We already know that technology is a convenient way to make our working lives more manageable. In people management we find a variety of uses:
- Saving time and resources and therefore money
- Connecting and collaborating for the best product or service
- Efficiency, organisation and time management
- Enabling flexible working
- Performance management and monitoring
- Accuracy and timeliness of information
We’ve put together a list of a few of our favourite pieces of technology, and those recommended by our clients.
HR Information systems –
Ideally any HRIS should centralise your employee data, streamline your people processes and remove the need for so much paper! HRIS often take care of approving
and monitoring holiday and sick leave, and approving and tracking expenses.
It is even better if the system incorporates performance management tools and integrates with other systems such as payroll or candidate management. Increasingly many companies successfully use HRIS for communication or reward systems. The icing on the cake is the use of artificial intelligence to respond to queries. There are many out there, we partner with BreatheHR which is aimed at SMEs but many other systems such as Zoho or Cascade are out there.
Voice recording and transcribing tools –
The life of an HR practitioner often involves lengthy meetings and note taking. While recording these meetings was historically seen as a ‘no’, using an app to both record and transcribe a disciplinary meeting can save hours in note-typing. We are currently trialling Otter.ai which can identify different speakers, export notes and integrates with Zoom.
Video conferencing –
At long last flexible, remote and home working are becoming increasingly common. Video conferencing technology has come such a long way in the last few years and is a game changer. Not only can you hold team meeting, webinars, one to ones and training through a variety of platforms these days, you can often record and save each one for access at a later date. I started using Zoom for remote client meetings and coaching sessions a couple of years ago and have never looked back.
Managing expenses –
There are plenty of apps out there now to help you manage the nitty gritty of travel and expenses. For mileage tracking Everlance automatically tracks trips, allows you to classify them and export or upload prior to payment. Uber allows individuals to have both a personal and a company account, meaning complete transparency on trips, expenses and linking to payment.
Collaboration software –
The tools available are phenomenal for communication and collaborative working.
Slack gives teams shared view of dedicated streams called channels, allowing you to decide which are more important and follow conversations on specific information rather than having one overwhelming inbox.
Sharepoint for information sha
ring and version management, think self-managed ‘intranet’ or ‘wiki’, with permissions to allow you to access or limit access depending on role, responsibility and seniority. All you need is a web browser to access the system from any device.
Asana is great for workflows and task allocation, setting priorities and deadlines so that people are focused on the right goals.
A new recommendation to us is Flock, which sets out to organise all your conversations, productivity tools and apps in one place. A key selling point they make is that this is not about just the message, but the way you work together that matters. It is rated as one of the top 10 online collaboration platforms so could be worth a look.
Of course other tools and platforms are available and what works well will depend on your business, its operation and its culture.
Get in touch to tell us about your favourite tools.