Simplify People Management by Leveraging the Benefits of Cloud-Based HR Systems
It is in our DNA to live in groups, communicate, associate, and work with other people. Ever since the dawn of history, people have understood that if they gather in tribes, organize hunts, and choose strong leaders, they will survive.
Both management and leadership are not new terms. They evolved with the rise of ancient civilizations. The history of Human Resources began as the simple, crucial future-securing requirement of the emperor to organize tasks, jobs, and the delivery of requested results.
We can recognize four key milestones in the HR evolution when the priority of the people management has significantly changed:
- The first HR practices in history can be found in ancient armies. A successful offensive campaign required a good organization of jobs and tasks, even though the workforce had no education and knowledge. The daily leadership of unskilled workers and soldiers was the first strategic management question of history. The emperor with the better-organized army had an advantage that allowed him to conquer new cities and areas. Moreover, it was a matter of survival.
- The second milestone in the development of HR emerged in the 18th Century, during the British Industrial Revolution and it was about the right staffing and educating the new workforce. The factories hired thousands of workers, who worked up to 16 hours a day. Soon, many entrepreneurs discovered the connection between employee satisfaction and productivity. Employees with high morale were more efficient than the rest of the workforce. As a result, many factories started to introduce voluntary programs for employees to increase their comfort and satisfaction.
- Organizing and educating people to work together laid grounds for the third milestone in the HR evolution: workforce productivity. The regular productivity increments were the key measure for the management of employees. The significant change was introduced during the 2nd World War when armies developed many training programs for new soldiers. Large organizations needed to manage and increase the performance and productivity of employees. Higher productivity increases the profit margins and secures the position on the market.
- The fourth HR Management milestone is about employee engagement. The job market has changed dramatically over the past twenty years. The job applicant is the one who chooses the organization. If employees don’t feel engaged with the organization, they change jobs quickly, and the company loses the business know-how in minutes.
Cloud computing increases the flexibility, functionality, and security of an organization — all without the high cost of hardware.
COVID-19 reinforced the importance of the cloud as organizations quickly pivoted to remote set-ups, and the ability to access data anywhere, anytime became critical to business survival.
Not only are cloud services allowing us to work in more dynamic ways than ever before, but they’re also changing business models and enabling smaller players to disrupt markets with greater ease than was previously possible.
One area that greatly benefits from transitioning to the cloud is HR Management.
The HR department workload is often laden with time-consuming, manual, and document-heavy processes. They deal with vast amounts of sensitive employee and financial data — all of which must be accurate, secure, updated, and compliant. Accessing data from anywhere, at any time, is crucial.
Since the early 2000s, thanks to the Internet and modern technology, HR has completely transformed into a technologically advanced department that uses cloud-based solutions for employee management, recruitment, attendance, reporting, leave tracking, and other HR-oriented tasks.
The pandemic demonstrated to us how unpredictable the future is.
Cloud-based HR systems provide companies with computing power and the ability to survive and thrive in the information age. With all HR data stored and backed up in the cloud, the risk of failure and data loss due to a natural disaster, power failure, or other crisis is mitigated. Having all data hosted in the cloud will allow organizations to conduct future-proofing business as usual and minimize any downtime and loss of productivity.
The rapidly changing demands of today’s talent economy challenge HR professionals to rethink established processes to have the big picture of their talent’s experience, skill, and career aspirations. Cloud HR software is scalable, adaptable to business evolution, and meets the requirements of organizations as they expand.
The most significant impact of cloud-based HR systems is bringing the HR from the back office into the light. Today, with a mandate to improve employee engagement, HR must be at the forefront and the fore. Thanks to cloud computing, it is now possible. Data is centralized and more accessible, immediate reporting, and trends and information analysis are much easier and faster. Work is simpler, smarter, and more agile.
