Written By Chris West

Over the past few years, through difficult times, efficient HR departments have never been so needed. The COVID-19 pandemic has elevated the importance of HR professionals like never before.

In this article I am going to give examples of where other businesses have invested in new technology to ensure HR departments are as effective as possible. 

HR has become the point of contact for supporting remote work and managing expectations. Data helped HR leaders understand productivity loss, employee engagement impact and more, which made HR more strategically valuable. 

Nearly half of all UK based businesses use performance tools, recruitment tools and L&D tools. But now, post pandemic, companies are investing in tools that capture data for analytics and insights. This enables HR staff to monitor the effects on workforce productivity when implementing new processes and policies. If most of the company’s staff work from home, it’s important to still retain some control to ensure staff are hitting targets and keeping with expectations. 

Businesses looking to invest in new HR tools should be cautious and well informed when committing to a product, here’s a few tips that will allow you to select the right tool for the job: 

- Bring in stakeholders early for evaluations. Lack of budget as a buying challenge may be alleviated when you have multiple parties supporting HR in a consensus buying scenario. 

- Align needs across departments and get a list of required functionalities and their priorities before beginning the buying process. Look for simple solutions to help solve the technical expertise challenges. This in turn frees up HR teams to think and act strategically. 

- Consider the broader ecosystem around the tool itself. Look for opportunities to bolster automation to support HR in eliminating administrative tasks and allowing them to level up its strategy instead. 

There are lots of options out there, tech companies have had to innovate constantly to keep up with changes in the market. So, there’s bound to be a product that will integrate well regardless of your needs.