Managing the explicit and hidden costs of HR

The HR department is one of the most critical functions of any organisation, yet it is viewed as a cost center. To raise its profile, one should first examine the inefficiencies and find ways to optimise the HR process. Additionally, it is time to reposition HR as a value creating function rather than only as a cost center. Below are a few innovative tactics and tools adopted by companies around the world.

1. Combining HR and marketingA few years ago, to raise awareness and to boost the number of visitors, Tourism Queensland in Australia launched a campaign “The Best Job in the World”, offering to hire an island caretaker for a year at USD1 million.

The response was incredible, with 34,000 applications received from nearly 200 countries; the website drawing more than 6.8 million unique monthly visitors with nearly 54 million page views; and more than 46,000 mainstream media stories and 230,000 blog post mentions reaching an estimated three billion people.

For many mass market brands, your best customers could be your best employees. Why not incentivise them with promotional offers to encourage them to apply and to work for you rather than for a competitor?

2. Maximising outreach through new media channelsIn the US, according to Mary Meeker’s 2015 internet trends report, 87% of Millennials will not go anywhere without their mobile phones. Traditional recruitment channels such as newspaper ads and recruitment days - while still important in developing markets - are losing their appeal.

Candidates are looking for faster, easier and more user friendly ways to apply for jobs, which explains the rise of job search through mobile. Per a Glassdoor survey, nine out of 10 job seekers report they will use a mobile device throughout the job search process in the next 12 months, showing a 7% annual growth. It’s time to reconsider your mix of recruitment channels to cater to the younger job seekers.

3. Reducing screening time, but with more accurate matchesTraditional recruitment agencies offer high-touch but high cost services. Job boards often provide the volume, but do little to curate the best fit. Studies show that 60% of interviewers exhibit interviewer bias during the screening process, for example hiring someone similar to them, rather than someone who is the best fit for the job.

This explains the rise of data driven or artificial intelligence (AI) based screening, using objective and forward-looking criteria to predict a candidate’s fit for a role. The benefits include more consistently accurate matches and the ability to consider a more diverse talent pool, thus discovering hidden gems.

4. Employing a flexible workforceThe business environment is increasingly competitive with fluctuating demands during various economic times. To stay agile and nimble, companies must have access to a flexible workforce quickly. In recent years, working arrangements have started trending towards temporary or gig employment. This is in light of a changing business environment and a different attitude towards work life - for example the rise of the on-demand generation and the Slash - someone with multiple career paths at the same time.

Benefits of such arrangements for employers are cost saving and more flexible staff management based on last-minute business needs, while they offer employees optimised utilisation of their time and more work life balance.

The work model has its own challenges, for example demanding more time spent on onboarding and training. To counter this, employers can create a standard operating procedure or even a video instruction to onboard or train newcomers so that less amount of handholding is required at each onboarding session.

Another way is to retain a stable temporary workforce through providing feedback and learning opportunities. In a  recent survey conducted by JOBDOH among 2400 part-time and temporary workers, a third of the respondents picked “having the opportunity to learn new skills” as the reason to take up a temporary job.

For a company to succeed, the role of HR should be focused on higher value-adding and higher-touch responsibilities such as training and development, culture building, etc. By rethinking HR as a function within your organization and using innovative tools, one not only increases the cost effectiveness of processes, but one also fosters a better integration to build the company brand and revenue.

JOBDOH is an award winning end-to-end HR platform offering services from matching employers with curated on-demand talents and roster management, to payroll services and wage-backed financing. Featured by major press and media, we reduce the inefficiency in searching and matching temporary candidates.

Our platform is 95 times faster than the market average in fulfilling jobs, setting a record from job posting to arrival in under 60 minutes. Our data science driven matching algorithm and transparent record keeping system enables clients to receive the most suitable candidates. Meanwhile, our candidates benefit from an increased flexibility to earn extra income quickly as well as a secure payment that allow them to receive payment within 24 hours.

This article is brought to you by JOBDOH.