HR Technology: Creating the Department of the Future, Today

With unemployment hitting its lowest rate in nearly 17 years, the job market has shifted to a candidate-driven market. This transformation has forced HR departments around the world to look for fresh and engaging ways to attract top talent. In order to meet this new demand, many companies are changing the entire employee/candidate experience. These companies are relying on many of the proven strategies they use to create an effective customer experience to create a dynamic employee experience. This transformation to a consumer-type experience for current and prospective employees is real, and it is happening now. Your organization likely already has a firm understanding of the consumer experience, so you can use many of these same techniques to attract job candidates. Three main components — consumer-focused, digital and agile — are needed to transform your current department into a robust HR department that's prepared for the future.

A Consumer-Focus Approach

Research shows that 83 percent of HR managers rank the employee experience as important or very important. Despite this fact, nearly 70 percent of all employees still feel disengaged at the workplace. Employers must do more to bridge this gap if they hope to attract and retain the talent they need to move forward. Employer focus is shifting from simply employee satisfaction to how to enhance the entire employee experience. This is very similar to the shift from consumer satisfaction to the customer experience made by marketing experts, years ago. The same type of strategic thinking that is used to attract customers and convert a sale will soon become a new core competence for in-house Human Resource departments that are searching for top talent. Employers will increasingly utilize analytics and big data gathered from HR digital technology to augment the value of the organization and improve the overall hiring and employee experience.