Research from the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) shows that fiscal incentives like “getting a raise” and “getting a promotion” are significantly less compelling to new and existing employees when compared to company culture, work environment, a positive relationship with coworkers, “opportunities to learn and grow,” and “the nature of the work itself.” Human capital management (HCM) focuses on these concerns by reducing redundant manual tasks, streamlining onboarding, facilitating improved internal communication, and offering greater opportunities for employee training, satisfaction, and engagement.
By prioritizing HCM and implementing best practices, organizations and HR professionals can attract and retain top talent while driving business success. Here we’ll explore the full range of benefits that HCM technology and a well-defined HCM strategy can provide.
When HCM software is paired with expert support and guidance from a qualified provider, it can automate a wide number of HR-related tasks that are redundant, paper-based, or simply a misallocation of time and energy. Whether manual tasks are due to the lack of a single integrated HCM platform, issues with workforce management, or employee data scattered across multiple digital and physical locations, HCM software can streamline and organize a wide range of HR tasks. Internal communication, PTO requests, time & attendance, payroll, and many other facets of HR are simplified through the use of HCM software, which grants HR staff greater latitude to focus on business growth, employee satisfaction, new hire acclimation during the onboarding process, supporting employees with benefits management, and much more.
Of course, HCM software should always be paired with a well-articulated strategy that guides the employee lifecycle from recruitment to retirement. On a practical level, this can include working with an HCM consultant to identify any problem areas in the company’s hiring or onboarding processes, as well as the current experience of existing employees. Before making strategic changes or implementing a new software solution using a top-down approach, it’s wise to solicit honest feedback from your workforce to make sure any new approaches that are implemented align with the actual desires and feedback of your workforce, who can help guide and inform the process.
HCM software and improved HCM strategy can also make a tremendous impact on recruitment, hiring, and onboarding (and, by extension, company culture). As we discussed in our related article on onboarding best practices, many organizations either lack a clear onboarding plan, continue to use a paper-based approach, or limit onboarding to a week or less. Fortunately, with HCM software and changes to your company’s onboarding approach, it’s possible to leverage electronic onboarding to complete all of a new hire’s onboarding steps in a single digital platform with built-in training, notifications, and increased opportunities to conduct pre boarding that makes a new hire’s Day One start an exciting rather than overwhelming experience. Preboarding has been shown to increase employee retention, improve employee acclimation, boost long-term productivity and make onboarding a more incremental, low-stress process for new hires and HR staff alike.
As for recruitment and hiring, HCM software can help with applicant tracking, pinpointing promising candidates, streamlining data capture, expediting benefits enrollment, integrating background screening, and simplifying forms and elections so HR staff can focus on applicant/new hire experience and provide support as needed. For additional insights on growing trends in electronic onboarding, explore our related article.
HCM software enables a more engaging, sustained, and organized onboarding process, but the benefits also extend to general workforce management. For instance, HCM software can help you schedule regular performance reviews, receive valuable feedback from existing employees, and catalyze communication and collaboration between employees and management. With HCM technology, you can establish clear goals with new hires or long-standing employees, mutually monitor progress within the HCM platform, and discuss opportunities for training and career growth based on shared and documented discussions about long-term goals.
Current job prospects are invested in finding an organization that sincerely supports their overall career goals and personal well-being. Especially since changes to work configuration and work flexibility resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, these expectations extend to long-standing employees, as well. HCM software can facilitate the use of training programs and a learning management system (LMS) within your company, whether that manifests as resource libraries, virtual coursework for job training, team discussion boards, or other educational tools.
An LMS and other training-oriented tools not only demonstrate your organization’s investment in employees’ career growth; it also creates opportunities for increased engagement among employees. Many HCM software platforms include built-in chat functions and some companies even develop internal social media that allows for free discussions about job responsibilities, troubleshooting work-related issues, upcoming events, and more.
With teams that can easily communicate with each other about any project or work-related concern, collaborative problem-solving improves and employees feel more comfortable having regular, dynamic conversations to innovate, overcome challenges, and improve productivity.
By utilizing HCM technology, you not only streamline a host of HR-related tasks, improve hiring processes, and increase employee satisfaction, but also make HR tasks infinitely easier and more convenient through mobile, self-service access. A qualified provider should offer your business an HCM platform that includes 24-7 mobile access so your employees can complete benefits enrollment, payroll submissions, and timekeeping (especially important for mobile workforces) while they’re on the go. In general, this can reduce or eliminate the need for lengthy email exchanges, phone calls, manual timekeeping that detracts from productivity, and many other unnecessary processes that could easily frustrate your workforce.
Offering employees the ability to complete and monitor HR tasks and requests from any mobile device that connects to Wi-Fi, improves employee satisfaction and engagement. Meanwhile, company reputation and culture is bound to improve as your organization demonstrates its investment in transparency, convenience, work-life balance, and peace of mind for your employees.
HCM technology also empowers your organization to capitalize on a wide range of historical data that can be analyzed to improve workforce management. For instance, with the data that’s gathered through your HCM platform, you can gauge the success of particular projects, the efficacy of particular employees, periods of time when employee attendance/productivity wanes, and the degree to which specific benefits and perks are being utilized.
Leveraging workforce analytics and reporting functions within an HCM platform can help you quickly and objectively identify the areas where your HR practices can improve while pinpointing high-performing employees, departments, and strategies that can help you replicate past successes.
HCM is a multifaceted process that is especially challenging for businesses when they lack a clear strategy and leading-edge tools that simplify hiring, onboarding, benefits administration, timekeeping, payroll, and other core HR concerns.
Ready to improve your organization's employee experience with HCM? Contact us today to learn more about how our HCM solutions and expertise can help you optimize your HR practices and create a positive workplace culture that drives business success.