Six Ways Technology Has Changed HR for the Better

With digital HR solutions like Ciphr now commonplace in businesses of all sizes, employees have never been better looked after by their HR departments. Payroll is smoother and more reliable, leave booking is simpler and more convenient and expenses tracking more accurate. It’s thanks mostly to the advent of Software as a Service technology and the flexibility of cloud computing.

Here, we run through some of the other ways technology has helped the HR function.

1. Digital job-hunting

Job applications used to be a painstaking process involving letters in the post, faxes and phone calls. It could have taken a week or more before an application was even received.

Now companies have dedicated online channels for advertising both vacancies and the draw of working there. Many companies now use the likes of Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and their own websites to publicise openings.

The Civil Service has a huge, dedicated jobs portal, while online fashion retailer ASOS has a Twitter stream purely for vacancies.

2. CVs with a difference

CVs now are just the starting point for many job seekers. Online portfolios containing their best work, showreels of video footage and even YouTube clips showing candidates in action are increasingly common.

Recruiters are catching on to this: in 2011, cosmetics giant L’Oreal even used an online role-playing game to assess applicants’ decision making abilities.

3. Social media as a showcase

Job hunters can now find out more about prospective employers than ever before. Background info on a potential line manager is just a LinkedIn profile away, while life in a particular office can be gauged by simply following a current employee’s Twitter feed.

4. Online training

One of HR’s most important functions in any company is ensuring staff are developed with up-to-date training. Thanks to the internet, the way this is approached has totally changed.

Workers can take online courses when it suits them and share their insights with other team members. Rather than losing teams for a whole day or more, courses can now be delivered in bite-size chunks when it’s convenient to the business.

5. Real time PAYE reporting

Since 6 April 2013, employers have been required to report their Pay As You Earn revenue to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in real time. Before the digital revolution this would have been impossible, but now payroll teams can send this information on or before payday.

The new system has cut down enormously on paperwork while HMRC has a much more accurate picture of what companies owe and pay.

6. Remote working is no big deal

Whether it’s a boiler going bust or bus drivers going on strike, unforeseen incidents don’t have to mean lost days. The ability to work from home is not only a normal occurrence, there’s little a worker can’t do outside of the office thanks to ever more sophisticated, cloud-based Software as a Service technology.

Even complicated HR tasks such as accounts and payroll processing are now no longer office-bound. The flexibility helps to keep stress levels low no matter what happens.