The year 2020 has compelled enterprises to digitize their key functions to ensure business continuity and Human Resources (HR) is certainly one of them. Gone are the days when HR was a back office process. Now, HR function powered by cloud enabled artificial intelligence and automation is transforming the way organizations hire and engage the workforce.

The HR department handles several key processes such as recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and employee data management. One common characteristics of all these processes are that they are heavy on data processing. Until the arrival of cloud-based HR solutions, this department used to handle these key processes manually or by an internal on-premise solution.

Developing such solutions internally is not only heavy on cost but also consumes a lot of time and effort of the internal IT teams. Since HR deals with a lot of data and processes, they need a solution that automates collection and handling of data and give them information in real-time to make critical decisions.

Let us look at the key benefits of a cloud-based HR solutions:

Less paperwork, Saves time and efforts – Cloud-based HR solutions such as Oracle HCM and Kronos enable the organizations to automate HR routine tasks with artificial intelligence and machine learning to make the daily tasks of HR managers easier and provide them with real-time insights to make smart decisions. These solutions simplify human resource management, administrative processes, and provide employee self-service (ESS) capabilities to improve HR productivity, engage employees, control costs, and reduce compliance risk.

Increased Employee Engagement – Cloud-based HR solutions integrate emerging technologies, from digital assistants to RPA, into HR processes. This allows organizations to take advantage of big data and mobile technology to engage with employees. These solutions come with tools that can be used for conducting quick survey with employees. They can also be used to track hours and manage employee payroll. Employee engagement plays a very important role in ensuring their satisfaction with the work environment.  Engaged employees drive high levels of customer satisfaction, knowledge sharing, business agility, and bottom-line profitability. When used effectively, cloud-based HR solutions can help to humanize the workplace and improve long-term retention.

Seamless Recruitment – Recruiting is one of the most critical functions of the HR department and just like other functions, this one too is heavy on data. It involves processing of resumes, scheduling of interviews, collating interview feedback and rolling out of job offers. Over the years, some of these processes have been automated by using internal software, however some are still done manually, which leads to inefficiencies and tendencies for human error. However, cloud-based HR solutions such as Oracle HCM have the recruiting module, which addresses the challenges of recruitment by leveraging a data-driven approach and a mobile-first user interface (UI) to source and engage both internal and external candidates, and apply business insights for better hiring decisions.

Data Security – Cloud-based HR tools maintain information related to HR processes in one centralized secure location and ensure its accessibility at any time. Cloud computing as a technology is developed with security as part of its overall make-up. Cloud-based HR solutions are more secure because they allow the organization to control the accessibility to the data without stalling operations. They ensure that data is secure and protected even at the time of physical emergencies such as office fire.

The HR function has completely transformed with the aid of cloud-based computing integration. Talk about scalability and security, or the ease of managing complex HR functions – Cloud Computing simplifies all these processes and enables organizations to make data-driven intelligent decisions.