Ravi Kikan, Director Online Sales, Marketing and Growth, ZingHR

Ravi is currently leading the marketing and growth for ZingHR which is a HR Tech venture accelerated at Microsoft.
He loves startups and works with awesome entrepreneurs in setting up their businesses, scaling up and building growth.
His experience in Startups and Enterprise sectors like Media & PR, Fintech, Education, Digital, Retail, Mobile, Healthcare, AI, iOT, Tech, e-Commerce, Real Estate has helped him to launch & grow ventures. He loves working with entrepreneurs, enterprises, community builders and investors who are focused at growth. Have been part of startups with successful exits. He has been leading startup operations in a CXO role.

The pandemic has prompted organisations worldwide to ‘rethink, rearm and realign.’ It has heralded a paradigm shift towards the work-from-home model, reaffirming the significance of communication, collaboration and wellness as key to employee satisfaction and retention. It has become imperative, more than ever, for businesses to re-evaluate people practices to usher in a conducive culture wherein every employee feels valued and respected. COVID-19 has also hastened the process of digital transformation wherein HR technology is playing an instrumental role in boosting efficiency, improving performance and enhancing the human experience. It is now clear that agility and resilience will be the key to achieving tangible business outcomes and generating value for its workforce and society.

The widening of the vaccination drive and economic stability prospects augur well for the reopening of workplaces in the near future. The onus will be on the HR function to steer a smooth transition towards ‘back-to-office’ for employees who have been working from home for over a year. Here are some key areas where HR software solutions will play a pivotal role in the post-COVID world.

Optimising Workforce Planning and Strategy
The reopening of workplaces will warrant workforce planning, strategy, and transformation to ensure a smooth transition for the new normal. COVID-19 has reimagined workplaces like never before. The wellness concerns inevitably imply the need for comprehensive hygiene and wellness measures. Contactless technology and robust facility management will emerge as a panacea to ensure well-being at the workplace.

Attraction and retention of talent
Buoyed by the resurgence in business activities, organisations have embarked on a hiring spree. According to data from LinkedIn and other leading job portals, the Indian market has registered an astounding 60% Y-O-Y increase in the number of active openings for white-collar professionals this September. Similarly, the latest Manpower Group Employment Outlook Survey predicts that 44% of companies intend to scale up the workforce, indicating the rebounding of business activities. Nevertheless, the pandemic has prompted the rethinking of conventional hiring and onboarding procedures. Recruiters are increasingly leveraging Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality as part of the HR technology solutions to enable data-driven decision-making and foster a smooth onboarding experience.

Learning&Development

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated upskilling and reskilling of the workforce. According to an estimate, only 20% of the current workforce’s skills will be relevant in the next three years. This has prompted organisations to invest in Learning&Development to help their employees stay relevant amid Industry 4.0. HR technology can plug this skill gap by serving as a one-stop solution for all learning needs for employees. The hallmark of these L&D programmes is an interactive pedagogy and the use of emerging technologies such as AI, Augmented Reality to make lessons fun and interactive for learners. Companies can ensure higher talent retention as a result of these L&D efforts.

Performance Management &Rewards

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted businesses to revamp their performance monitoring and reward systems. As firms and clientele evaluate outcomes from a return on investment perspective, there is a need to revisit the existing review system to align it with organisational goals and institute a lucrative reward system to recognise the top performers. Most HR solutions have a comprehensive performance monitoring and management system that provides feedback to employees based on their managers’ assessments and peer reviews. A robust performance management system with attractive rewards,ushers accountability fosters a sense of ownership among the workforce and keeps them motivated to achieve their targets.

Tailoring the Employee Experience

Ensuring a superior employee experience will be the key priority for organisations as they embark on a journey to foster people-centric culture. Companies are increasingly prioritising employee wellness, engagement and growth to maximise their satisfaction and encourage their retention. HR software solutions should be tailored to curate experiences that promote employee engagement and inclusion. They must have comprehensive feedback and grievance redressal mechanism for all employees.

The HR technology will play an instrumental role in accelerating the digital transformation in enterprises and achieve OUTCOMATION- harnessing technology to achieve tangible business goals. Nevertheless, human experiences rather than technology will be the centrepiece of organisational goals as India Inc. steps into the post COVID world.

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