Canadian HR Reporter

22 www.hrreporter.com F E A T U R E S S P O N S O R E D HR TECH CASE STUDIES REDESIGNING WORK IN A DIGITAL-FIRST WORLD DESPITE the impacts of the corona- virus pandemic, employers are still concerned about finding, managing and keeping top talent. Nearly six in 10 human resources execu- tives say recruitment and retention are a top priority, and 42 per cent are worried about delivering a compelling employee experience, according to PwC's HR Technology Survey 2020. Yet these same organizations are now looking to human resources leaders to step up as architects of new ways of working. Perhaps that's why 74 per cent of companies increased their human resources technology spending in 2020, with a particular emphasis on talent management and employee experience, says PwC. For two large Canadian employers, the rationale driving their technology investments were quite different, but both are seeing similar advantages when it comes to reimagining how we work in an ever-increasing digital world. Application overload For a Canadian public utility organiza- tion, complexity and manual work dominated the human resources func- tion. The team was using a number of different applications to manage routine transactions for its workforce of 800 people. Despite the large number of systems, many processes remained manual and paper based, making them unneces- sarily complex and time consuming, while increasing the risk of data inaccu- racy. Complicating matters, some of the applications didn't integrate with one another and some systems were coming to their end of life. The group knew it needed to modernize the human resources environment, reduce costs and eliminate multiple systems. It also needed to free up staff time to focus on strategic work by reducing time spent on manual processes. Moving from disparate applications to a single human capital management (HCM) platform was an obvious solu- tion, and the small team focused on finding a solution that offered quick implementation with no disruption to key functions such as payroll. It selected VIP HCM powered by DLGL from TELUS Employer Solutions to consolidate multiple applications into one system with a set of integrated modules using a common database. With its focus on user experience, the company implemented a fully integrated payroll, time and attendance, benefits and compensation system, providing simple and robust self-serve functions for employees. Experience counts Employees eagerly embraced the new platform and its self-serve features that enabled them to quickly and easily enter their time, request time off and down- load pay statements and tax forms. These features helped the organization regain hours of productivity each week because it no longer needed to respond to requests for vacation balances or to update personal data for employees. In addition to decreasing the complexity and hands-on work of the human resources team, the organiza- tion saw an immediate increase in data accuracy and quality workforce insights that it could extract from a single system of truth. Employees benefited from a much-im- proved experience by being able to do routine inquiries and transactions from their phones or home computers nology investments to support efficient, scalable approaches to skills mapping and career pathing, says the PwC report. Like the public utility above, BGIS also looked to technology as it doubled down on its engagement and workforce plan- ning. As a large, global facilities manage- ment company, BGIS understands complexity. Seven thousand employees manage more than 30,000 facilities, many of them in the most competitive talent markets on the planet. Yet the company struggled to under- stand how best to engage and retain its growing workforce and how to tie when it was most convenient for them. Managers were able to spend more time coaching and planning and less time on administrative chores and data input, which is driving higher employee satisfaction, retention and reduced costs. Helping managers coach In organizations across Canada, managers are challenged to keep employees engaged and productive in a world of global talent shortage, perma- nent work-from-home expectations and the growing ranks of gig workers. Even before the pandemic, traditional ways of managing performance were fading, and as employers contemplate the return to workplaces, that shift is accelerating. In fact, research shows that 45 per cent of managers no longer find value in traditional performance systems, according to Willis Towers Watson, yet the average manager is spending up to 200 hours per year slog- ging through legacy appraisal systems, found 2016 research by CEB. In response, the majority (70 per cent) of multinational firms are moving toward a continuous coaching model in their performance management, according to Deloitte, and nearly half of employers say they are counting on tech- "The tool has provided a living, breathing document that managers can update as required and the team can easily track their performance." Ron Shory, BGIS Moving to a new HCM platform and new performance management system, two large Canadian employers illustrate how technology is enabling HR leaders to reimagine the future

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