The New Year is here, and the future is now.
The past few years have seen some serious technological developments. 5 years ago, who thought that voice technology like Amazon’s Alexa, driverless cars, or virtual reality would exist. Yet here we are!
But It’s not only consumer technology that has progressed a long way in the past few years; business technology has come equally as far. There are now startups with new technology that can help reduce many of the problems that businesses face. Technology in areas such as marketing, supply chains and IT systems exist to give businesses a huge advantage over their competitors when implemented effectively.
HR technology in particular has seen an explosion of new technology that can help improve the way businesses handle the most important part of their business – the people.
2018 emphasised the increasingly important role that HR tech will play in the long term success of a business. We saw numerous examples of what happens when businesses are exposed for having issues with diversity, equal rights, and mental health within their organisation. Emphasising the importance of the way in which the people are treated within the organisation.
These aforementioned problems have faced some of the largest companies in the world, across industries. Remember Google’s Women walkout in November? Or, several huge multinationals being singled out for poor gender balance? How about the ethnic pay gap reported last month?
There is no doubt that many businesses are facing large scale problems in these areas. But why is this?
Too many companies are stuck in the dark ages!
Not literally, but a large factor in many of these types of problems are companies not adapting their internal processes to keep up with the times.
There are HR startups that focus on helping businesses improve the areas where they are facing the most problems.
Let’s take employee mental health for an example, there are HR tech startups out there that have developed technology to help improve the engagement and wellbeing of employees, leading to reductions in mental health issues. Furthermore, there are HR tech startups that will help with monitoring employee satisfaction to help companies identify potential mental health issues.
As mentioned, a lack of diversity is another big problem that has been in the limelight. The way a company recruits talent can help them improve this. For instance, Occumi helps businesses to recruit based on skills, reducing bias in the recruitment process. Furthermore, there are startups that are finding ways to reduce bias in the interview stage of the process.
We’re now in an age where businesses no longer need to spend significantly on large one-size-fits-all HR solutions whilst tying themselves into lengthy contracts. Combining multiple specific specialised solutions in what is known as a “Tech Stack”. The beauty of a well thought out tech stack is that it can be tailored to your businesses needs, and using technology to target specific issues within a business has the potential to add value to any company.
But, of course experimenting with such important issues are a risk. And that leaves many companies to not bother, and stick to what they know. The beauty of multiple solutions, is that it can be tailored to your businesses needs. And experimenting with new technologies has the potential to add value to any business.
You only have to look the companies who are being praised for the way they address the mentioned issues. There is a common theme of new technology being used. For instance, Unilever, who are seen as a diverse employer have been no stranger to experimenting with neuroscience technology that has reportedly increased the diversity of their intake.
As we move through 2019, it’s important to understand that businesses do not have to be the size and scale of Unilever to be on the front foot with their HR Tech stack. There are solutions that can fit almost any budget. The biggest challenge for a business is making the change from what they are used to.
The most significant role in improving businesses internal processes is not played by the technology. The technology is out there already, and it will only get better. The most significant role is played by business leaders and HR professionals who are responsible for making decisions. Companies big and small who have decision makers who are willing to experiment with their processes will see the most benefit from this explosion of HR Tech.
It takes an innovative individual to implement an innovative approach. But thankfully for everyone in the HR Tech space, more and more companies are realising this, and as a result, are implementing experimental HR tech solutions, and benefiting from tailored tech stacks.
If you do happen to have influence on the decisions your company’s HR approach, take a moment to consider whether your company is utilising the technology that is available in 2019.