Increased use of technology in HR, especially in the recruitment process, is helping Indian companies gain competitive advantages by hiring and retaining the right talent. A new study reveals that nearly 75% of HR managers are using technology to improve HR practices, but a staggering 25% are still not keen to switch over to using technology in HR.
Out of the 75% respondents who voted ‘Yes’, about 30% of respondents said that technology has centralised HR processes. Another 20% said that the use of technology has led to better data management and 19% said it has increased productivity. Approximately 26% of employers said that technology has improved their talent acquisition processes and 5% said that they reduced the cost of HR operations to a great degree by employing technology.
Out of the 25% who confessed being uncomfortable to use technology in HR processes, about 18% said that their company wasn’t giving up on the traditional practices. Another 22% hiring managers were hesitant to use technology in HR because they failed to adapt to new technologies earlier, and 11% respondents said that the reason for no interest in technology was because tech overhauling of HR process is expensive. As many as 48% of respondents considered all the above factors responsible.
The adoption of technology and tools in HR
From posting a job vacancy to sourcing candidates, several areas in the human resources function have become digitised. Participants in this TimesJobs survey were asked if they were using any specific tool for job postings and more than 63% respondents acknowledged to doing so. Only 37% respondents said they did not use any such tool.
Approximately 61% hiring managers claimed that they were using specialised technology and tools for sourcing candidates. About 38% respondents were still not using any tools for their talent sourcing needs.
Impact of tech in HR and the future
To understand the impact of tech in HR, TimesJobs asked employers about the on-going changes in the hiring processes. 23% employers said that the use of technology in HR has increased profitability and made the HR processes less time-consuming. About 14% said that it has increased the productivity of their existing employees.
TimesJobs survey respondents were asked about their vision of the HR domain in the coming years. According to 36% of respondents, the HR industry will become more ‘pioneering and personalised’ in the next five years. For 29% of respondents, the industry will become more ‘reactive and procedural’ in the future. About 19% envision the future years will be more ‘cultivating and empowering’; because 16% perceive the future to be more ‘functional and fragmented’ for HR domain specifically. 
