Here’s why cloud holds the key to HR transformation

In recent years, to say ‘times have changed’ would be to invite accusations of understatement. In 2020, we saw a massive overhaul of entire economies and industries around the world to absorb the operational shock of Covid lockdowns. Cloud adoption soared, and in the UAE, by one estimate, the public cloud services market alone grew by more than 40 per cent in 2020, compared with the previous year, to reach $645m.

Pre-Covid, the business case for cloud was established: fast, cheap IT that was elastic enough to fit the growing (or shrinking) needs of a business. The human resource (HR) function, which has taken on new significance since the arrival of the pandemic, can lean heavily on cloud platforms to deliver a range of new experiences for the talent they are trying to attract and retain.

Admin strain
Let’s start with the obvious. Core, manual tasks such as the processing of leave requests and expenses, and even the list of subtasks associated with onboarding a new employee, can be centralised, streamlined, and in many cases automated by cloud platforms. HR teams reclaim valuable time that can be used to innovate towards better employee experiences. It is worth noting that these CX improvements extend to the HR teams themselves. They can easily work securely from anywhere while searching for this digital document or that and helping this employee with a leave request while supporting that one with helpful advice on health benefits.

Health matters
Health insurance is a notoriously difficult area for HR teams, as they try to synchronise cost considerations with the evolving needs of staff. Given the relative ease with which employees can now offer their labour (because of the potential globalisation of talent markets made possible by remote work), businesses must compete with others around the world. Since employees put health insurance at the top of their agenda, it must consequently be at the top of employers’ agendas.

Cloud platforms grant access to a marketplace of other platforms and tools that are tailormade for solving such a challenge. Real-time data insights, garnered from business intelligence solutions, will provide businesses with information on how employees are using policies. This allows HR teams to collaborate with brokers and insurers to build benefits packages that fit behavioural trends.

Payday groans
The days of manual Excel spreadsheets, widespread human error, and squandered person-hours are dispelled by the cloud. Cloud-based payroll records can be populated and updated by non-HR actors, including other employees and automated processes. And they can be accessed by finance managers day and night, from anywhere. But perhaps the most exciting addition the cloud brings to an enterprise’s capabilities is the capacity to innovate. New tools are more readily available in the cloud, allowing organisations to build better working experiences for their employees, enhancing retention rates, and allowing the business to keep pace with its competitors. With all these elements in place, the indispensable cloud can finally work its wonders, delivering value to HR and the employees it serves – employees made loyal by peerless experiences.

Ayman Kattan is the chief people officer at Bayzat

Read: What to remember when choosing multi-cloud solutions for your business