What's in Your HR Tech Stack?

The world of work is vastly different than it was just a couple of years ago. Remote work is here to stay, with nine in 10 organizations planning to combine remote and on-site working post-pandemic. The Great Resignation is increasing turnover rates, as between 26 percent and 41 percent of workers consider leaving their jobs. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are in the spotlight as social injustices get the attention they have so long deserved. And HR teams may be supporting organizations through these challenges without the headcount they need to be successful. Having the right infrastructure in place can help.

As you look forward to 2022 and prepare for what lies ahead, it’s time to consider what’s in your HR tech stack, what you might switch out, and what you might add. Here are some questions to consider as you plan for the new year.

Does your HR tech stack support remote work? 

If your organization is offering remote or hybrid work at scale for the first time, take a hard look at your current solutions to ensure they’ll support your new workforce model.

You might consider:

• Recruitment solutions that create a positive experience and consistent interview process for candidates, whether you meet them live or virtually—or whether your interviewers are in the office or remote.
• A performance management system that enables managers to execute a fair review process for co-located and remote team members alike.
• Compensation management software that will help you ensure pay equity across geographies and run compensation cycles for a hybrid workforce. 

Use your HR software to track which employees are co-located, remote, or hybrid so you can ensure remote inclusion. For example, you should track promotion rate by remote status to ensure remote team members aren’t being left behind because they’re less visible. If you want a hybrid workforce model to be successful, use employee feedback and HR data to fine tune your policies, processes, and technologies.

Does your HR tech stack help boost retention? 

Employee retention is a top priority at many organizations, and there are numerous ways HR technology can contribute to your overall strategy. For example:

• Succession planning solutions or sourcing tools that consider both internal and external candidates help you identify team members who may be ready for a promotion.
• Employee recognition software that encourages team members to praise one another and records recognition events for later reference. 
• Listening tools so you can gather employee feedback through engagement surveys, Pulse surveys, stay interviews, and exit interviews.
• A compensation management platform that provides visibility into when employees last received a raise, bonus, equity grant, or new manager.

And, in a competitive talent market, consumer-grade HR technology can help you attract and retain HR talent that wants to feel supported and set up for success. If your current technologies are clunky, and serve more as a systems of record than strategic HR solutions, it may be time to evaluate new options.

Does your HR tech stack enable diversity, equity, and inclusion? 

True progress toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) will require a culture shift and there aren’t any technology solutions that can replace doing this work. But once you’ve committed and laid the foundation for DEI, there are solutions that can enable smoother execution of your strategy. For instance:

• Some applicant tracking systems anonymize candidate profiles to reduce unconscious bias during resume screening, or offer structured interview kits to guide your team toward a more fair recruitment process.
• Assessment tools can provide an objective way to gauge a candidate’s skills and suitability for the role.
• A compensation management platform can track pay equity—including salary, bonus, and stock—so you can make strategic adjustments when necessary.

If your organization is prioritizing DEI next year, consider how your HR technology stack may be able to better support that endeavor.

Does your HR tech stack help improve efficiency? 

Whether your HR team has been short staffed for a while or feeling spread thin from aggressive hiring plans and high turnover, the right technology can help improve efficiency. For example:

• A recruitment marketing solution can automatically send email and text message communications to your candidates to share their current status and next steps. This not only improves efficiency, it elevates the candidate experience.
• A chatbot can answer common questions from candidates and team members, freeing up your time for other initiatives.
• A modern compensation management tool can support yourpay equity analysis, incorporating the calculations you’ll need.

The right HR tech solutions will integrate with other tools where needed and automate manual tasks to improve efficiency. This can help you do more with a limited headcount. For example, The Motley Fool uses Compaas to make strategic pay decisions and hold transparent conversations around pay with team members, without a dedicated compensation specialist.

Final thoughts: Does your current HR tech stack support your current and future needs?

As your workforce, programs, and processes evolve, your HR technology stack will need to evolve too. Reevaluate your tools to determine if they still meet your needs, or if it’s time to look for new solutions that will better support your team. You may find that your all-in-one platform has some of your desired features, but that it doesn’t meet your needs from a functional standpoint. Consider the labor and time costs of continuing to use those tools, and whether an investment in a more specialized solution would make more sense long-term. Modern technology could truly transform your HR function and help you meet your goals for the next year and beyond.