During the third quarter of 2015, PwC surveyed over 650 companies around the world about their organisation’s use of HR technology. The research shows that HR’s big bet on cloud is still dominating the change agenda at an ever increasing rate.

In 2014, 23 per cent of companies used SaaS (cloud) for core HR processes while another 26 per cent indicated their plans to make the move within the next three years. Fast forward just one year and the number using SaaS for core HR has now climbed to 44 per cent, with an additional 30 per cent planning to move in the next one to three years.

“While a primary motivator for migration to the cloud is the reduced dependency on IT (64 per cent), companies must not make the mistake of thinking that IT skills are no longer necessary. While cloud removes the need for IT around customisation, development and environment maintenance, IT still plays a key role,” PwC says.

Other primary motivators for deploying HR-related processes to the cloud include lower cost of ownership (63 per cent) and abi­lity to take advantage of software innovations and quicker release cycles (45 per cent).

Demand for mobile is another big driver of cloud. One-third of executives single out access to processes via mobile devices as one of the primary reasons for moving to the cloud. Currently mobile HR apps are being used mostly for work-flow approvals (40 per cent), for example for hiring approval and leave approval, followed by viewing information about oneself or a team member (36 per cent).

Fifty-nine per cent of respondents felt it would be beneficial for employees and managers to be able to use their mobile device for performance management. Yet only 18 per cent of companies leverage mobile for performance management. The research has concluded that when deploying HR applications to employees and managers in the field, companies should adopt a ‘why not mobile?’ mantra that encourages the constant expansion of tools and functionality.

Most organisations are happy with their decision to move HR to the cloud. Operating in a cloud environment, however, is an adjustment; 25 per cent say the incorporation of frequent, new releases requires additional staff to support and 36 per cent note that new releases that bring desired enhancements often de­stabilise their environment.

Top barriers to implementation include the organisation’s willingness to adapt to cloud-delivered processes and products that often under-deliver, and have maintenance schedules that can disrupt operations.

The research forecasts that between 2015 and 2019, the cloud-based HR systems market is expected to expand by 10 per cent, while the on-premises-based HR system market is expected to decline by 20 per cent.

HR Analytics, whether basic or advanced (e.g. predictive), is a top priority among companies that participated in the survey, yet 52 per cent do not have a dedicated HR analytics team and nearly 40 per cent do not have an HR analytics strategy.

Organisations that make use of HR analytics struggle with consoli­dated HR reporting and data qua­lity, showing the need for greater focus on HR analytics planning.

The rewards for those that get it right could be huge. Effective analytics platforms will allow organisations to know more about their employees, and know it faster. This deeper understanding of employees across the organi­sation could pay off in terms of increased productivity, as well as, reduced employee turnover and HR costs.

From the results of PwC Malta’s 2015 HR Pulse Survey it emerges that HR technology in Malta is still behind in the implementation of HR systems, with a significant 41 per cent of organisations having no HR information systems in place at all. Of those that reported having a system in place, 49 per cent keep the software on premise, 16 per cent keep it in the cloud, and 41 per cent use software as a service (SaaS).

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.