Learn more about the benefits of online employee databases 👇🏼The benefits of cloud-based HR systems
- Assessment and review of results
One of the most important roles of HR managers is to build a work culture environment that will motivate and engage employees. Cloud-based HR management systems help organizations assess employee performance, identify and train them on performance gaps. With cloud-based HR software, employee performance is automatically tracked in real-time, using built-in dashboards and reports.
With a cloud-based HR system, you can now proactively plan and optimize your workforce, assess talent and skills gaps, visualize predicted impact on headcount and cost, and structure the organization to support the ever-accelerating pace of change in the business.
2. High levels of employee engagement
No doubt, HR teams have learned that employee engagement is a vital source of competitive advantage. And the best way to attract and motivate employees is to facilitate collaboration both horizontally and vertically within the organization.
Collaboration tools allow every employee to be engaged and involved, which leads to an increase in innovation and productivity. Cloud HRM systems incorporate a centralized database of more than basic information and can be accessed easily by people across locations. Information like leave requests, vacation calendars, work anniversaries and birthdays, performance reviews and compensation management, etc., can be easily uploaded through employees’ self-service portals and accessed by co-workers and managers.
3. A new approach to security of data
Before the Internet and cloud-based HR solutions, security meant the use of durable padlocks and fireproof archives. As employee files are now stored digitally, companies need to rethink how to keep confidential information secure. Data security is essential for companies as they all must be compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The good news is that most cloud HR software companies like LeaveBoard take security seriously. You have complete control over user accessibilities, and all the latest mechanisms and modern security features will help keep unwanted visitors away from private information. As a result, safety is on them, not you, to maintain, even as regulations change.
4. Centralized management system
HR involves not only collecting tons of data from all the employees but also keeping this data, some even after the employees have left the organization. A significant advantage is that cloud-based HR software stores everything in one place. No matter the size of your business, you can access essential data from wherever you are in the world. And because everything is in one place, nothing gets lost with an employee directory — a big leap from the days of pen and paper.
5. Mobile experience
A unique mobile responsive design provides employees and managers with a consistent and personalized experience on their desktop, tablet, or mobile phone, no matter where the job takes them. The HR web app for employees has a responsive design and intuitive user interfaces and doesn’t need training. Organizations can manage user access to protect sensitive employee information by enabling HR teams to restrict access to HCM capabilities based on location.
6. Easy and equal access to innovation
What happens if your traditional HRM software becomes obsolete? Upgrades, implementations, and training quickly increase the total cost of ownership of the software. Thanks to cloud computing, startups, and multinational corporations now have equal access to innovations in cloud-based HR solutions. Such software quickly adapts to technological changes, releasing new functionalities, making it’s algorithms more efficient, and the overall interface easier. In this way, businesses can stay on track with new features when they become available. Companies no longer need to invest in expensive hardware, software or technology constantly.
Access to innovation levels the playing field by enabling small businesses to compete with large corporations, staying ahead of technology trends — adapting to change and adopting new solutions as they progress.
Conclusion
The story of the modern Human Resources started as evidence of all employees. Over time, Human Resources evolved into a strategic business partner.
Today, HR runs many crucial processes. No successful business exists and counts without Recruitment and Staffing, Compensation and Benefits, Training and Development, or Leadership Development.
The Internet, tablets, and smartphones transform our lives. They bring a new wave of changes in HR, as well. Leaders and managers can access data anywhere, and HR Big Data will become the next milestone in the HR management evolution.
HR is full of new challenges. Globalization will continue. The shortage of skilled employees will push HR to introduce global recruitment policies and practices. The international relocation of employees will become a standard HR service.
Both the workforce and workplaces are changing rapidly and in such cases, the HR cloud is a go-to resource ensuring that employees have the best tools available for simplifying decisions and company processes. When synced with the needs of the workforce, SaaS for HR management guarantees high employee satisfaction and growth.
Increase employee satisfaction and overall productivity by creating employee experiences that align with company culture and enabling HR teams to configure, personalize, and simplify HR processes without help from IT. Simplify your HR management processes with cloud-based HR systems and focus on the more important and strategic goals of the organization.
