HR departments are lagging in technology; they have not gotten the best and latest technology. However, this trend is changing at a fast pace because our understanding of what affects human productivity and the value of skilled employees is increasing. All of that knowledge is developing into software and technology.

The work of HR is no longer limited to finding, recruiting, and retaining top talent; it has grown beyond that to include promoting and advertising jobs to the right talent. Companies need to invest more in their HR departments, and here are a number of compelling reasons:

1. Ability to administer effectively –

When there are dozens of employees working in a company, handling them effectively becomes a headache. Thus, keeping track of their basic data becomes critical. Technology helps to administer your employees and their work effectively. You can analyze the data, measure the performance, and gain the ability to do much more with the right technology.

2. Using intelligence to find employees online –

Finding employees is a time-consuming task for every recruiter, as they have to go through a lot of social media profiles and online job applications. That’s why Marley Dominguez, the CEO of Haystack, said: “We expect that the next trend will be not just sourcing social and mobile recruiting data, but actually applying intelligence to summarizing the important information”. Investing in assisting technologies like talent acquisition platform or employee recruitment software such as instaTalent will help recruiters perform effectively.

3. There is no time –

Kelly Dingee at Fistful of Talent said the biggest challenge HR faces in 2016 is disconnection. Why? Because there is no time. HR managers in an organization have to look after so many things such as defining employee policies, handling legal issues, hiring, retaining employees, etc. Thus, they don’t get enough time to analyze the existing employees or potential hires. The automated technology helps HR managers save and use their time productively.

4. Ability to measure engagement through data –

Nowadays, employee engagement has evolved in a data-driven fashion. Technology now offers richer analysis of employee engagement data that help the managers decide whether a potential employee could lead another group of individuals. The technology measures engagement data that increase HR managers’ understanding of employees.

5. Ability to use & analyze data proactively –

Many companies have a lot of resumes lying on their career portal, but how many companies actually utilize them? HR managers have to go through tons of data/resumes just to find out who is right for the job. How can they find out who has the best skill fit and culture fit for their organizations and the job openings without spending too much time? That’s where technology can help recruiters predict and analyze data to save their time. For example, instaTalent, a talent acquisition Software as a Service (SaaS) solution, can help recruiters save their valuable time by recommending best-fit candidates even from their private database where they have thousands of resumes.

6. 360-degree employee evaluation –

When it comes to employee performance review, every organization should have a 360-degree understanding of its employees. Technology helps to track all employee data with insights. Every company needs to measure, manage, and monitor employees in order to increase employee satisfaction and reduce employee turnover. HR departments need an end-to-end solution for payroll, talent management, recruiting, and human capital management. This solution helps HR departments work productively.

7. Focus on new talent –

HR technology can help in focusing on new talent, starting from candidates’ first engagement with the company to their onboarding process. Technology helps in understanding the candidates’ IQ and EQ even before hiring them. For example, instaTalent analyzes candidates’ traits based on their natural linguistic data. This type of solution reduces the cost of the hiring campaign and helps employers get the best-fit candidates.

8. Mobile recruiting –

Sharon Joseph, a writer for iPlaceUSA, expects mobile recruiting to be a major trend in 2016. Mobile recruiting is often cited as a new and growing trend for recruiters. According to the recent report by CareerBuilder, over 80% of the job seekers use mobiles to apply for jobs. Companies need to invest in mobile technology where they can market and engage with the candidates personally.

9. Reduced cost –

Companies often face employee turnover when employees quit their jobs. Employee turnover results in accumulated costs from interviewing, hiring, and training new employees, reduced productivity, and lost opportunity costs. Combined, it costs between 30-50 percent of entry-level employees’ annual salary to replace them; for mid-level employees, it costs at least 150 percent of their annual salary to replace them; for high-level or highly specialized employees, replacing them costs 400 percent of their annual salary (Source: ERE Media).

Technology can help companies from hiring to retaining their employees by finding candidates with the right culture fit. These candidates are less likely to leave their companies because they tend to have higher job satisfaction. For example, instaTalent recommends you the best-fit candidates with their culture fit data based on their natural linguistic and social data.