HR tech to help firms and employees with back-to-office transition

Human Resource (HR) technology is playing a key role in the back-to-office transition of employees in a post-pandemic work environment. With offices beginning to reopen, there is a psychological shift for the workforce. Many are feeling anxious about going back, mostly for health reasons. The ‘Great Resignation’ of 2021 has also begun. Microsoft Work Trend Index Report, published in March, surveying 31,000 of its global workers, showed that 41 per cent of them were thinking about resigning.

Gurugram-based HR start-up Qandle Co-founder and CEO Chayan Mukhopadhyay says HR can use technology that prioritises health and safety of employees and reassures them that it’s safe to return to office. An example is the use of shift planning software to ensure everyone is not called into office on the same day to maintain social distancing. “HR could also use technology to collect data such as contact tracing and test results to monitor employee health,” he says.

Shihab Muhammed, founder and CEO at Palo Alto-based SurveySparrow, which has created an employee-friendly solution to transition back to work safely, says employees can exercise their choice through a readiness check survey to inform the organisation whether they want to resume working from the office. “The HR can convert that response into a ticket, using case management software and then discuss the concerns or terms, personally,” he says. HR case management, or Employee Case Management, is a software that companies use to manage employee requests and questions. It works like a ticket system, where an employee can submit a request and from there follow the workflow.

“The management can also generate deeper reports and monitor employee engagement or satisfaction and help get an at-a-glance, centralised view of employee performance,” he adds.

Alejandro Martinez Agenjo, CEO and Co-founder at Erudit AI, which has offices in Spain, US and Mexico and which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help detect employee burnout in a work environment, says for an HR striving for psychological safety, there are a few ways to build it back with technologies.

Erudite’s AI connects to corporate communication tools, conducting a semantic analysis that allows establishing the level of burnout, engagement, and friction between departments and employees while keeping privacy in mind. Their software constantly learns, observes, and recommends aiding managers in making better decisions.

For example, there are workflow software such as Bob, Cascade HR, HR Cloud, Kissflow and Tallyfy that assist in communication problems.

Others, like UKG Pro, provide a unified, cloud-deployed suite to manage human capital at a global scale. Similarly, ADP Workforce Now and Oracle HCM Cloud focus on organisation aid for creating flexible schedules, checklists, or managing decision making.

Popular tools in use

The HR of today is savvy and utilises several technology tools to ensure employees are well taken care of. For instance, HRMS (Human Resource Management System) is a comprehensive software system storing and organising HR data and helping with day-to-day tasks. It ensures the organisation has all its people data at one place and can extract intelligence from this data.

This also allows employees to complete tasks through self-service, giving access to modules like attendance management, leaves management, HR analytics, etc. Similarly, an online payroll platform automatically calculates and tracks payroll transactions, employee investments, taxes, etc.

A talent management software streamlines the acquisition, retention, development, and feedback of talent in an organisation. A few examples are recruiting software like ZoomInfo and ADP Workforce Now; training software like Paylocity and Blackboard Learn; and performance management systems such as Lattice Performance and 15Five.

“This improves efficiency, ensures the entire organisation is focused on the same goals, improves employee engagement, and reduces the need for paperwork to be completed manually,” says Mukhopadhyay.

“Applying AI in HR is expected to automate human tasks, increase productivity and minimise the risk of turnover,” adds Agenjo. “In addition, it assists organisational cultural promotion, control, and quantification of talent and absenteeism in employees to build an effective company.”

Today, companies like Infosys, HCL, Oracle, Mindtree, NIIT, Shuttl, all use AI for their HR processes.

Tech upgrades in 2021

“Now more than ever, employers understand that they have to take care of the people that come to work every day,” says Agenjo. He predicts increasing investments in mental health as well as financial wellness because of the realisation that improved well-being can translate into a more engaged and productive workforce.

Most investments in 2021 are predicted to be allocated to adding complementary technologies like Candidate Relationship Management Systems or AI tools that can help eliminate bias in hiring decisions. “HR systems will now be more employee-focused and feedback-rich, as people look for a specific employee experience, where they feel empowered to make their own choices regarding their goals and tasks,” Agenjo says.

He is of the view that although HR leaders will continue to invest in technology to monitor remote working employees, they’ll do so with a different purpose. “The main goal of tracking employee productivity will now shift towards detecting burnout and overtime work. This kind of software will send automated nudges to the employee when unusual activity is detected,” he adds.

Mukhopadhyay says cloud-based workforce management (WFM) systems are expected to gain popularity as they offer touch-free features to allow workers to complete numerous HR processes remotely. This includes allowing employees to clock in and out of work safely and submit time-off requests or shift-swaps virtually. In addition, tools that help assign tasks, track employee deliverables, and help keep employees connected and engaged will gain popularity.

Also expect to see more AI-powered chatbots as there is increased focus on self-service. Moreover, many more companies will hop on to the virtual reality (VR) training scope, with big ones like FedEx, IKEA and Walmart already testing it. “Over time, it’s cheaper and more accessible,” says Agenjo, “which makes it a highly potential tool for enhancing corporate training and development.”

EASING INTO OFFICE

• Software to create flexible schedules, ensure social distancing, help with contact tracing & employee health monitoring
• Tech to assess employee engagement, satisfaction & performance
• AI to help detect employee burnout
• Workflow software to assist in communication problems; aid managers in making better decisions
• Talent management software to streamline acquisition, retention, development, feedback of talent
• AI tools to help eliminate bias in hiring decisions

The writer is a tech journalist & the editor of The Tech Panda