Top Ten Trends in Human Resource Management Software

Human Resource Management software is an indispensable asset in the current corporate environment. HR system is no longer viewed as an unnecessary expense as the long-term gain outweighs the cost of installing the program in the first place. There is no standard definition of HR management software.

But simply put, it is a technology that combines a number of systems and processes to ensure an easy management of human resources, business process, and data. This, in turn, helps the manager to assign tasks, monitor, and evaluate progress as well as reward the best performers in the team.

Why use HR management software? The software helps to streamline workman management processes thereby helping to make the most of your team’s potential. It helps to streamline recruitment, screening, hiring, and evaluation. The software can also be used by talent finders and recruiting agencies that connect talented professionals with their potential employers.

Some key features that you should look for are Performance evaluation, Employee scheduling, Time tracking and attendance management, Recruiting and applicant tracking , Learning management, Payroll management and Analytics and reporting.

However, it’s important to note that most popular HR systems nowadays come packed with a brand new widget and extraordinary functionalities. The choice of the system all depends on the industry and type of team that is being governed.

You may like to read: Top Core Human Resource Management Software (Core HR) and How to Select the Best Human Resource Software for Your Business

Top Ten Trends in Human Resource Management Software

1. Encouraging feedback through performance management: Companies usually have some defined processes that help identify the performance of its employees and how to reward them. Goals are set, annual reviews conducted based on those goals and people ranked according to their performance. However, this process rarely meets its intended use.

With that in mind, companies have embarked on other processes of improving productivity for their employees. Employees have been made to be part and parcel of goal setting. This way, they feel empowered and their creativity is also put to test. As a result, most organizations have reinvested their performance management processes.

With advancement in technology, most organizations have digitalized their processes as well. Networks have been created between different organizations and employees have embraced teamwork. In turn management practices have also shifted from the traditional approach and embraced the digital culture. Companies have been forced to reinvest their ways of measuring performance by encouraging feedback across the board. This has seen the invention of new systems that help management automate the process.

2. Real time engagement evaluation: Companies have started embracing the use of technologies that allow their employees provide anonymous or confidential feedback to their peers and the organization at large in real time. There is a shift from the traditional way where surveys were conducted annually to a situation where surveys are done quarterly, monthly, weekly, and to some extent whenever there is a major change in the organization.

By embracing the new trends, the organization tends to benefit not only from dealing with employees issues but also create opportunities for improving the business processes. The feedback system is slowly turning out to be a major theme in HR platform going forward.

3. Use of HR Analytics: Companies are moving from back-office HR data warehouses to more advanced analytics and reporting dashboards. Nowadays, companies are embracing the use of predictive models within their HR departments. These are normally used to study retention problems, sales productivity among other issues that directly affect the company.

For companies to remain competitive there is need to invest in analytics team who can comfortably handle the work. Otherwise, they stand to lose their talented professionals to competitors who have already embraced the technology.

Vendors in the HR technology market are also incorporating analytics as a core part of the system. All applications, be it operational, assessment or learning tools are developed with an in-built analytic dashboard. They also include recommendations or suggestions to be pursued by the users.

Top Ten Trends in Human Resource Management Software

4. The Collaborative learning, and virtual learning: For companies to attract the right talents, they must be ready to offer a proper learning experience to their employees. This is because most job seekers are looking for an environment where they can acquire new skills and knowledge in order to advance their careers.

Companies are shifting from instructor based training to use of collaborative learning, virtual learning, apprenticeship and on-job learning. This is in an effort to ensure they keep up with the high demand for high quality, high fidelity learning online.

Corporate training has embarked on allocating budgets for technology and tools to help administer the training. The disruptive trends that are shaping this market are;

• Evolving of learning experience platforms
• The emergence of LMS system focused on video learning
• An offering of cognitive learning tools, recommendation systems, and micro-learning platforms
• Embedding learning into business processes through design thinking

5. New methods for talent acquisition: Recruitment and talent acquisition has turned out to be one of the biggest market main focus being on recruitment, employment, job advertisement, short listing, interviewing and hiring.

Companies have to employ the right strategies in order attract the right talents within a short time to avoid loss of revenue due to stalled operation. Brand transparency also plays a key role as it determines the quality of employees a company can attract.

Upcoming recruitment agencies are building end-to-end management systems that handle the whole process of recruitment starting from sourcing to employment. These systems are easy to use for both job seekers and employers/ recruitment agencies. Job boards are also evolving further disrupting the recruitment market.

6. Growth in contingent workforce management: Most of the workforce is involved in one way or another in some part-time or contingent jobs. There are upcoming networks that are able to support this new venture. This new way of working is being supported by two emerging markets;

• Contingent workforce management systems
• The growth of gig work networks which try to match workers to projects such as Upwork.com, Freelancer.com, Fiverr, Workpop, Textbroker among others.

7. Use of team management tools with HR tools: Traditional talent management software such as Oracles, Workday, SuccessFactors was initially designed for use by HR. With the new trend, there is a shift from HR software designed to help HR towards tools that help employees and managers perform their jobs. Work management vendors are now supporting integration and partnership with traditional HR providers. With the shift from hierarchical organizations to teamwork based networks, this trend will continue to have a positive growth.

8. Employee engagement with wellness and fitness Apps: Companies have come to appreciate the fact that performance engagement programs are as important as employee’s benefits such as medical schemes, health insurance, and other assistance that help their employees stay healthy. Increasingly, companies have realized the need to provide services to their employees that will help in workload management. Programs such as mindfulness, yoga, work-life balance counseling, and dietary support have found their way in the organizations.

You will find most companies having gym facilities, day-care, on-site medical exams and other wellness services. This not only attracts millennial but also improves employee engagement and boosts the performance of the entire organization. Most vendors are incorporating these Apps in their system as the demand is growing from corporate in an endeavor to boost their operation as well as take care of their employees' welfare.

9. Self Service HR, AI and robotic process automation: This technology covers products that can listen to voices, automate call center work and software that integrate transactions from different systems and implement the workflow on a screen. All these are finding their way into HR system in an endeavor to automate most of the processes.

Some of the processes that can be automated include; recruitment process, career growth and job transition, exploration of retirement process, and assessment of leadership potential. Adoption of AI and robotic process automation will end up improving the value of HR as well as reducing cost. As a result, HR professionals can offer their services as consultants.

10. Adoption of HR Cloud: Companies are now switching to cloud-based HR solutions. The beauty of having cloud-based software is that you have access from anywhere, it’s user-friendly, and it can support mobile apps, easy upgrades, and minimal maintenance. All you need is internet connectivity and a computer to operate.

Conclusion

Disruptive technology is at the center stage of most organizations. The more reason organizations need to embrace new trends in HR management software. This offers a win-win situation for both business and HR. on one hand, business is able to thrive as employees become decision makers and talent management is made easier. On the other hand, HR benefits from streamlined processes, they are able to analyze employee data and create customized talent offerings, and external strategies can be easily evaluated as well as make the business more strategic.

You may like to read: Top Core Human Resource Management Software (Core HR) and How to Select the Best Human Resource Software for Your Business