Emerging Stronger to lead in being digital with Adaptable HR: Alight Solutions’ State of HR Transformation Study 2021

Alight Solutions’ recently released the fourth edition of the State of HR Transformation Study in partnership with People Matters. The theme of the study is around Emerging Stronger from the watershed year and sheds light on why some organisations are ahead of the curve. And one of the key reasons enabling these organisations is the tenet of adaptability enabling the HR function to be a guide for businesses, people, and society.

In the third edition of the study released last year, Alight brought forward the construct of Adaptable HR as a north star for organisations to navigate the increasingly uncertain business and talent landscape. Exploring the anchors of adaptability in HR functions, Alight has consistently observed that the HR Operating Model (interchangeably referred to as HR Service Delivery or Business Model) plays an important role in driving confidence on execution and productivity. When complemented with the right HR technology strategy, the results are amplified further.

As Alight tested the model in the unprecedented events that occurred last year, it found that Adaptable HR functions are emerging stronger across several parameters to:

• Lead in being digital for HR and the Business
• Proactively enable the right shifts in the way we work
• Reimagine the HR function as a leader for organisational change
• Shape and deliver the right value of HR to stakeholders

Let’s delve deeper into how Adaptable HR organisations are emerging stronger to lead in being digital.

Getting technology right is an imperative

It is evident that in today’s uncertain environment, getting the technology right is not a choice but an imperative. It is increasingly important for both HR and IT teams to create the right technology stack that solves for organisational needs. Also, successful adoption requires HR to stop looking at digitalisation as yet another IT project. Instead, what’s required is:

• A clear understanding of High Touch and High Tech which will help organisations to understand the needs which require personalisation on the platform as compared to viewing it as needs that require personalisation of interactions
• Domain led thinking approach to evaluate each platform type on the purpose it solves
• Setting the right foundations on data, policies and processes
• Thinking ahead by evaluating platforms on the features today and how well innovation is incorporated for the future

Ultimately, whatever technology stack you choose, it must fit into and complement the HR operating model to accelerate transformation and enable roles and decision making.

HR Technology Trends and Insights

The report brings out some interesting trends and insights around satisfaction with HR technology in the APAC market and as well as around leading platforms.

• First, across the four iterations of the study, satisfaction with HR technology has seen a minimal increase. This could be due to the fact that buyers are becoming more informed and expect more as the platforms have matured.
• Looking at the Net Promoter Satisfaction (NPS) of HR technology, the report found that Mature archetype organisations (organisations that have their HR operating model complemented by HR technology) have a NPS on HR technology that is 22 times that of the APAC market average.

• From an APAC perspective, Workday leads in the cloud platform space followed by SuccessFactors. While Oracle dominates the market for on-premise systems, Cornerstone OnDemand leads in the learning and talent management space.
• Automation is increasingly becoming an essential part of HR Service Delivery. Though leading platforms are investing in building capabilities like Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing, organisations will need additional capabilities such as Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to drive efficiencies in process management.
• When it comes to Robotics and cognitive technology adoption trends, over 50% of the Mature Archetype organisations have advanced along their adoption journey to drive better efficiencies for HR function as well as provide an improved employee experience.

In conclusion, 2021 has indeed been a year that has accelerated technology adoption. This can be seen across various aspects of talent decisions. HR processes in mobiles or wearables, and continuous employee listening. Hence, as technology adoption continues across different tipping points in HR, it is expected to bring in a maturity of usage and change in larger HR functions to ultimately reap larger benefits and emerge stronger with digital to define the future of work for HR.

Click here to download the exclusive report now for detailed insights. Let’s emerge stronger together!