Satisfaction With HR Technology Dips in APAC, According to Survey by Alight Solutions

By HRTech News Desk Last updated Feb 11, 2019

60 percent of firms dissatisfied with their HR technology: plan fresh investments in HR technology over the next 12-24 months
By 2020, over 60 percent expect their HR processes to be completely mobile-first
More than half of learning programs will be video-based for most organizations

Despite the increasing role of technology in the HR function, a new study from Alight Solutions, a leader in technology-enabled health, wealth and human capital management solutions, finds that companies in Asia Pacific are largely unhappy with their HR technology platforms. More than half (55 percent) of companies are dissatisfied with their current HR technology platforms, up 10 percentage points from 2016. In response, nearly 60 percent of companies are actively planning and evaluating fresh technology investments over the next 12 to 24 months.

Alight’s report, The State of HR Transformation Study 2018-19, examined more than 670 organizations IN DIVERSE SECTORS across Asia Pacific, representing 6.1 million employees and USD 7 trillion in revenues, to determine their approach to identifying and implementing low-effort, high-impact HR solutions. In its SECOND STUDY, AND THE LARGEST OF ITS KIND, Alight uncovered five ADDITIONAL KEY insights:

HR services and technology are central to the success of organizational future readiness. Mature (HR) organizational archetypes are almost five times more confident of their future readiness than other organizations and are able to operate an HR function that is two times more productive. Further, such organizations have an average HR-to-full-time equivalent staffing ratio of 1:92, compared to others that have a ratio of 1:52.
Capability gaps and lack of collaboration are preventing HR from punching its weight. In fact, three out of every four organizations plan to increase spend on the development of their HR capabilities.
More than 60 percent of APAC firms have a well-defined HR service delivery model signifying organizational maturity.
Automation and AI are expected to see strong adoption in the coming 18 – 24 months. Most respondents (80 percent) are already evaluating AI and automation use cases and building scale for future investments.
Analytics is emerging as a game changer to enhance performance, capability, productivity and people retention. Two out of three respondents is planning to implement more robust people analytics in the coming 12-24 months.

“In the era of cloud and constant technology upgrades, APAC’s reliance on the ‘best-of-breed’ HR platform strategy is at an end. Consolidation of platforms and omni-channel service will be the biggest differentiators for driving HR in a digital world,” said Vikrant Khanna, Asia leader, HR transformation and change, Alight Solutions, and co-author of the study.

The study further identifies the following trends that will emerge among APAC organizations by 2020:

67 percent of organizations will have half of their learning programs on video, with bite-sized content, on-demand availability and role-based predictive learning.
61 percent of organizations will capture most (80 percent) of employee feedback in real time.
Half of organizations will have half of their performance management process enabled by AI.
63 percent of organizations say that all their HR processes will be mobile-first.
Nearly half of organizations expect to have most (80 percent) of their HR transactions voice-enabled, and almost half (47 percent) of companies expect to have half of their processes on wearable technology.
More than half of organizations expect to have most (80 percent) of their people decisions backed by analytics.

“The HR function in APAC organizations is on a journey to minimize time spent on transactions and administration to deliver a superior employee experience and drive business partnerships that facilitate organizational transformation,” said Shaswat Kumar, Asia leader, HCM Solutions at Alight, and co-author of the study. “APAC firms realize that an empowered HR function is key to this transformation, and nearly 75 percent are planning to increase spending on HR capability development particularly around analytics, digital savviness and change facilitation,” he added.