Providing a dynamic and effective employee experience remains top of mind for organizations. In fact, 80 percent of HR and business leaders said employee experience was “important” or “very important,” according to a Deloitte survey.
Of course, a perfect storm of meager employee engagement, low unemployment, high competition for talent, and changing workplace demographics are driving efforts to improve employee experience.
Much of these efforts are focused on delivering a simpler and more engaging work experience—one that aligns with today’s fast-paced, agile business environment and caters to tech-savvy millennials (they do comprise the majority of the workforce after all).
We’re seeing this shift with the mass adoption of simple and social work tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, and others. And HR tools are at the center of this movement.
HR technology is no longer primarily about automated forms, recruitment, and employee record management. It includes an abundance of consumer-like tools that help employees be more productive.
“Today we want HR technology that delivers a great employee experience and makes our work-life more productive and interesting,” said industry analyst Josh Bersin in a Forbes article. “We want our HR tools to feel more like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube and less like training and performance administration.”
Are there too many HR tools?
When it comes to these digital-savvy HR tools, the supply is certainly meeting the demand. Global spending on HR tech is more than $40 billion, and increased by 10 percent in 2018. Bersin estimates that large HR departments on average have 11 different systems.
Don’t get me wrong—options are great. But do you really want your employees staring at a Baskin-Robbins assortment of HR tools for feedback, performance management, engagement, and check-ins?
The HR tech revolution has created a bigger problem—confusion. Remember, managers and employees need tools that simplify work. So even if tools are easy to use, too many of them can be overwhelming. More than ever, HR leaders need to consolidate solutions. Here’s why.
Improve your data insights
In the era of big data, collecting information is not a problem. But what most organizations struggle with is deriving insights from that data.
According to one survey, 74 percent of companies want to be data-driven, but only 29 percent have been successful at connecting data to action. Data without analysis is like buying book written in hieroglyphics—it’s cool to say you have it, but you have no idea what it says.
[bctt tweet=”Data without analysis is like buying book written in hieroglyphics” username=”@reflektive”]
Fortunately, more HR departments are becoming data-driven these days. They’re investing in people analytics to recognize trends, develop strategy, and equip managers to make decisions. But when you have an array of different systems and data sources, it’s challenging to mine and connect the data to glean actionable insights.
Consolidating your HR tools helps solve this problem and improves analysis in three key ways:
- Saves time: Instead reviewing analysis from separate systems for feedback, engagement, and performance management, and then trying to connect the dots, consolidation makes review and analysis simpler and quicker
- Provides greater visibility: If executives or managers want to see analysis to help inform decisions, it provides single place to review information
- Enables faster decisions: Integrating data sources allows businesses to make quicker decisions and respond to change easier
Provide a streamlined workflow for employees
While workplace apps are meant to improve productivity, the can also be counterproductive. In fact, workers toggle between different tools 10 times an hour, which equates to 32 days of lost productivity a year. Thirty-two days! Let’s just say that stat wouldn’t sit well with your CEO.
Not only does too many tools waste time, it’s frustrating for workers. And frustrated workers quickly become disengaged workers. Adding various HR apps to the workflow exacerbates the problem. No one wants to log into several different apps to communicate with team members, provide feedback, update goals, request PTO, and so on.
[bctt tweet=”Employees want tools in the flow of work” username=”@reflektive”]
Employees want tools in the flow of work, so the more you can consolidate apps and seamlessly integrate them into regular processes the better. This doesn’t mean everything has be in one platform, but HR tools should be integrated with other apps employees use on a daily basis.
Simplify work for managers
Being a manager isn’t easy. Especially new managers who have to juggle multiple responsibilities while acclimating to a new level of responsibility. Whether it’s trying to multitask, make decisions, or evaluate employees, managers need to be equipped with tools that simplify their tasks.
If a manager has to spend too much time logging into various systems to find information from the latest 1-on-1 or performance review, things can get missed or fall through the cracks. Companies should focus on consolidating performance management, engagement, and analytics tools, as those functions are intertwined and consolidating data from those areas provides vital insights to help managers effectively lead and develop talent.
There are various reasons why organizations end up with disparate HR tools—some cherry-picked different solutions for particular functions, and some simply accumulated different systems over time. Regardless of why you have multiple tools, the benefits of consolidating are clear. Simplify your solution stack so your organization can analyze, work, and manage more effectively. And keep your workplace engaged with a better employee experience.