HR industry predictions for 2013
Roger Moore, General Manager, Bond Teamspirit
Where are you concentrating your R&D efforts over the next year?
The delivery of HR software using the web platform is going to be very important. Increasingly, we are receiving enquiries for employee self-service solutions where employees are able to book training sessions via the internet, while also being able to book holidays and view payslips.
There is also an increasing demand for the core functionality within HR Software to be web-enabled and our focus next year is to provide the ability for appraisals and training booking systems to be available on the web. The benefit to the training booking system is twofold – it is a way of promoting employee wellbeing in the respect that you’re offering them career enhancement, as well as being a quick and easy way of doing appraisals and career progression.
The other core focus over the next two or three years will of course continue to be auto-enrolment. We will develop our system in order to automate as much as possible the process of auto-enrolling for pension saving schemes and feeding the information out.
How different or the same do you think the HR software software/service provider landscape will be in the coming year?
The focus will move further away from products to services, and what tools can be provided to the HR department to make the role of the HR employee simpler and more efficient. Understanding the data you have available to you and utilising it will be a key priority. There will be a lot more analytical information for HR, for example data warehouse reporting where you can access detailed information on issues such as absence, while analysing it and then putting in corrective actions based on results which may be employee wellbeing or flexible working etc to improve it.
Today, all the talk is about software delivery through the Cloud, do you see further radical changes in how software will be developed?
Cloud is just a technology and a means to deliver the HR technology. The trend will be away from the technology and infrastructure used to focus more on the content. As such, people will be able to focus more on the important factors – such as what you actually want from a system and what the right solution is for an individual business.
What predictions do you have regarding the HR industry?
Currently, society as a whole is working to extremely high stress levels with the expectation that everything has to be delivered today. As a result, the work/life balance is not equal.
People are very work oriented – this claim is based on first hand observations. Firstly, a significant increase in stress related issues such as industry related accidents, more sickness etc.
Secondly, the UK has an overtime culture unlike other countries. The pressure on workers to deliver results to short deadlines has lead to an expectation for people to work late. I believe it is a big problem and one that has to change because I think it is the cause of so many other issues in society.
