignment of individuals to changing organisational strategy. Organisations that will succeed in 2010 are those that understand the skill requirements of the changing business and are able to rapidly re-deploy their people to meet the new demands. Skills assessment and match and gap analysis software, as well as workforce planning solutions play a key part in this.”
The term ‘social media’ is omnipresent this year, and it may come in useful when there is little budget available. Karen Bull says recruitment software plays a key role in building and sifting talent pools and even where there is no budget to recruit, the latest social networking software will enable organisations to build networks and develop their employer brand ready for when times change. For example, Arithon software has joined forces with LinkedIn, the professional network. Recruiters can now search LinkedIn profiles, and when a suitable candidate is found they can import their details. The recruiter can then invite them to join their ‘group’, and also keep them on record for future vacancies. Richard Doherty predicts that this use of social media will make organisations more proactive in attracting both active and passive candidates and sourcing referrals in the future. He says key to the success of social recruiting will be to ensure that it is aligned and integrated with an organisation’s existing recruitment processes and technology. For example, existing applicant tracking systems can be extended to search through social networks.”
Which software ?
There are three key considerations to make when selecting an HR software system, says Chris Phillips, vice president of international marketing at Taleo.
Can this solution grow with our needs? One of the most common reasons for organisations to look for a new recruiting system, for example, is that they have outgrown the capabilities of their old system. A highly configurable on-demand solution which allows you to reconfigure the tool yourself gives you both greater flexibility, and avoids expensive vendor consulting fees every time you want to make a change.
What resources the vendor can provide after the software has gone live? For example, what ecosystem of partners, customers, and subject matter experts can the vendor provide? A leading provider is more likely to have a strong user community, providing a forum to share best practices and advice.
Where will the vendor be in a few years time?
The HR software market has undergone significant consolidation over recent years, with the purchase of some of the weaker vendors. Try to determine the long-term market position and vision of your first-choice vendor. They may be able to provide what you need now but will they still be a market leader in a few years?
The right technology system can make a huge difference to a business’ HR processes, says Chris Phillips. He says if it is well-implemented HR software can significantly reduce costs and improve the productivity of the workforce over time. It also frees up HR staff from having to carry out resource-heavy tasks manually, releasing them up to focus on more strategic tasks.
However, the wrong choice of software can be hugely damaging to your business, resulting not just in a wasted investment but a backward step in terms of HR processes, says Gabriela Skeoch. She warns: “If you select a system that is not user-friendly and integrated into managers’ daily routines, individuals will simply not use the tools. The system you choose must be able to work in conjunction with other processes and solutions. Without this integration, you risk ending up with technology silos where information and processes become isolated within the business.”
Despite and perhaps because of the recession, the correct HR software is as vital as ever for the health of your business. The use of SaaS looks set to become an established alternative to traditional systems, as does the potential for companies to be more self sufficient and able to customise their own solutions. Integration and partnerships with vendors is a trend that is also set to continue, as well as the use of mobile phones.
Investment in sound foundations now will pay dividends as the market picks up, so why not investigate what new software could do for you?
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