In January, we traditionally make good resolutions for the upcoming year. After the year 2020, which took us all by surprise and required us to adapt very quickly, for Human Resources, 2021 promises to be full of challenges; making good resolutions should help you meet them.
Resolution #1: Increase digitalization of HR services
The pandemic has had a major impact on our lives, but also on businesses, and has led most of them to rethink their operations very quickly, particularly in their digital transformation.
You, HR departments and managers, have found yourselves on the front line in crisis management and continuity of HR services. Having access to all services, information, and being able to communicate quickly have become vital issues. HRIS have been indispensable tools in crisis management (see our white paper: Crisis management and HR business continuity).
To respond to the new challenges facing the HR function, HRIS have evolved to become increasingly open, agile and interconnected, while guaranteeing respect for the security and confidentiality of data and the rights of each user.
The massive digitalization of HR services is therefore the first trend that should be confirmed in 2021. However, successful digitization of HR services requires strategic thinking when choosing a technological solution.
Resolution #2: Find new efficiency levers - Automation & AI
In 2021, the HR function must continue its digital transformation to optimize operational efficiency and proximity to employees and maintain a high level of service.
HR management processes will have to turn to artificial intelligence to simplify or even automate cyclical or time-consuming management operations, such as payroll processes, team planning or employee integration processes.
HRIS platforms enable the automation of these tasks to significantly improve the efficiency of HR teams, allowing them to focus on tasks with greater added value and to position themselves as a strategic element of the company.
Choosing a solution that includes AI will also help the HR function to expand its range of possibilities and applications: prediction of departures and evaluation of commitment, recruitment assistance, skills development, or even promoting internal mobility, etc. (See our article: AI & HR, four letters that fit perfectly).
Resolution #3: Rethink the employee experience
The employee experience and quality of work life will also be major issues for 2021. The digital transformation of HR and the use of HR platforms and software solutions must be able to inspire a new “collaborator experience”. Just like a customer experience in a store, the employee is a customer like any other: yours. Just like your customers, you want to satisfy your employees to keep them loyal. You must therefore provide them with the best experience and the best tools available, so that they can grow while contributing to the achievement of your company’s objectives.
How can this rethought employee experience become reality? From a technological point of view, first, through HR portals. These will need to be equipped with extensive capabilities for personalization, configuration of validation circuits and contextualization, such as the use of chatbots coupled with knowledge bases such as HR Shared Service Centers.
The HR portal must also be accessible in self-service anytime, anywhere, mobile and teleworking and from any computer, tablet or mobile device, in line with the ATAWD concept born from the digital transformation: any time, any where, any device.
These tools will be the vectors of a resolutely more collaborative human experience. Your organizations will be able to maintain more easily contact with employees, an open listening and provide more transparency.
The other important aspect of the employee experience is the balance between family and work (see our different sceal) to which managers and executives will have to pay greater attention. As the health crisis drags on, the work/life barrier is crumbling and continues to impact employees’ daily lives. Employee commitment could be tarnished as a result, as well as their motivation, which is nonetheless crucial in teams and for the smooth running of organizations and projects.
Resolution #4: Be the driving force behind change management
In 2020, we had to be resilient and adapt again and again to move forward in an unexpected and more than difficult context.
The situation, of course, continues, but the element of surprise has passed and you, the human resources managers, must once again become the main players in your organizations and be the driving force behind change management, particularly in this accelerated digital transformation.
Armed with technological solutions and HR strategies that have been rethought, improved, and even augmented if it comes to artificial intelligence, be proactive and lead the change management process to meet the challenges, constraints and changes inherent in a transformation imposed by an unprecedented health crisis.
Digital transformation and proactivity will be the key words to take up the challenges of 2021 and act sustainably on the HR issues of the coming years. Keeping your resolutions and taking up these challenges will give you the keys to take your organization to another level in a sustainable way.
Given the strategic nature of the challenges, working with a quality partner to support you will increase the speed at which you can move forward. SIGMA-HR can help you in the digital transformation of your HR processes, do not hesitate to consult our experts to share your challenges and thus approach this new year with serenity.