What makes an ‘award winning’ technology provider?

Retaining human touch in remote tools no mean feat

BY Emily Douglas 27 Mar. 2023

If there’s one arm of HR that’s been exponentially changed over the past couple of years, it’s got to be technology. While organizations have always relied on tech in some form, the pivot to remote work coupled with overnight digitization has made technology completely indispensable.

For HR leaders, the journey from product selection to vendor buy-in to implementation is fraught with challenges and pitfalls, meaning that expecting the unexpected is a necessity. But that’s often easier said than done.

In that vein, HRD recently scoured Canada for the Best HR Software Companies, looking for organizations that have gone the extra mile in helping employers achieve their tech-related goals. Assessing facets such as payroll and benefits, recruitment, compliance and workforce analytics, 33 winners emerged, each excelling in one or more specific areas.

Take Payworks, for example. Their USP and one of many winning characteristics came down to personalization – embedding the human touch into a digital world.

“That’s our primary differentiator,” says senior marketing manager Amanda Soloway. “It’s a friendly voice who knows your name every time you call in, and we make a point of establishing those moments in time starting from the implementation process. We’ve made a little niche for ourselves in delivering an excellent implementation experience where we get to know our customers and establish a relationship with them that lasts.”

And retaining a human touch in remote tools is no mean feat. While our reliance on technology continues to deepen, for both employees and customers having that human element is essential. A recent report from Blumberg Capital found that while 20% of workers think AI will improve workplace productivity, three in ten people adamantly believe that the human touch is still needed in order to “get the job done”.

And, at Payworks, Soloway says that all of their tech products are built specifically to cater to those human needs.

“We work with our clients to discover exactly what problems employers are facing on an ongoing basis and then we work continuously to develop solutions that can benefit all of today’s evolving workforce.”