Beyond COVID-19: HR’s Role in Powering Digital Transformation

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve unfold its wrath and has dramatically changed all sections of businesses and society. Additionally, the public-health crisis has been an unexpected stress test for the HR department – covering unknown loopholes and leveraging leading-edge digital technologies.

As organizations mandate remote work regulations or shift toward a hybrid working arrangement, it is clear that they are only going one way – a more digital, flexible environment. While HR pros have been critical to rapid digitization to date, the department must go deeper into multiple key areas. 

By remodeling existing strategies, complementing HR technologies, and digitalizing old work methods, HR leaders have an opportunity to take charge of fueling digital transformation post-COVID-19 and extend their sphere of influence even further.

Read between the lines to understand how HR can use a blend of tech, talent, and culture to help companies in their top agenda – digital transformation - in a post-pandemic world. 

Reimagine Recruitment and Onboarding with Emerging Technologies

With most businesses turning to a hybrid working model, HR professionals will need to build a long-run, flexible framework to hire and onboard candidates virtually. Those acting slowly in this front risk, for instance, recruiting a crooked candidate or ghosting new personnel with an inept onboarding experience.

Harnessing cutting-edge technologies like virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain, alongside data science, will help overcome these challenges and embrace the workplace of tomorrow. For example, digital tools offer a holistic view of an individual’s background and experience. As such, HR can ensure leakproof recruitment and avoid hiring someone who has overstated their qualifications. 

When it comes to onboarding, emerging technologies enable HR pros to create a fit-for-purpose, digital hub where new employees can, for example, access the files they need to understand the company better. This offers an in-office experience in the home, crucial for new recruits who will not be interacting physically with their colleagues.

Cloud-enabled Learning and Development 

Learning and development is swiftly becoming a core element of the HR agenda, with a primary focus on ensuring that companies are up for the post-COVID-19 world. HR executives should consider upskilling their existing workforce with unique and transferable skills, offering them a competitive advantage and increasing their resilience to change. And that is where cloud-enabled learning management systems (LMS) systems will be beneficial in transforming how employees learn and obtain skills.

Empirical findings reveal that 2 out of 5 employees stepped up their digital skills during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, about 80% have shown interest in upskilling or reskilling.

If implemented strategically, HR pros should see better engagement and completion rates for these online learning programs.

There is a dire need for personalized and flexible learning programs that boost efficiency, provide employees with various skill development options, and above all – are user-friendly. 

At a time when upskilling or reskilling is a key priority for both employers and employees, strengthening learning and development will help HR build a workforce of the future.

Using Data for Continuous Performance Monitoring

Data accumulation and evaluation has frustrated businesses for over a decade. And with the third wave of the pandemic already sweeping along, it is uncertain when employees can head back to their offices.

Given the circumstance, HR teams should deploy a continuous performance monitoring program, enabling decision-makers and managers to spot and remove hurdles to optimal performance.

By using a combo of AI-based workforce analytics and performance metrics, HR pros can regularly gauge employee contribution to the business in real-time. Moreover, they can measure employee engagement, experience, and satisfaction. With these gathered metrics, HR can take essential strategic talent acquisition, growth, and management decisions to prepare the workforce for the challenges after the COVID-19 lesson. 

The World is Advancing, and HR is With It

The pandemic’s impact on the global economic structure has compelled businesses to transform and embrace the new reality in a bid to survive. Hence, HR leaders must evolve across every touchpoint of the HR lifecycle to fulfill the emerging enterprise needs. 

Put simply, they will have to increasingly discover ways to assist decision-makers in refashioning during and after COVID-19, take workforce rationalization measures while managing associated risks, and boost efficiency and employee engagement. 

After all, the ongoing public-health crises do not seem to subside anytime soon; as such, businesses need to learn to deal with them. Now is the time for action – the more HR lags behind, the more time it will take for businesses to survive and thrive in the post-COVID chapter.