The ubiquity of mobile devices is aiding employees to transform businesses into more efficient, agile, and productive operations. Ian McAlister, General Manager at CRS Technologies, discusses how this has led to the rise of tech-powered human resource and payroll solutions to help with employee management.

An example of this is web-based timekeeping for payroll operations. This requires less investment in the physical equipment used to manually process payroll. The use of time clocks allows for more productive employees, as well an increase in flexibility for doing other tasks involving payroll automation. Because it is on the web, time collecting can be accessed anywhere through any type of mobile device. This tends to result in fewer errors while allowing off-site recording for those employees who work remotely.

“The correlation between web-based time collection and mobile manager approvals creates a functional experience in payroll operations. Allowing managers to approve timekeeping reports through mobile devices can increase the cost-effectiveness of a payroll operations system. What this means is that human resource departments should have the ability to approve received timesheets through a faster process, thanks to mobile management,” says McAlister.

All about the experience

The past few years have shown human resource leaders that creating, maintaining and refining a winning employee experience is an essential aspect of digital transformation.

“It is not only about technology. Every digital transformation involves a people transformation. Leaders must understand that cloud-based technology is the most effective way to create an experience that delivers for people and the company alike.”

Mobile human resources have become central to business success as companies head into 2022. Digital disruption has created new business models to supplant traditional approaches. As social media, analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) continue to transform how people connect, collaborate and work, businesses must rethink their approach to employee experience, productivity and retention.

Building employee engagement

“A mobile-first strategy is critical in this regard to help drive employee engagement. Even though smartphone users in South Africa only number a third of the population, the overall number of mobile connections tops 90 million, with feature phones still popular and widely used across the country. In this developing economy, mobile devices are the gateway to the online world,” McAlister says.

Mobile technologies have played a crucial role in helping brands collect and analyse large amounts of data to influence customer behaviour. Human resources is following suit as businesses start moving beyond basic employee engagement to take a more holistic view of the employee lifecycle by way of the employee experience.

“More businesses are fighting it out on the talent battlefield to hire and retain top candidates. Consequently, providing a seamless employee experience across channels and devices has become critical. Additionally, changing workforce dynamics have compelled businesses to develop strategies to support the engagement of remote employees, gig workers and multiple generations in the workforce. The central theme behind all this? Using mobile devices,” concludes McAlister.

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