HR Digital Transformation: How to Roll Out a Successful Digital Transformation in Human Resources

By
Juliet Luciol
October 17, 2022
8
min read
Updated
February 22, 2024
Photo credit
HR digital transformation is a way to stay ahead of technological changes and simplify HR processes. Learn more about HR digitalization and why it’s a game-changing imperative for your organization.
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Introduction

Digital transformation is a crucial shift in how organizations use technology as a core part of their business strategy. It means using digital technology to transform your business to better suit customer needs and create new products that were previously impossible.

For HR organizations, digital transformation is an ongoing process that includes training employees on new technology changes and culture. It’s crucial for HR because it helps organizations become more efficient and agile.

Organizations that succeed in digital transformation can engage their employees better, attract and retain talent, and provide new products and services.

What is digital transformation?

Digital transformation is a process that involves implementing technology to improve business performance. You can leverage it to improve processes, increase efficiency, and reduce costs. Digital transformation in human resources is a daunting proposition. It involves transforming all business processes from manual to automated process documentation.

It's an essential part of modern HR management that leverages technology to manage people and processes effectively. Any company looking to implement a successful HR digital transformation has fundamental principles and procedures to follow.

These principles should inform your HR digital transformation strategy as you work to implement successful digitalization in human resources.

What is HR digital transformation?

Human resources are one of the most critical departments in any organization. Given its strategic role, the department is a natural primary target for digital transformation initiatives in organizations.

Digital transformation in HR is all about using technology to help solve problems and make life easier for employees. This includes software adoption in handling daily tasks and automated systems to save time.

Remember that achieving a successful digital transformation will require you to create a solid roadmap with all the details about your HR transformation project. A successful HR digitalization will provide new capabilities and processes to help your organization thrive in today’s fast-moving business environment.

Why Is HR digital transformation so important?

HR Digital transformation is a journey on how you work differently to create sustainable competitive advantage for your organization through innovation and technology. Implementing digital transformation in HR aims to help organizations become more efficient.

The entire HR digital transformation process enables organizations to integrate new systems into their business practices more seamlessly and quickly. HR professionals must be able to analyze technologies that impact them as an organization to identify gaps for efficient process transformation.

Overall, HR Digital Transformation helps organizations become more agile and competitive in today's fast-changing business environment by enabling them to:

  1. Deliver work more efficiently by automating repetitive tasks. This means less time wasted on projects that don't work out and more time spent building crucial projects.
  2. Reduce costs by enhancing process standardization and eliminating inefficient and tedious manual processes.
  3. Create new products and services for customers through innovative ideas from employees.
  4. Create an attractive workplace for employees through better performance management systems.
  5. Grow revenue through higher employee engagement.
  6. Increase employee retention through improved productivity tools like CRM software (Customer Relationship Management).

Remember that the impact of digital transformation on your company depends on how well you implement it. It may be difficult for you to understand what works well and what doesn't if you don't have any prior experience.

How to successfully roll out HR digital transformation

Once you have determined the objectives of your transformation, it’s time to identify how you will achieve them. This involves identifying the right technologies and processes that will enable your HR transformation. Here are the key steps to successfully roll out a digital transformation in your human resources.

1. Establish a clear goal

Before embarking on a journey of HR digital transformation, the first step is to have clearly defined goals that make sense from every perspective. HR digitalization is often seen as a way to improve how your employees work together toward common goals. It is also a crucial opportunity to engage them outside their traditional roles.

Once you have determined customer needs, you will want to identify the HR issues preventing your business from thriving in the current business environment. Your transformation should address the core business challenges your organization faces.

Remember that the employee as an end user should always be the main focus of any HR transformation project. It's also why you should let your staff try out any new technology before implementing it.

2. Ensure everyone is on board

A successful digital transformation strategy must have all stakeholders on board. This includes employees at the C-suite and everyone else. HR digital transformation is a process that'll affect the entire company's operations. So, you need all the support you can get in all the stages of transformation for it to become a success.

One of the best ways to ensure the success of the onboarding process is to integrate standard operating procedures (SOP) in your operations. An SOP works more like an employee handbook that can assist with onboarding by presenting a standardized set of guidelines for all new employees to follow. Like this example, created with Scribe!

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(Source)

3. Identify those to take charge of the digital transformation

It is essential to involve the right people in the digital transformation process. HR leaders are the obvious candidates for driving the transformation. But other top managers might be equally important to get involved.

In other cases, you might want to include the company's board of directors and investors. HR leaders should also be actively involved in digital transformation because it is an essential part of their role and critical for every organization.

They offer critical perspectives on what you need in the transformation process. Other top managers like the CEO and top executives can play a vital role in making funding decisions, which will be essential in any transformation initiative.

4. Organize your resources

Like any other exercise, a successful HR digital transformation process requires you to have the right tools. That’s why it’s always advisable to acquire and account for all the tools and resources you may need before moving to the next process step.

Scribe and Scribe Pages are one of the best tools you can leverage to make work easier for your HR & L&D teams. It's a part of the solution to help new employees ramp up faster by providing step-by-step guides for everything they need to know.

Similarly, look at the areas of your HR process that need a digital uplift and use Scribe to implement the new tools and technologies. Scribe will help you turn the process into a simple step-by-step guide, whether a new CRM, ERP, billing or project management system.

Scribe is a step-by-step guide generator that automatically captures any process. Simply turn on the extension or desktop app, and go through your process. Scribe captures your screen to turn your workflow into a visual SOP — complete with text and annotated screenshots.

And with Scribe Pages, you can combine Scribes with images, video and more.

hr digital transformation

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5. Assess performance

It's nice to experiment with and use digital technology, but it doesn't make much business sense if you don't consider the outcomes. As a result, you must evaluate the progress for any digital transformation challenges.

It's also worth noting an HR digital transformation may require more than just digital HR tech. Even if an entire organization undergoes a digital revolution, it has to involve everyone's attitude just as much.

What processes are part of HR digital transformation?

The impact of HR digital transformation is enormous on any organization seeking to take advantage of technology. For instance, a successful HR digital transformation will allow your company to make its operations more efficient and cost-effective. This will likely culminate in increased efficiency and long-term productivity at every level.

However, HR digital transformation isn't just about making your company more efficient—it's also about making your employees more effective and engaged. As a result, you should view HR digital transformation from different angles. Here are the fundamental processes that are part of HR digital transformation

  •  Employee onboarding.
  • Talent management.
  • Recruitment strategies.
  • Employee engagement strategies.
  •  Employee recognition strategies.
  •  Rewards programs.

A few high-level principles should also guide your transformation. You want to be customer-centric, future-oriented, and people-oriented – all at the same time! The critical stages of digital transformation in human resources will first begin at:

Transformation

This stage is about building a foundation for your organization to adopt new technology and processes for HR. It includes creating an agile culture, partnering with external partners and adopting modern solutions that help you automate workflows.

Disruption

The disruption mode has challenges, including the fear of losing your employees. However, it will help if you find ways to keep up with the pace of change while staying relevant at all costs.

Final thoughts: implementing your hr digital transformation roll out

Successful digital transformation requires a long-term investment that requires an ongoing effort to transform the organization and its culture. HR organizations have a vital role in the transformation process and must actively participate to ensure that the transformation is successful. Key drivers of HR digital transformation include the evolution of the workforce, new technologies, and the need to create new products and services.

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