We spoke with a HR tech leader to find out how HR can get ahead with the times
Sudheer Noohu, chief technology officer & DY CEO at Excelity Global told HRD that he has seen a shift in HR’s approach to transformation over the years. However, “to a certain extent [some] are still comfortable doing things the manual way”.
Some HR leaders he’s spoken to are still using spreadsheets for their payroll processes, for instance. What pushes them to transform, however, is typically born out of necessity.
“People are still comfortable doing that,” Noohu said. “But beyond a certain point in time, anywhere between 200 or 300 employees, they then start thinking about moving to a tool because it’s very difficult for them to manage.”
Another good reason to automate HR processes is to overcome any difficulties in managing compliance elements, which is especially critical for organisations that operate across multiple countries, each with their own legalities and standards to align with.
This is something faced by Excelity as well, since they operate across Asia Pacific – in Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, China, India and Australia.
Noohu shared that they have been partnering with local digital wallet companies across the region to develop a payroll to payout platform. It aims to address employees’ pain-points with salary. The seamless experience helps employees clear their doubts about whether “the money’s in” yet, especially helping those who worry and struggle to live “paycheck to paycheck”.
As a start, Excelity first rolled out the platform to internal employees. The CTO said about half of their employees currently get paid through digital wallets.
“Things are changing over a period of time,” he said. “I personally believe that it doesn’t matter whether you are a 50-employee or a 5,000-employee company. The experience for employees is going to be the same.”
He believes that besides the two concerns of “comfort zone” and cost, most HR leaders are aware of the overwhelming benefits of automation and are ready to transform.
“I have met some HR leaders [and] they are strong in HR tech,” Noohu said. “Every day, they are attending conferences and making sure that they have a good enough understanding, and they are also leading [the organisation’s] digital transformation."
He assured that tech understanding is enough and necessary – and you don’t have to get too deep into it to be able to successfully head change.
“Without knowing technology I don’t think it will be very be easy for HR – but not to the detail level,” he said. “[Just have] good clarity in terms of what transformation you want to do, and from a company standpoint.”
Catch Excelity Global at the upcoming National HR Summit Philippines on 24 April at Marriott Manila. Click here to register and book your tickets now: hrsummit.com.ph
