As HR managers, you and your team are faced with an array of challenges both administrative and interpersonal. From day-to-day payroll administration to talent acquisition, compliance with federal regulation, training, performance tracking, juggling hybrid work schedules and more, it’s easy to feel overburdened.
Thankfully, a growing spectrum of HR technologies has emerged to help make your team’s jobs that much easier. These solutions can help free up time for employee mediation, event planning, company retreats and employee education programs that too often fly under the radar when HR teams get bogged down in process and procedure without the tools they need.
Here are 10 HR technologies you and your team can leverage according to your needs to achieve better outcomes for a more efficient, effective and desirable workplace going forward.
ATS systems manage, organize and yes, track applicants through the application process for an organization. These are frequently used to screen applicants and can also be configured to automate interview scheduling and applicant communication.
This is best for organizations that have a consistently high volume of applicants, particularly applicants who might be poorly qualified. However, there’s a caveat: over-relying on these solutions can lead to very undesirable results.
Examples of applicant tracking systems include TalentLMS, Moodle, Bamboo HR and Workable.
Employee Engagement Platforms are focused on helping to automate, streamline and organize communications with employees. This includes automated systems designed to provide feedback that helps guide and even encourage employees.
These are best if an organization is struggling with employee engagement, satisfaction, or even retention rates. By helping to solicit feedback from employees in a way that feels safe and anonymous, companies can develop a more holistic perspective on employee sentiment whether remote or in-person.
Hybrid work models arguably introduce even more complexity that could benefit from an employee engagement platform, as HR professionals need to keep up with the varying demands of two different work styles. If your organization is one of the 74% of U.S. companies using or planning on a hybrid model, take notice.
Examples of employee engagement platforms include Culture Amp, Nectar, Lattice, WorkTango Inc. and Leapsome GmbH.
Learning Management Systems are software applications (or sets of applications) specializing in the management, delivery and assessment of learning and development materials.
By tracking course content and managing communication between students and instructors, LMS systems automate progress tracking. These systems can even make pedagogical assessments on the fly, with the latest solutions leveraging artificial intelligence.
If an organization wants to invest in robust systems training or ensure their employees are well-versed in financial management techniques, LMS systems can be a perfect choice. Some top examples include CYPHER Learning, Talent LMS, and iSpring.
LMS systems can work hand-in-hand with Employee Wellness Platforms as part of a broader HR strategy to improve employee knowledge.
These platforms are designed to address a growing industry trend toward emphasizing wellness across multiple dimensions, including mental, physica, and financial health. Some of the best providers include Vantage Fit, IncentFit, Virgin Pulse and others.
No matter your organization type, to combat turnover, build a reputation as a desirable workplace and attract that new talent that keeps organizations competitive, employee wellness initiatives are critical.
By offering a centralized software platform for managing key wellness indicators, HR teams can more easily organize complex, company-wide wellness initiatives to help moderate burnout, foster a closer community and ultimately boost productivity.
These platforms can help conduct Personal Health Assessments, provide easy, remote access to financial wellness education materials and encourage internal social support via events and tools designed to create more informal interactions between employees.
Effective hiring decisions followed up by well-structured onboarding processes allow organizations to grow seamlessly, quickly scale operations, reach and maintain competitive talent and leverage hiring dollars more effectively. First impressions matter, and an employee who feels supported from day one will carry on much more confidently and capably.
Onboarding Software can automate some of the more tedious onboarding tasks, helping to create onboarding templates, mobile-powered tools and reference sheets (particularly useful for some professionals, such as customer service) and automatically manage onboarding paperwork, including complex tax forms.
Some of the best examples include Paycor, Rippling, Workday and ADP Workforce Now.
Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) are software platforms aimed at the centralization of employee data and can handle most of the major functions of an HR department.
These often come from generalized providers who may not specialize in any one given area, but provide a wide range of services. HR data collection is the primary focus of many HRIS systems. Common examples include Rippling, Gusto and BambooHR.
Choosing a single HRIS system can be an excellent choice for a budget-strapped organization, but choosing individual, specialized service providers for some of your most important HR functions can be a better fit depending on your needs.
Performance Management Systems are essential if your organization needs accurate KPI measurements or if specific teams, like marketing, want to improve the accuracy and transparency of its performance tracking. Keep in mind that performance management systems are built for different purposes. While one might be best for long-term performance tracking and career development goals, others might be ideal for call centers or other locations with clear, day-to-day KPIs.
Today, these systems are advanced enough to help create entire employee development plans, administer performance reviews and automatically generate helpful feedback. Common examples include Lattice, Leapsom and Trakstar.
Some larger organizations travel, a lot. As a significant portion of budget spending (and often discretionary), Travel and Expense Management software helps to keep track of all of those expenses. That can include ensuring trip itineraries are correct to making expense requests more orderly, timely and consistent.
Like other software solutions, this software plays the dual role of automating tedious processes—such as ensuring travel regulations are met and expenses are properly filed to lead accounting teams—and generating data-driven insights that make informed operational improvements possible. Some common solutions include Emburse, Certify and Expensify.
No organization wants to be left without a clear leadership chain, especially during a crisis. Succession Planning Software is a form of talent acquisition software targeting executive-level positions while providing tools to ensure that relevant functions are properly delegated during transition periods.
Think of it as a kind of ‘early detection’ software, providing data to help you ensure business continuity across leadership changes. Success planning also involves leadership development programs where several key HR technologies can come together to help organizations prepare for the next steps. Top examples include Accendo, Mercer, TalentGuard and Saba Cloud.
One of the most critical tools for any HR department is effective payroll and benefits management software. Payroll is the most sensitive data most HR departments regularly handle, featuring strict reporting and compliance guidelines. Consistent benefits administration is non-negotiable for satisfied, well-supported employees. Organizations that suffer from inconsistent administration in these two key areas will likely experience high turnover and a company culture that feels insecure and unstable.
But what if organizations could have consistently administered payroll that also offered fast trends analysis, data-driven insights, time-saving automation and tools to better communicate complex benefit plans with employees? With a secure, Universal API solution, organizations can achieve all those efficiency gains and generate insights while integrating with existing systems seamlessly.
That makes it easier for teams to not only leverage the new tools but also rest assured that their existing workflows won’t be made any more unmanageable (quite the contrary).
Which technologies an organization should invest in varies depending on their goals both short and long term. Naturally, some solutions will suit certain company cultures better than others.
When assessing organizational needs, each of the available tech solutions on the market should be surveyed, yes. However, upfront costs and speed to positive ROI—accounting for startup times and integration costs over a long period—are also essential calculations.
Lastly, make room for testing and implementation; if you aren’t sure to fully integrate a new solution in an organization, choosing a service partner who can take the organization through it step by step may be best.
No matter what, any new solution will need to fit into existing workflows, styles and other employee preferences. A software solution may look like the best on the market, but it isn’t the best for an organization whose employees simply don’t ‘jive’ with it. An organization should always make sure to bring stakeholders—the people who will actually be using the solution—into the conversation.