Today’s HR Technologies Are More Likely to Be Geared Toward Employees Than HR Professionals – New Study by the HR Research Institute

• The second annual study, The State of Today’s HR Tech Stack 2021, was conducted to examine and track the state of HR technology and to understand the required focus for managing human resource systems in the future.

The most common characteristics of current human resources technology portfolios are related to employees rather than HR professionals: facilitate employee self-service (66%), allow employees to access components via mobile devices (65%), help the organization improve employee engagement (55%).

The importance of such characteristics has been amplified due to the Covid-19 pandemic. HR professionals have had to adapt quickly, using technology to better serve remote workers and support virtual teams.

The free research report, The State of Today’s HR Tech Stack 2021, is now available for download. HR.com’s Research Institute conducted the study of HR professionals to examine and track the state of HR technology stacks and to understand the required focus for managing human resource systems in the future.

The HR tech stack represents an organization’s totality of technological solutions that HR uses to achieve its strategic goals, fulfill its various roles, and carry out its tasks in easier, better, and more efficient ways.

While almost two-thirds (63%) of respondents say their HR tech stack supports the organization’s business goals and strategies well or extremely well, 37% say their tech stacks support goals and strategies only moderately well or worse.

The study also suggests that organizations have been using their HR tech stacks to adapt to the alternative work arrangements that became prevalent during the pandemic. Over three-quarters (78%) agree or strongly agree that their HR tech stack increases HR efficiency/productivity. Moreover, 75% agree or strongly agree that their HR tech stack is good at supporting the needs of employees and other stakeholders who work remotely.

When asked to indicate how HR tech stacks are expected to evolve over the next two years, the most commonly-cited responses are:

• improve the employee user experience (51%)
• provide higher quality data (42%)
• increase employee self-service (41%)
• improve integration abilities (41%)

“It’s critical right now, as we are still managing workforces with pandemic challenges, for employers to focus on the seamless integration of technologies that support remote work and user-friendly function,” stated Debbie McGrath, Chief Instigator and CEO of HR.com. “These kinds of work arrangements will extend past the pandemic. HR technologies will continue to be important to effectively manage and engage remote employees.”

Download the full report which includes details on eight key takeaways to help HR departments gain insights into how to improve HR technology stacks to serve their employees and ensure business success in the future.