Section 1. What is HR Tech

The answer is simple: HR Tech is any software or web-based tool that helps you manage your people. Admittedly, that definition is pretty broad. So here are some of the most common sub-categories.

Payroll System: Almost no one computes payroll manually anymore. So by processing payroll online, you’re already using some form of HR Tech. This is also probably the system an employee uses to view their pay stubs.

HR Admin System: This is the system with tools to hire, terminate, and manage your employees. It may be the system where an employee completes onboarding tasks, requests leave, and digitally signs off on company policies.

Time and Attendance System: Think of a digital version of the old punch clock. Employees can clock in, clock out, swap shifts, and let a manager know they cannot make it to work. Many are fancy enough to incorporate GPS, so an employee can only clock in once they are physically on site.

Benefits Admin System: This is where you conduct open enrollment and new hire enrollment, tracking where every employee is within the process at all times. From the employee’s perspective, this is where they learn about benefits that are available, download important benefits-related forms, and make their elections.

Often times, one solution will incorporate two or more of these functions. Even if the functionality does “live” in two (or three) different pieces of software, many will integrate with each other. It’s essential that when you embark on your HR Tech journey, you think about how all these systems will “talk” to one another.

Here are a few examples:

Throughout this paper, we’ll encourage you to try and get more out of your existing software before implementing anything new. As you can see from these examples, much of your desired functionality may be available without changing vendors.When changes are necessary, we’ve often seen clients choose to make wholesale changes all at once. After careful review, they decide that the desire for large improvements and the resulting productivity gains are worth the upfront effort. And sometimes a fresh start just makes sense; especially if you have a clear vision of how you want your systems and processes to integrate. If you’re just dipping a toe into HR Tech and automation, the incremental approach is probably best. If you know exactly how you’d like to operate, you’re probably in a better position to choose vendors who can execute upon that vision


The Role of Your Advisor

If your benefits broker isn’t having pro-active discussions about HR tech in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic, it might be time to talk to a true benefits advisor. Click here to schedule a demo of how we work with clients on strategic tech issues

Add Comment