Will employees benefit from the UK’s investment into digital HR solutions?

With the emergence of digital HR solutions, employers must rethink and reset or risk losing all competitive edge with other firms

The last 12 months have put heightened tension on digital transformation, with companies having to deliver against tall orders for an altogether new and tech-enabled employee experience that suits remote or work-from-anywhere policies.

We’ve seen businesses pivot their HR approach at lightning speed as hybrid and fully remote habits become firm fixtures. A new high bar for everything from pay to flexibility to digital HR solutions has emerged, meaning employers must rethink and reset or risk losing all competitive edge.

Businesses have had to make agility their bread and butter in recent years. There’s been little other choice. The global shift to remote work triggered by COVID-19 would have been unimaginable before 2020. It certainly opened up many challenges to everyone from IT, HR, and security teams, but organisations made it work because they simply had to.

The truth is that transformation is now no optional extra. It’s a business essential demanded by employees and those employers who fail to deliver it will inevitably see talent walk out the door.

Businesses need to map out the vital shifts in company culture

But transformation isn’t just turned on overnight. Businesses need to map out the vital shifts in company culture it will take to get there. So, what are businesses across Europe doing to rise to a whole new golden standard, and what will it take for businesses to get ROI fast?

Digital HR: Taking the temperature across Europe

To fully understand how businesses respond to a new state of play, we surveyed 5,000 employers and 16,000 employees across 16 European countries. Strikingly, our SD Worx research found that UK businesses are taking an early lead (68%) in the race to step up digital HR offerings compared to Europe (60%).

The findings reveal a new emphasis on optimising the digital work environment as businesses increasingly lean into digital HR tech to promote productivity, collaboration and employee wellbeing. These new missions sit alongside the urgent need to rise to the latest tech standards demanded by digital-native workforces.

However, despite surging rates of digitalisation across businesses, more than a third of employees (37%) are struggling to wrap their heads around how to use digital tools effectively – leaving many employees in the dark when reaping the benefits of these updates.

Digitalisation in the workplace since the pandemic

It may have been the pandemic that set the wheels of digitalisation in motion, but it’s only now that we’re seeing it take massive strides. The business landscape has experienced a seismic shift in mindset with digital HR technology.

The pandemic and all the headwinds which followed were all eye-openers. Many had to learn that building resilience into their DNA is crucial to keep shape-shifting whatever the challenge.

In previous years, companies used digitalisation to benefit their personnel departments, focusing on process-based digital HR technology to support automation within the company. This automation was all about streamlining tasks such as document management, internal communication, payroll, communication about payroll, and time and attendance management.

But today, it’s about so much more as companies transition to a ‘people-centric’ approach by dialing up investment in applications that benefit employees as individuals. This is more than just focusing on productivity and instead must support all initiatives, from training and development to collaboration and teamwork.

Tech has to deliver for all people at every level

And whether the workforce is remote, hybrid, or there’s a work-from-anywhere policy in place, there’s an expectation that the tech has to deliver for all people at every level. However, despite this change in mindset, there is still a mountain to climb to lay the foundation of a future fit system.

Across Europe, 40% of organisations say that process-oriented applications are the most mature and advanced aspect of their digital HR tech solutions, compared with 30% who say this about their employee-oriented applications.

Bridging the gaps in employee knowledge

In recent years we’ve also seen huge demand for digital HR analytics and tools bringing real improvements to how companies support their workforce and understand what’s happening within their organisations. These tools present great opportunities to make work from anywhere possible but to get it right and deliver what workforces expect it’s worth remembering the vital piece of the puzzle – education.

Not all employees are digitally native, nor is every employee a ‘computer whiz’, so despite digitialisation being able to support employees in many of their day-to-day tasks, without the knowledge and education on how to use this tech, they are missing out on the benefits of a streamlined and efficient HR platform.

Digitalised processes for all workplace endeavours

Digitalised processes can boost everything from business outcomes to employee wellbeing and personal productivity, but one size doesn’t fit all, and these can’t just be turned on. Over a third (37%) of employees across Europe reported difficulties in using and understanding new digital approaches, which means the onus is now falling squarely on employers to step up education if they are the get the most out of their tech investment.

To combat this confusion and optimise employees’ digital experiences, many companies are turning to everything from on-site training to employee-oriented HR applications. Businesses in the UK and Switzerland are ahead of the curve in this race, leading in their investments in digital HR and training (68%), swiftly followed by Spain (66%).

The call to action is clear – businesses need to use technology to support vital functions such as training and personal development, but they also must ensure that all employees are educated on how to use the tech to reap the benefits.

This piece was written and provided by Rachel Clough, UK Country Lead at SD Worx.