Role of Technology in the HR Industry

The HR industry has witnessed enormous progress in the way it has functioned, from its Neanderthal beginnings to the employee-centric community that it has become today. Technology has had a huge role to play in it, being pivotal in enabling HR organizations to move from personnel management to business execution. Here is a snapshot of how HR has evolved, with the participation of technology, to its present form:

Pre -90’s: The Generation of “Personnel Administration.”

Prior to 1990, HR organizations were entirely focused on the direction of personnel administration, owing to the sheer amount of time involved in to managing administrative HR processes before automation of technology had even taken place. In fact, organizations had earned their name post the 90’s. They had titles such as Office of Personnel Administration or Personnel Department, with focus on how to efficiently process employee paperwork.

1990 to 2000: The birth of “Human Resources.”

90s saw a flurry of things, including the two following- execution of ERP technology, significantly reducing the time needed to undertake administrative HR tasks and widespread adoption of personal computers.  Significant advances took place in the predicting and changing employee behaviour, simplifying the older processes.

A slew of talent management techniques presently used were taken from the 90’s template. Hence, the focus of HR gradually shifted beyond personnel management to include processes designed to improve the quality of workforce decisions, ushering in a new perspective towards employee management.

2001 to 2010: The era of “Talent Management.”

The internet boom was lapped up by the HR industry allowing organizations to more efficiently share data across the system. Automatically importing data collected during the hiring process, to support employee development and management, was possible through the power of internet. This greater access led to talent management-centric shift where a collective perspective of building teams was promoted. No longer was HR limited to focusing on staffing, training, compensation and succession as added roles such as integrated talent management was added to give a multifaceted outlook.

2011 to present age: Generation “Business Execution.”

The present era is moving at the speed of light as organisations are increasingly adopting cloud-centric applications, augmenting the role of HR to stratospheric levels. Organizations increasingly are concentrating their time on how to most effectively use the varied tools to increase workforce productivity.

The shift to the cloud has enabled technology vendors to invest more on HR centric products, creating highly scalable, user friendly applications that enhance the functioning of talent utilization. This has allowed HR professionals to shift their energy into revaluating and reshaping business execution, aligning the myriad of expertise to take forward organizational goals.

Conclusion

A bracing amount of progress has taken up the industry by its collar; with result lying in an increasing number of HR organizations that are fundamentally and profoundly improving how managers run their businesses. As technology advances, so would its functionaries leave an impact on the already dynamic framework.

Contributed by: Digvijay Singh Ponia, Product Manager, Hallwaze Inc