The world of work is changing. And companies need, now more than ever, to embrace digital HR to be able to serve these changing needs when it comes to both candidates and employees.
This article focuses on the concept of digital HR, what it encompasses, and what its benefits are. It also provides some good advice on how HR departments can kickstart their digitalization journey.
What is digital HR?
Digital HR refers to the transformation of human resources processes through the use of digital technologies. By automating many of the manual processes involved in their function, HR can work more efficiently and effectively.
Embracing digital transformation in HR also means that businesses can save costs and time while improving the employee experience.
Examples of digital HR
HR as a profession involves a lot of paperwork and time-consuming tasks. Therefore, it is an ideal candidate for digitalization.
Some examples of processes or functions within HR that you can digitalize are:
1. Recruitment
It’s a competitive market out there. Some job listings receive hundreds of applications, which can be time-consuming to sort through manually. That’s why more and more companies are choosing to rely on HR automation tools, such as Applicant Tracking Systems, to help discover the most qualified applicants more efficiently.
2. Onboarding
The way people work is shifting. With hybrid and remote working environments becoming more popular, the onboarding process needs to be adjusted. Using a digital tool can make the onboarding process smoother for both the employer and the employee, allowing them to seamlessly adapt to new ways of collaboration and even consider the option to hire a virtual assistant.
3. Employee self-service
Having a self-service portal where employees can find payslips and relevant information or request vacation days can lighten the daily workload of HR departments significantly. With such a system, employees are empowered to find the needed information themselves, so HR can focus on other tasks rather than answering the same questions daily.
4. Document management
HR departments have to create and manage a significant amount of paperwork — from employment contracts to IT policies and bonus agreements. Relying on a document surveillance system that allows them to digitally send, sign, and store all employee documentation in one place is a game-changer.
What are the benefits of digital HR?
Digital HR makes life easier for human resources departments and has several benefits.
HR employees can work more efficiently
Digital solutions automate many manual tasks, from collecting candidate data to managing payroll. That means HR staff can reduce the amount of time spent on manual work and save time which can be, in turn, spent on more value-adding work.
Attract and retain talent
In today’s digital world, candidates expect a convenient and personalized recruitment process.
All companies are looking to attract top talent, including your competitors. A digital, seamless recruitment process can drive competitive advantage and ensure that top candidates choose you.
Compliance and security
HR departments are also subject to several regulations, such as the GDPR. And manually managing compliance duties can be an overwhelming task.
Cloud-based digital platforms securely store all employee information on servers within the EU in compliance with the GDPR. And also help mitigate the risks associated with storing personal data on your computer’s hard drive.
Cloud-based digital platforms securely store all employee information on servers within the EU in compliance with the GDPR. And also help mitigate the risks associated with storing personal data on your computer’s hard drive.
Analytics & insights
Digital tools also mean better access to data. Thanks to in-built reporting and analytics, HR teams get a better understanding of how employees are doing. This enables them to spot trends faster and act on this knowledge to improve employee engagement and well-being.
At the end of the day, happy and engaged employees lead to increased productivity and better overall business performance.
How to get started with digital human resources management
Changing the way you work is never easy. But embracing digital HR is quickly becoming a must in order to stay competitive. So, where do you start?
The process might look different from organization to organization. A great place to start is identifying which current HR processes you spend significant amounts of time on, require a lot of manual work, and are repetitive. The chances are those processes can be digitalized and automated.
Next, define the needs you have from a digital tool. Here, you should also weigh impact and effort. What is the business impact of digitalizing the above-identified processes? And what is the effort required to do so in terms of time, costs, and other factors?
Once you’ve done that, you can start researching solutions. With so many tools available today, you’ll definitely have plenty to choose from. Book some meetings, talk to some vendors and see which solutions on the market best fit your needs.
Digital HR document management: Penneo makes it easy
As mentioned above, a digital tool for sending, signing, and storing documentation will go a long way in making the HR team’s life easier.
Penneos Sign helps HR departments:
- Send contracts, bonus agreements, and more to employees for digital signing
- Securely store all employee documents on the cloud
- Collect employee information via online forms
- See which documents have been opened, signed, delayed, or rejected
- Meet deadlines by sending automatic email reminders to candidates who have not yet signed
- Ensure a high level of data safety through encryption
- Ensure compliance with GDPR requirements
- Verify the validity and integrity of signed document via digital signatures and audit trails
What’s more, Penneo Sign integrates with other digital HR tools such as Talent Recruiter, Emply, and Timeplan. This means you can easily sync all employee data and documents across apps.
