How to Use Cloud Technology to Streamline HR Processes

HR workflows can be time-consuming, and that’s something businesses need to change, especially as demand for efficiency rises. Thankfully, cloud computing can help.

Cloud solutions have overwhelmingly exceeded expectations in HR departments already using them. At the same time, cloud transformation is the third-largest challenge HR leaders face today. This discrepancy suggests the cloud’s benefits hinge on how businesses implement it. Here are five specific ways you can streamline HR processes with the cloud.

1. Integrate AI and Automation

Automation is one of the most effective ways to streamline any workflow, as it reduces employee workloads. The cloud is also a natural gateway to this innovation because many cloud-based HR tools include artificial intelligence (AI) and automation features.

Repetitive administrative tasks slow HR managers down. Data entry, payroll, compliance management, and responding to employee questions are common examples. These tasks are also easily automatable through off-the-shelf cloud-based AI and automation tools.

Chatbots can answer questions from employees and applicants, while robotic process automation (RPA) can automate data entry and organizational tasks. Technologies like this also come standard in many cloud solutions or need large data sets, which you can use the cloud to store in one place.

2. Track Applicants More Effectively

Another one of the cloud’s biggest benefits for HR departments is its consolidation. Cloud storage is automatically scalable so you can store information from multiple sources in one platform, which makes tracking applicants through the interviewing and hiring process much easier.

It takes an average of 44 days to fill an open position. This process would be much faster and easier if you could access everything you need to know about an applicant from a single window at any time. That’s precisely what the cloud enables. Cloud applicant tracking solutions streamline recruitment by making it easier to compare candidates, enabling faster decisions.

3. Make Data More Accessible

Data accessibility is another key cloud benefit to capitalize on. Of the 83% of companies experiencing unexpected advantages from the cloud, 65% say it has increased information access. That’s because you can see and manage cloud data from virtually any device, regardless of location or time.

Any information multiple members of your team must access at varying times is ripe for the cloud. That may include applicant profiles, employee records, formal policies, or payroll information.

Ensure your cloud solution meets applicable regulatory and security requirements before moving data to it. That shouldn’t be an issue, though, considering that compliance and privacy are common drivers of cloud adoption in the first place.

4. Reduce Onboarding Friction

Onboarding is an ideal workflow to transform through the cloud. A poor onboarding process limits engagement and can lead to turnover, but it’s hard to make it engaging when recruits must bounce between leaders and systems. Cloud computing helps by keeping everything together and streamlining data access.

Cloud-based onboarding platforms let new hires access everything they need in one system from any device. They can also collaborate with and reach out to other employees or leaders more easily, resulting in faster, more effective help. Using a cloud solution to host onboarding materials also makes it easier to track worker performance for more helpful assistance and management.

Cloud systems are often more efficient, as hardware limitations don’t hold them back from running newer technologies smoothly. These benefits make onboarding more engaging and helpful, making employees 2.6 times more likely to feel satisfied with their workplace.

5. Keep Employee Information in One Place

The cloud continues to deliver benefits after hiring and onboarding. Cloud platforms are ideal places to store records on current employees to facilitate more efficient management.

HR management features commonly come with cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions, giving you one place to store employee data. That way, you can turn to the same system whenever you need to look something up on a given worker. It also makes it easier to share information as necessary with other HR professionals or company leadership.

HR Workflows Need the Cloud

Conventional approaches to HR workflows are too inefficient to remain effective in a digital future. Embracing the cloud today can give you the agility to keep up with other business functions tomorrow.

Applying cloud solutions to these five areas will yield some of the most significant benefits. You’ll then see a quicker return and more meaningful improvements in your HR workflow timelines.

Zac Amos is the Features Editor at ReHack and a regular contributor at TalentCulture, AllBusiness, and VentureBeat. He covers HR tech, cybersecurity, and AI. For more of his work, follow him on LinkedIn or Twitter.

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