Prominent HR Challenges

The tech industry is one that needs constant innovation to accomplish its objectives. The human resource department of an organization needs to be a transformational leader to drive competitive advantage for his/her company. Moreover, 82% of the total HR managers working in the tech sector know that their role in the working premises becomes more strategic. That is why in tech-sector plays a very massive role in developing an Indian economy.

Due to the pandemic COVID-19, almost all tech companies or IT firms implement remote working models. While working from home, the personnel department faces a lot of issues, like less employee engagement, lack of motivation, etc. No doubt, it is true that remote work increases employees’ productivity (in some cases), but miscommunication and lack of physical gathering/meeting affect their productivity. Moreover, the challenging thing for the personnel manager is the security of confidential information of the firm. Let us look at the HR-related challenges faced by the IT firms and the fresh solution to resolve the issue. 

Which Are The Primary HR Related Issues Faced By The Tech-sector Along With Its Solution? 

No doubt, the personnel department adopted a fully automated working system starting from the recruitment of the modern employees to the exit interview of the employee who wants to leave the organization. In the IT sector, digital HR analytics play the role of a transformational leader. But the challenging task for the HR manager is to keep going with the advanced technology and digitalization. The following are the challenges faced by the HRs in the tech sectors along with its solution; 

Remote Onboarding

As per the demand of the time, due to the pandemic COVID-19, almost all sectors implement the remote working model. They completed the working setups for their employees, but what about new joiners? On the first day of any new employee, the personnel manager gives a small introduction of an organization and his/her colleagues, which is not possible at all while employees are working from their place. According to sayings, if the beginning is the worst, then the whole working journey becomes worse; thus, the HR manager always focuses on a smooth onboarding process, which is impossible in remote work. Additionally, the new employee may not get his/her training well which affects the whole team, and security of the confidential data is also essential. That is why the HRD of the technology sector faced a problem in remote onboarding. 

The smooth onboarding process is essential for the new joiners, and for that as the personnel manager needs to follow the following tips; 

  1. Create a fast and effective hiring process. For example, if you have a policy of a written test and personal interview that is of two days, then complete the online test and virtual interview in a day only. 
  2. Use quality technology while taking interviews. 
  3. After selecting a candidate, arrange an informal virtual meet with the new employee along with the colleagues of his department. 
  4. Help him to understand the whole working process. 

Artificial Intelligence 

The market of artificial intelligence is predicted to grow to 190 billion dollars in 2025, and almost 74% of the HR leaders believe that they are the one who smoothly implements AI in the working premises. Implementing the change, i.e., eliminating manual work and adopting fully automated working operations, is challenging due to a lack of knowledge. But the human resource manager is continuously working on change management. Because without implementing AI-based tools, you can not gain a competitive advantage in the IT sector.    

The solution to this challenge is, the personnel manager must introduce the benefits of the AI to the employees, and rather than adopting AI for each working operation, they must implement it slowly and gradually so that employees can learn it and become used to such technological tools. Almost 55% of the HR managers said that they have already introduced AI in the working premises so that we can consider that the process of converting the traditional business into a modernized one has already begun.  

Managing Employee Turnover

Among all industries, the IT sector faces more issues of employee turnover because of competition. Employee leaves the organization because your rivals offer them the same job with a salary hike. So, it is but natural that employees will switch over. Moreover, working premises, the environment of the office, employees’ relations with employers, etc., affect their mental health, which is why they switch to another organization. 

Employee turnover is a widespread problem faced by each industry of our company. But if you want to overcome such problems, then you must put employee happiness and satisfaction in the center to retain them for a longer period. Moreover, as an HR manager, you must focus on providing competitive pay and benefits, award and recognition, flexible working schedule, opportunities for personal growth, etc., to keep them in the organization for a longer-term. 

Encourage Women’s Participation 

There was a time when the corporate sector believed in male dominance only, and when females joined them, they did not allow them to join leadership team meetings and make a necessary decision without taking votes from female staff, but touch wood! That time has gone now. The technical sector is the one which has more female employees rather than males, and it is quite natural that women employees have more responsibilities than male employees. That is why while working on the premises or at home, they might feel stressed and depressed. Because, during the pandemic period when they were working at home, they needed to fulfill their duties as a daughter, mother, wife, etc., and as an employee, she needed to complete her daily targets. Sometimes, due to heavy workload, they feel stress and anxiety, which affects their productivity and the company’s profitability. That is why it is an essential duty of the HRs to encourage women’s participation. 

The simple solution to this challenge is to create a different HR policy for female employees. You can include flexible working hours, extra paid leaves, financial help, etc., to the female candidate and encourage her to work with the company for a longer period. 

Hi-tech Data Security 

In the IT sector, the security and safety of confidential data are essential. There are five types of securities in the IT sector, i.e., data security, endpoint security, internet security, cloud security, and application security. The human resource department needs to choose a hi-tech security system for the safety of the confidential information of the company. 

The personnel manager can consider the following steps as a solution to this challenge for choosing a Hi-tech security system for the business; 

  1. The first step is to conduct a security review. You need to understand your requirement and the plus and minus points of the software you want to purchase to secure the data. 
  2. The next step is to review the installation process. Sometimes it can be the cause of entering the virus in the system, which damages the documents instead of protecting them. That is why understanding the whole installation system is essential. 
  3. After installing the system, the last step is to secure it with a password or a finger lock.  

The Final Thought 

The human resource department is the heart of the firm. The growth of the business relies on the personnel managers only because they are the one who recruits the best match and manages them in the working premises. However, sometimes it is difficult for the HR manager to handle all the issues alone, which is why he/she recruits a departmental manager also to simplify his job. In the IT sector, personnel are playing a considerable role as transformational leaders; that is why we can say that the future of the tech sector depends on the human resource department. 

Author(s)