Importance of Technology to Business Success and Human Resources
Over the last two decades, industries across the globe have witnessed dramatic changes. With the advent of development in technology, the nature of work that people are engaged in along with knowledge, requisite skills and abilities have undergone a shift. Intellectual technology and capital have emerged as the new measures of business success, while cash flows and capital remain equally vital. The role of human resource has also changed accordingly.
Human resource managers are increasingly being required to understand business and what drives it. However, challenges, faced by a HR manager, cannot be isolated from the business as they go hand in hand. Traditionally, human resource management had a people-oriented approach. Today, however, the competitive demands of the market require a reorientation of strategic human resource practices and philosophies, with emphasis on knowledge-based administration. This ought to be done using technology as a tool. Human resource management (HRM) is amid those professional, occupational segments that technological changes have influenced.
Technology has positively transformed the role of human resource (HR) professionals to a large extent. To improve the administrative responsiveness and efficiency of HR to their internal clients (managers and employees), increasingly more HR functions are being performed electronically. Web-based technology is also extensively being used for almost all key human resource activities such as training, employee benefits, enrollments and employment application creation using e-learning based resources. The human resource field has constantly evolved over time. Nowadays, HR is under increased scrutiny, and accountability is required like never before. There is no room for mistakes making this process overwhelmingly costly.
Human resource, today and in future, ought to have a greater importance in the strategic business partnership with the organization. For this to be achieved; however, there is the need to incorporate technology in business decision making considerations and daily operations. Today, human resource tasks cover a sufficient variety of activities that require different skill sets. These skills range from benefit and compensation administration (highly quantitative) to employee relations (highly qualitative). Consequently, there are legitimate questions whether these tasks need to be together, considering the emergence of new technologies and realities.
In order to be considered successful, however, HR technology must achieve several goals. First, it should have a strategic alignment, which must support the objectives of the organization by helping users. Second is business intelligence, which should inspire learning and new insights by answering questions and providing users with relevant data and information. Finally, the HR technology must be efficient and effective. It must have the ability to change the work performed by the HR personnel by producing work of higher value, improving the level of service and reducing the cost. As a result of the automation of human resource activities, the HR professionals have more time for other aspects of their jobs.
As a result, technology is assisting organizations amend their time management practices in their HR departments, hence, subsequently enhancing their efficiency. Human resource professionals have also experienced increased comprehensiveness, transparency, and clarity of information as technology establishes its presence in human resource departments. In addition, HR technology is used to attract, hire, retain and maintain talent, optimize workforce management and support workforce administration.According to Lewin, recent studies in human resource management and business performances reveal that organizations that adopt “high involvement practices” resulted in “significantly positively associated” improvement on rate of return, productivity, revenue per employee and market value. The use of technology by human resource, according to Lewin, has proved to assist the improvement of business performance. Nevertheless, although we expect all organizations to embrace this “high involvement in technology”, only approximately one out of every eight organizations in the United States has done so.
Implementing information technology in a business enables managers to collect, gather, and deliver information as well as communicate more effectively and easily with employees. Automating business processes significantly reduces the amount of administrative roles and enables managers to focus more of their time and energy on workforce management. HR technology, in addition, also provides managers with essential decision making tools, enabling them make effective HR-related decisions. The human resource information system software (HRIS) is one method that many companies use to become more productive and managge everything easily. The system enables the human resource team to get more organized and be practical in the workplace.
Technology, in addition, gives a business an edge over its competition. The development of HR technologies enables the transformation of HR into a decision making science, in which the management can measure business growth. Technology enables managerial decisions and planning to be based on accurate information, rather than relying on managerial intuitions or perceptions. Information-keeping systems, traditionally, were manually done, rendering-record keeping inaccurate, disorganized and difficult. On realizing the importance of human resource procedures and policies, companies sought better means of providing more accurate information in a much easier way.
The emergence of the HRIS enabled conversion to a computerized system for companies to keep up with the changing technological, business scene. Today, applications such as human resource planning, attendance reporting and analysis, clerical applications, training management, risk management, applicant search expenditures, training experiences, turnover analysis, financial planning, succession planning, flexible-benefits administration, strategic planning and compliance with government regulations are just some of the numerous functions of HRIS.In addition, other companies turn to the internet to procure web-based programs for their electronic timesheet software, electronic pay stub and time-off system. For example, the application of HRIS in Human Resource Employee Self Service (HR ESS), where employees have access to online training materials, forms and benefits information. In order to keep pace with the constantly changing times, information ought to be constantly sought.
Technology has enabled organizations to interact with other professional in the industry through the internet in pursuit of information. Technology has developed to permeate the business world, influencing how companies make and market their products. In addition, it has also influenced how people accomplish their jobs in modern organizations. Technology has shaped best-practices and industry standards. It has changed the face of business in almost every way. Information technology has rapidly gained popularity since the mid twentieth century, and this trend is expected to carry on into the future.
As technological solutions continue to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of business operations, and communications businesses will continue to rely on technology for success.
