Hot on the heels of a HR recruitment rise in 2010, there will be a further increase in the appointment of permanent HR professionals this year, according to Badenoch & Clark.
This early 2011 optimism once again signifies the confidence that is being placed in the role of Human Resources, as businesses look to a brighter future following recent times of economic difficulty. With a particular surge in appointments at a strategic level, this really looks set to be the year that HR comes to the fore as a commercially invaluable and technically astute profession.
As a result, significant financial investment is highly likely for many businesses, especially those looking to radically change the face of their HR department. But with budgets remaining relatively restricted across the board, such monetary outlay may prove difficult, if not impossible, to justify.
However, intuitive HR software can be the vehicle to help achieve strategic excellence whilst maintaining cost efficiencies.
For example, a newly-appointed HR director can use software to perform a skills analysis and evaluate the status of existing human capital within the organisation. This will:
- help to assess the extent to which learning and development opportunities are being offered, which will subsequently affect the likely level of staff morale, job satisfaction and a desire to remain loyal to the company. Subsequent training plans can then be developed to further individuals’ workplace fulfilment, eradicate skills gaps and enhance a company’s reputation as an enriching employer
- potentially identify internal candidates that could progress to fulfil the criteria of a more senior, strategic role within the HR department. Should the HR director deem it necessary to recruit externally, the back office and online recruitment functionality of Cascade’s .NET software could be used to quickly, seamlessly and objectively manage the advertising, application, selection and appointment process.
As part of the creation and implementation of new strategic thinking, it is important to consider what systems and tools can support this more considered approach to HR.
Learning and development, rewards, retention and cost-efficiencies are likely to feature highly on the human resources agenda in 2011, so it is important that HR departments have intelligent, proactive and strategic human resources software at their fingertips. Sixty-nine per cent of respondents to a Cascade client survey reported improved HR department efficiencies following the implementation of intuitive technology. One specifically pinpointed that key HR staff are each saving approximately one working day per week, which equates to 3,000 hours – or up to £40,000 – saved per year!
So why not let Cascade’s software support your HR strategists in 2011? Or could it even lead your HR strategy?
