As the competitive labor market has reached a historic fever pitch, the expectations of top talent continue to evolve. As of October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported over 10 million job openings nationwide. Thus, HR must continue to reimagine and innovate its processes and technology in order to attract and retain the best employees possible.
Ravin Jesuthasan, a renowned author, futurist and global thought leader, joined us for a recent webinar on leveraging the employee experience through HR technology. Jesuthasan has written extensively about digital transformation, notably in his 2018 book, Reinventing Jobs: A 4-Step Approach for Applying Automation to Work.
Revitalizing your workforce
Jesuthasan found that the need to incorporate empowering HR tech organically — and in a fashion that is informed by employees — is necessary to overcome a recent trend toward resignation. Per an August report from Forbes, more than 40% of U.S. workers are considering changing professions or otherwise quitting by the end of 2021. Jesuthasan explained that with a commitment to digital transformation and the employee experience at the forefront, organizations may be able to offset what the Society for Human Resource Management recently described as a “turnover tsunami.”
“Achieving the optimal combination of humans and machines is easily accomplished with the right approach, framework and tools,” he said.
Jesuthasan stressed that HR tech can tread a fine line between empowering and frustrating and employers need to stay in tune with the functionality their employees actually want. The need for this is apparent, as a survey conducted by OnePoll uncovered that 67% of U.S. employees would take a pay cut for workplace tech that is twice as good as their current tools.
Innovations that address this concern by empowering workers with heightened engagement and greater autonomy are available. For instance, employee-driven payroll has the potential to mitigate mistakes that risk disengaging and even driving away talent by awarding them with an unprecedented level of insight into their compensation.
Ultimately, he said the interaction between technology and employees should never be a battle — the right tools should instead consistently uplift your workforce through simple, intuitive application.
The new HR
Exceptional technology paired with the right employee-centric initiatives may not only ease the interactions workers have every day, but also enable HR to reinvent its purpose within an organization.
Jesuthasan suggested that while streamlining routine processes helps drive employees’ focus and prepares them to act more efficiently and responsively in their roles, by extension, it enables HR to achieve more within their environment.
He also found tech that allows employees to readily inquire about anything work-related opens the door to thought-provoking questions. Furthermore, he believes tools that generate analytics and accurately illustrate common organizational challenges and employee usage leverage HR’s understanding and, ultimately, its ability to innovate.
In the webinar’s conclusion, he reminded us that the ability to truly enhance a workforce through the power of HR tech and automation isn’t exclusive to the future. In fact, this capability is readily available to organizations now. What’s necessary, he said, is a willingness to take a step forward.
From employee-driven payroll to powerful HR self-service tools built with your workforce in mind, Paycom helps manifest Jesuthasan’s vision of stronger business through innovative tech. Additionally, our single software offers comprehensive tools to monitor and boost your employees’ engagement while encouraging them to interact with their data on a deeper, intrinsic level.
For more insights from Jesuthasan about the need for organizations to digitally transform, watch the webinar on demand.
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