COVID-19 has accelerated the need to make technology critical to HR’s strategic mission, delivering a seamless and responsive experience to employees, whether they’re working from home or at an office.

The interest in HR technology is broad, and investors are paying attention: In the midst of a pandemic, venture capital investment in human resource technology reached nearly $5 billion in 2020, including $821 million invested in collaboration and communications technologies alone.1

HR departments are cutting back on budgets, but not on technology — while one-third of HR leaders have indicated in early 2021 they were planning budget cuts, 90% were planning to maintain or increase IT spending.2

Despite investors’ enthusiasm, only 45% of companies are in the early stages of HR automation. Nearly half of organizations use HR software that’s at least seven years old. And just 10% of their HR budgets are earmarked for new technology, even though upgrades can deliver cost savings of 22% per employee.3

In an era when employees have more options than ever — one survey indicated 65% of people say they’re looking for a new job4 — it’s important (if not essential) to deliver a seamless, engaging experience for employees from the time they are hired until they retire.

Making HR technology count

Human resources tech can help employees and make administration easier and inform HR strategy:

  • Virtual onboarding. Remote work and fierce competition for talent have made it important to deliver high-quality virtual onboarding. Through a digital platform, virtual onboarding can be efficient and effective,
  • Benefit administration. HR tech should not only facilitate benefit elections but provide an engaging, educational experience that helps employees take advantage of all available benefits.
  • Total Rewards. Employees want opportunities to grow professionally combined with enhanced health and employee benefits, wellness programs, flexibility and recognition. It takes data analytics to create total rewards programs that can improve recruiting, retention, engagement and productivity — human resources tech serves as the backbone of a Total Rewards program.
  • Performance management. HR technology can optimize performance management, facilitating an integrated, continuous process for education and goal setting that generates real-time feedback loops.
  • Talent development. Improving employees’ skills in a virtual environment is complex. It’s essential that organizations have a high-quality HR platform to deliver learning and development content.
  • Enhanced Analytics. A good tech solution informs decision making through analytics. Combined with HUB’s Workforce Persona Analysis, HR tech can help identify and address generational gaps in the workforce.

Shaping HR tech strategy

Finding the right HR tech solutions requires a strategic focus. Organizations should conduct a needs assessment, from multiple perspectives. That includes HR, employees and the organization as a whole, considering the business operating model as well as stakeholder expectations.

A needs assessment should pinpoint problems or gaps in current systems and help identify what solutions can best solve them in the short and long term. It’s then essential to evaluate tech options for HR administrators as well as employees. For instance, what are the automated features? How easy is it to use? Does it have mobile access? And it’s important to determine the level of vendor support as systems are brought on line.

An HR department equipped with the technology to design and deliver a responsive and forward-thinking employee experience will elevate its importance within any organization.

HUB International’s HR Technology Practice team is available to work with your organization in its evaluation and adoption of HR technology solutions.

1 Unleash, “USD $5 billion HR Tech VC Floods Market In 2020,” January 15, 2021.

2 Gartner, “Top 5 Strategic Technology Trends for HR in 2021,” May 12, 2021.

3 JungoHR, “HRIS: The Who, What, When, Why and How,” accessed September 9, 2021.

4 CNBC, “65% of workers are looking for a new job, and the numbers could get higher,” August 19, 2021.