{"id":9034,"date":"2021-04-20T10:00:27","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T09:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=9034"},"modified":"2026-01-29T09:46:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T09:46:23","slug":"accelerate-change-hr-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/accelerate-change-hr-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"5 ways HR leaders can use technology to accelerate change"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPeople & Leadership<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t5 ways HR leaders can use technology to accelerate change\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"Headshot\t\t\t\tCharlotte Penny<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no other way to put it \u2013 2020 was a challenging year for many, and most certainly for HR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having polled more than 1,500 HR leaders, C-suite executives and employees from around the world, we created our latest research report, HR in the moment: The changing expectations and perceptions of HR<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It explores how HR leaders fared during the pandemic, how recent events have impacted their role, and what the perceptions and expectations are from the organisation now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most surprising things we learned was that, despite many workforces moving to a digital-first way of working, less than half (45%) of HR leaders feel they have the tools they need for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This highlights the need for urgent investment in technology<\/a> to make sure HR departments can keep up with the pace of change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get the most out of HR tech now and for the future, here are five revealing findings from our latest research to support you in accelerating your digital transformation journey, with ways you can get ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s what we cover in this article:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Use tech to support business resilience<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Reduce the admin burden with automation<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Elevate internal relationships with data<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Drive employee experiences forward<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Find tech that future-proofs your People strategy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set your organisation up for success today<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Download your free guide, HR in the moment: Changing expectations and perceptions of HR<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

1. Use tech to support business resilience<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Of all the skills HR leaders had to learn in 2020, resilience was near top of the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, 65% of HR leaders say their teams have had a vital role to play in the pandemic, driving change, enabling remote working and supporting wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From being able to bounce back, to facing challenges head-on, HR became more resilient<\/a> than ever at the height of the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, technology has a huge part to play in enabling resilience not just for the HR team but for the organisation as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, now\u2019s not the time to step back but to continue finding ways to enable resilience, with technology there to support you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Reduce the admin burden with automation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

HR leaders for a while now have been eager to focus more on driving strategy \u2013 and over the past year they have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, 59% of HR leaders believe they\u2019re now more strategic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bad news is that, while they\u2019ve said their workload on strategic tasks have increased \u2013 such as driving the People strategy and developing company culture \u2013 their admin tasks have too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, there\u2019s a way for HR to reduce the admin workload: automation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With HR technology growing ever-more sophisticated, automation could help to ease pressure by removing cumbersome admin tasks, freeing up HR\u2019s time to focus on more strategic responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This even extends to small businesses with HR systems designed for small business<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Elevate internal relationships with data<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We found that 87% of C-suite executives feel HR developed greater influence during 2020. However, 52% of them feel this growth will be temporary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To maintain the status you\u2019ve worked so hard to build in 2020, it\u2019s vital to leverage your position to influence key stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One way to start doing this is by using HR tech<\/a> to gather and provide analysis on as much data as you can get your hands on that you know the C-suite will want to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019ll surely prove the ongoing benefit of having a robust HR function within the organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Download your free guide, HR in the moment: Changing expectations and perceptions of HR<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

4. Drive employee experiences forward<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the most important benchmark of your HR technology investment will be whether it can help you deliver the change you\u2019ve always strived for in your organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, HR leaders said they worked harder than ever on many of the areas they\u2019ve focused on for years: company culture (60%), employee experiences (57%) and employee engagement<\/a> (53%), to name just a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While these factors depend upon HR to drive them forward, HR in turn depends upon technology to make sure they can be implemented effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with 31% of HR leaders saying a lack of tech is holding their organisation back, it needs urgently addressing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HR tech isn\u2019t about giving your HR team a new toy to play with. It\u2019s about giving them the right tools to do the job they\u2019ve been doing for years, so they can elevate the work they do even further and make a bigger impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Find tech that future-proofs your People strategy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t settle for \u2018fine\u2019 when it comes to HR tech. It\u2019s not just about getting new HR tech initiatives off the ground but giving them the means to soar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems HR leaders have an appetite and drive more than ever for getting the technology they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our research found that 75% of HR leaders are already using some form of HR tech, while 67% plan to invest even more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, with more than a third (36%) of HR leaders saying a lack of investment stops them achieving the success they would like to see, there\u2019s a strong argument to suggest HR needs to start chasing a greater level of investment \u2013 and not settle for anything less than the best for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many cases, the thing that gets in the way of HR is the lack of a buy-in from the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to make a stellar business case to the C-suite. And don\u2019t just think about what level of investment you need now but what you need for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set your organisation up for success today<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It would be an underestimation to say HR has been through a lot in 2020, but HR and People teams have an opportunity like never before to become champions of change in their organisation and showcase exactly the impact they make the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, now is not a time to step back, it\u2019s time to move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s time to accelerate the change you want to see, to show the C-suite exactly what HR can do, and to help your people to thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the right HR tech can help you to do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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HR in the moment: Changing expectations and perceptions of HR<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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What are the changing perceptions and expectations of HR? Find out what 1,500+ professionals and what they said about how HR is changing.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload the report<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Subscribe to the Sage Advice newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Join more than 500,000 UK readers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSubscribe now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2020 was a transformative year for HR, helping to prove the value of tech investment. Here\u2019s five ways HR can build on that value in 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1660,"featured_media":9037,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11],"tags":[240,159,125],"business_type":[3],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[69,71],"imagine_tag":[92,217,96,218],"coauthors":[406],"class_list":["post-9034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people-leadership","category-technology-innovation","tag-hr-processes-medium-businesses","tag-midsized-business","tag-workplace-technology","business_type-medium-sized-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Charlotte Penny","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/04\/SAGE-NANAIMO-S-120_All-Uses.jpg","imagine_tags":{"92":"HR and Payroll","217":"HR processes","96":"Medium businesses","218":"Top HR resources"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1660"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/9037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9034"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=9034"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=9034"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=9034"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=9034"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=9034"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=9034"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=9034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}