The Indispensable Role of HR in Digitizing Organizations

The COVID-19 pandemic affected every aspect of business and accelerated digital transformation. As employees started working from home, many organizations adopted digital business models. In some countries, internet traffic rose by up to 60% after the outbreak.

The pandemic highlighted the need for digital transformation and also tested companies’ ability to embrace new business systems. Many organizations scrambled to migrate operations to a virtual environment, and some didn’t know where to begin. 

Some smart companies had already digitized HR processes, reducing the workload in human resources processes and cutting costs. They were already using digital HR systems to futureproof recruitment, offer self-service tools to employees, and stay competitive in a candidate-driven job market. 

Companies that had developed and executed digital strategies before the pandemic was better placed in the market. If you haven’t digitized your HR processes yet, and are considering doing so now, then here’s what you need to know about the indispensable role of HR in digitizing organizations.

1.   It Encourages Collaboration

HR digitization creates a flexible and collaborative workforce, which is essential when you’re dealing with remote employees. HR can drive business growth by building engaged teams and fostering innovation. When HR processes are digitized, it becomes easy to hire people who have a proven track record of success. 

HR can ensure the company has a collaborative culture by ingraining the quality of the business. This includes how training is offered, how people are hired, how employees are paid, and which decision-making processes are used. Collaboration also allows ideas to flow freely, increasing productivity.

2.   Provides a Positive Employee Experience

When employees have a positive experience at work, they are more engaged, more efficient, and more productive. According to research, organizations that create a positive employee experience are 1.3 times more likely to perform better. 

One way HR can create a positive employee experience is by ensuring staff have the right tools and resources to efficiently accomplish their work. Without the right tools, the employees get frustrated and feel that their employer doesn’t appreciate them.

3.   Attract and Develop the Right Talent

Some HR departments use analytics to hire great talent. They mine data and use it to hire and develop employees. In order to assign critical roles to the right people, HR must steer clear of the traditional hiring approach and take a good look at each employee’s contribution and how the organization creates value. If your organization can hire talent in line with its strategic plans, it's more likely to outperform its peers. 

What Challenges Can HR Help an Organization to Overcome?

Hiring the Wrong Talent

Attracting and retaining top talent is a priority for any organization that wants sustainably high results. However, the process requires a lot of discernment, time, and effort. Roles and expectations are continuously changing in the modern workplace, so aligning a recruitment strategy to an ever-changing organizational culture can be difficult. 

A company is only as good as its employees, but finding top talent is usually costly and time-consuming. The average cost to hire an employee is $4,129, and it takes around 42 days to fill a position. Don’t chalk these numbers up to "the cost of doing business." Your company can save time and money by using recruiting software.

Creating an Inclusive Workforce

Building a diverse and welcoming workforce isn’t a PR move, it’s something that can help a business reap great rewards. Diversity-minded companies are more innovative, better at handling change, and two times more likely to meet or exceed their financial goals. They also generate more revenue per employee. HR can use recruiting software that makes hiring processes transparent. The selection process can be the same for every candidate, regardless of the hiring criteria.

Embracing Change

To support digital transformation efforts, your company needs a culture change. Organizational change can affect every dimension of the workplace, from customer interactions to the working environment to the nature of competition. 

Change invokes discomfort amongst employees, especially when they are not prepared for it. Digitized human resource departments can easily manage employee morale and cooperation during periods of change. They can upskill employees so they are better prepared to meet constantly changing business needs.  

How the Pandemic Enabled Digital Transformation Across Organizations

1.   It Transformed the Business Model

Retiring CISCO CEO predicted that nearly 40% of businesses would die in ten years if they didn't digitize their operations. To be effective, digital transformation should affect every facet of the organization, from people to processes. About 79% of companies reinvented their business model because of the pandemic. Most in-person services were moved online.

The share of digitally-enabled products in company portfolios accelerated by 7 years during the pandemic. Since digitization is not an overnight process, organizations identified smaller opportunities for digital enhancement. For example, insurance companies started optimizing policy pricing by monitoring and scoring customers. 

2.   Changed Organizational Operations

To stay afloat during the pandemic, organizations used multiple digital platforms. Some accelerated internal operations, supply chains, and customer interactions by 3 to 4 years. Businesses are now more responsive to changing customer needs and behaviours.

More companies now use Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to automate data analysis and make decisions in real-time. This has improved business efficiency and offered a major competitive advantage. 

Digitization has helped businesses fast-track product development. Many leverage real-time data to introduce new services and optimize operational performance. Projects that would have previously taken years to complete now take weeks.

3.   Enhanced the Customer Experience 

In the digital era, customer experience is everything. Digitization helps companies stay agile, adapt quickly, and serve customers better. When the pandemic struck, many people turned to digital content to meet their entertainment needs. 67% of people watched more news and 51% streamed more shows and films. This prompted a new kind of customer experience. 

80% of businesses sped up their digital transformation initiatives. Among the top 3 fast-tracked initiatives was reinventing digital experiences for customers. Physical-digital integration is now more important. More businesses have blended their physical and digital services to serve customers better. 

4.   Enhanced the Employee Experience 

Before the pandemic, about a third of U.S. employees worked remotely most of the time. But during the pandemic, up to 70% of office workers worked from home. Despite finding it hard to manage their work and family lives, 77% of employees believed working remotely after COVID-19 would make them happier. Almost 63% of employees desire to work remotely full time.

Thanks to collaboration software, organizations were able to create a work platform that connected all employees. Remote work has increased the use of digital platforms, allowing employees to access work-related information easily. 

2 Real-Life Examples of Organizations That Were Enhanced by HR Digitization 

Câmara Municipal de Cascais

The Câmara Municipal de Cascais governs the Portuguese town Cascais. To transform its paper-based processes into paperless ones, it created a mobile-enabled digital workplace and migrated all employees to Microsoft Exchange Online. It aimed to improve employee productivity by empowering employees to manage emails and documents with online collaboration software. This improved collaboration by 20% and workers were able to complete group initiatives 7% faster. 

Saudi Airlines Catering Company

Previously, Saudi Airlines Catering Company (SACC) had an infrastructure that prevented a timely response to shifting business needs. When SACC partnered with Microsoft, it developed an HR and finance platform employees could access as a web service. Employees could access Microsoft’s Office 365 productivity suite from their devices, which resulted in enhanced collaboration through a unified communications infrastructure. 

Summing Up

Digital transformation is now more important than ever. Because of changing marketplace conditions, your company may need to reprioritize its digital initiatives based on relevance and new opportunities. Adjust your digital transformation strategy if it doesn’t deliver value. Also, transform your people and company culture as your business transforms.