Part of any effective human resource management strategy is to decide on which HCM system to invest in. A HR manager or director may be required to create a business case for a specific human capital management system that they feel has the right tools, functionality and features to manage a global workforce and create employee engagement.
It is a hugely important decision, and leadership teams will be viewing any HR technology in a similar way to any other request for investment funds. They will want to know how good the technology is, what it can achieve, is it the right fit for the current ecosystem and crucially, is it future proofed? There is a real fear out there about investing in new human resource management technologies that run the risk of becoming obsolete way quicker than may have initially been hoped. This is a disaster scenario that all HR professionals will be keen to avoid.
In this blog, we're going to take a look at a few key HCM solution requirements that should be factored into any business case or investment decision when it comes to acquiring a new human capital management system at a rapidly growing multinational company.
HCM software: Record v Engagement
It used to be the case, when things were a lot easier to manage and workforces were not as large and geo-dispersed as they are today, that a solid HCM system needed to be first and foremost, a system of record. A place to organize data and employee information, access it quickly and be able to leverage the system to respond to requests for information, either from employees or members of the leadership team looking for workforce related data.
But, like all technology, HCMs have evolved over time and there is now a very strong requirement for them to be much more than systems of record. They also need to be engaging platforms that are easy to use, with smooth interfaces and intuitive design that results in high adoption rates and active users.
This is because the nature of hiring and managing staff today requires individual employees to work within a HCM and upload their own data. This could either be part of the job application or interview process, or it could be part of the onboarding process. Things like time and attendance, compensation and benefits tend to be managed within modern HCMS as self-service applications, where human resources departments use the HCM technology to leverage the participation of the global workforce.
Any new HCM system must have ecosystem integrations
Attempting to implement a new HCM as a standalone piece of technology would be shortsighted- today's world is all about technology stacks sharing data and interacting with each other. The one-off technology investment is slowly being phased out in favor of integrated technology platforms that connect key players in the ecosystem. When it comes to a HCM, two key players are the global payroll department and the finance department. it is of vital importance that any HCM connect seamlessly with these departments via an innovative platform integration.
A HCM needs employee and global payroll data to make it a single source of truth for the employee record, while global payroll software requires employee and pay related data from the HCM system to ensure accurate and on time payroll delivery. The financial operations department tend to require important reporting from both HR and Global Payroll, and the best way to achieve this is via an integrated platform that connects a HCM to payroll system and any related financial accounting software.
Talent acquisition and performance management
This is one of the key reasons to invest in a human capital management system- HR management and professionals will always be tasked with creating a culture of strong employee retention as well as productive and engaged employees.
HR professionals need to measure performance and assess talent as part of their jobs-working within a system or platform that helps them to do this in a flexible, agile and efficient manner is something that will always prove to be valuable to a business. Talent needs to be managed both for employee engagement levels and also to help assess the quality of the initial recruitment strategy-essentially learning if a company is hiring the right kind of employees as well as anticipating future recruitment needs. Analytics from a good applicant tracking system in a HCM plus good employee lifecycle data helps with decision making and talent management.
To feel engaged, employees want to be able to articulate their thoughts and feelings about their roles and managers on a user-friendly system that allows them to move at their own pace. Managing direct reports is always a challenge so people managers at an organization also appreciate a platform that enables them to make records and monitor performance levels and job suitability characteristics of team members.
Compliance
Compliance has become a huge issue globally and many business departments that may have previously only had light touch compliance requirements, now find themselves dealing with more and more compliance & governance obligations.
HR departments gather and store personal and pay related data for a globally dispersed workforce-this data is often of a sensitive and personal nature, so it needs to be protected in line with industry standards and adhere to both local and international compliance requirements such as GDPR.
Employment law, local labor nuances, workplace safety, pension and tax information disclosures also need to be factored in here. So, it is an area of growing complexity and any HCM system will need to be capable of handling this complexity and ensuring that the HR department are consistently meeting their compliance obligations.
Digital and highly visible audit trails, captured in a secure cloud environment are what multinational companies need today when meeting their HR compliance responsibilities. Their HCM system must come with tools and features that enabled them to capture, display and easily retrieve or provide access to proof of compliance. Secure data protection and file storage as well as things like access and authorization rights will be important here.
Workforce management
Employee productivity and a general analysis of overall efficiency within the company is valuable information to leadership teams. They will expect their HR managers and HR professionals to supply them with employee data on these subjects that can help them make informed business decisions.
Time spent working on specific projects, cost of external consultants or contingency workers, available skill sets within the business etc. can all be tracked and monitored if a HCM system is set up to do so. This is workforce management in action, made visible in the form of data sets and reporting, which in the absence of a good HCM platform, may have remained hidden or trapped in other systems.
When this information is readily available in an easy-to-understand format, it can help HR leaders identify opportunities to maximize the efficiency of the global workforce. This is more workforce planning than talent management and can help with recruitment or re-assigning staff to work in specific areas of the business to create better overall operational efficiency.
Accurate data and figures always have a story to tell, it is just the case that this data is not always easily extractable. A powerful new HCM system with built in workforce management analytics tools can really make a difference with these types of business needs.
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