21 Nov, 2008

In today’s technology centric era, many HR managers are realising the value and the need for adoption of technological tools. Sheetal Srivasatava finds out…

The Human Resource personnel now know that they have moved beyond their sole function of recruitment, and are contributing to organisations at a more strategic level. There have been some positive developments in the area of expertise that HR teams now handle. For one, HR today relies more on technology platforms to recruit; second, internal HR teams are partnering with external consultants and outsourcing a part of their work. “The role of HR has expanded in many ways. It not only leads the process of bringing in the right people, but also helps them perform through effective job rotation and training,” says Rakhi Sharma, VP-HR, UnitedLex, global leader in legal consulting, technology and outsourcing.

HR: Strategic business partner

HR needs to keep evolving in order to tackle future challenges, and while HR management practices have developed significantly over the past decade, these changes may not be sufficient to meet critical future challenges. This means that the role of HR needs to encompass the ability to anticipate industry trends, recruit the right talent and put that talent to optimal use. According to Deloitte, in the future, "The performance of the HR department will be measured not by its administrative efficiency, but how well it enables the business strategy and maximises workforce performance."

No longer is HR just a recruitment function, it is part of a company’s overall strategy to achieve its business goals. With increased competition in every industry and the rising cost of inputs due to higher salaries and rent, the challenge for companies is to remain competitive.

Technology empowering HR Role

In the era of Web 2.0 where technology has defied physical boundaries, the role of HR has become all the more critical. e HR leverages technology to build truly integrated HR systems and processes which helps in empowering employees to access information related to HR policies, performance management review, training needs and career planning tools – online.

“Web 2.0 is a strong support system and a resource bank in disguise for HR teams across industries. Through the various platforms available on Web 2.0, including blogs, social and professional networking websites, Wikipedia and podcasts, companies can distribute relevant HR information among their target audience,” adds Sharma. With employee collaboration becoming an important goal of many HR departments, enterprises are looking for better ways to manage, motivate and even recruit employees through the use of Internet-based technology.

Currently, Web 2.0 has established itself internally within organisations as a tool which helps employees engage with their colleagues, use their ratings and reviews when choosing professional development course work, and share informal tips and techniques. It is also used by some companies to connect their employees in different locations.

“myiYogi is an internal Web 2.0 platform which we have started to enable organisation wide communication. This allows for some unique experiments on mentoring, new team member initiation, off-hours organisational assistance and cross organisation feedback,” notes Uday Challu, CEO, iYogi, a global technical support firm which delivers support services directly-to-consumers and small businesses.

“For our internal employee support, we have 'myulx', an online portal that enables our employees to mark leaves and manage data. The website also acts as an internal database for the HR team. We also have interesting e-learning modules as a part of the UnitedLex University that enables the various teams at UnitedLex to fulfil their required training needs,” adds Sharma.

“Currently, about 30 per cent of hiring at UnitedLex is also web-based, wherein we reach out to job portals and also get responses via the 'Careers at Ulx' section on our website,” she further adds.

Road Ahead

Whatever the route, the importance and legitimacy of social web spheres has added value to the HR processes which in turn has opened up varied challenges. Although the benefits of Web 2.0 tools are becoming increasingly clear to HR departments, many still associate it with social purposes. It will take some time before this powerful communication tool is adopted in a corporate setting. This can be made possible if the top management themselves engage in collaborative technologies.