If UK employee sentiment is any indication, human resources (HR) departments are about to go fully digital.
A new report from HR and payroll services provider SD Works found that most workers in the country would love to see more digital options for their HR-related problems. Furthermore, less than half are satisfied with the digital tools their HR departments are offering at the moment.
With the average rating for employee engagement in the UK sitting at the halfway mark, employers seem to have gotten the hint. Almost two thirds (62.3 percent) have short-term plans to improve their HR service delivery to employees.
Employees in the UK aren’t satisfied with the solutions currently available to them, the report argues, claiming that just a quarter was able to find answers to their HR questions instantly through digital solutions. Answers to topics such as annual leave, sick leave, expenses and pay slips were hard to find digitally. Also, employees stated that the best way to conduct these searches is through a fixed device, such as a desktop computer. As a result, a third of employees bypass the HR department and look for their answers elsewhere.
For Cathy Geerts, Chief HR Officer at SD Worx, bypassing HR is “shocking”.
“At times like these, this can put fresh pressure on HR teams that are already overwhelmed with new tasks of having to keep people safe, support their physical and mental wellbeing and to keep staff productive, motivated and engaged,” Geerts claims.
“Now is the critical time to invest in user-friendly HR tools to not only boost productivity, but ultimately to take the overall employee experience to the next level.”