“Too many inefficient manual processes” is the single biggest barrier to succeeding in key HR initiatives. It is little wonder, then, that HR is still viewed as filling roles that are more administrative than strategic. ADMINISTRATOR COMPLIANCE EXPERT STRATEGISTS When asked about which roles they play in their organizations, the most widely given answers are: HR professionals recognize they must do better in order to gain more efficiencies and take on a more strategic role. So, what’s stopping them? Back-office burdens —the old administrative processes that can be re-engineered with new thinking and with the help of technology. 59% 76% 75% 34% Are You an HR Leader or an HR Laggard? Like other corporate functions, Human Resources (HR) is increasingly asked to deliver greater value than it has in the past. To accomplish this, many HR departments are striving to take on more strategic roles while continuing the timeintensive, detailed HR routines required for organizational effectiveness and legal compliance. Together, Access and HR.com conducted a study to understand why some HR teams can rise to the challenge and become HR leaders while HR laggards continue to flounder in a sea of paperwork. The good news first: 1. Most HR professionals believe that they and their organizations are relatively well aligned around the issues of efficiency, skills and engagement in 2019. 2. A majority (63%) of HR professionals believe there is a high or very high level of alignment between HR goals and organizational goals. Indeed, HR is highly focused on improving efficiency, notably through more automation of manual processes. HR is also focused on employee engagement and on the acquisition and development of skilled workers. If the good news is that HR professionals and their organizations tend to be aligned around the issue of efficiency, then the bad news is that, generally speaking, HR isn’t there yet. In fact, a majority of HR professionals rate the efficiency of their HR departments as average or below, and most (59%) say Executive Summary What’s Hindering HR Success in 2019? So, how is HR faring in these endeavors? In essence, we discovered that most HR professionals feel their departments are well aligned with the goals of their larger organizations, but they continue to struggle with a number of key challenges, including administrative inefficiencies and onerous backoffice burdens. 1.877.345.3546 AccessCorp.com About Access Access is the largest privately-held records and information management (RIM) services provider worldwide, with operations across the United States, Canada, Central and South America. Access provides transformative services, expertise, and technologies to make organizations more efficient and more compliant. Access helps companies manage and activate their critical business information through offsite storage and information governance services, scanning and digital transformation solutions, document management software including CartaHR, and secure destruction services. For 11 consecutive years, Access has been named to the Inc. 5000, the ranking of fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. Most (71%) HR professionals say two-fifths or more of their HR department’s time is spent on administrative duties. What’s more, 34% say HR is spending three-fifths or more of its time on these duties. In short, HR’s goals are aligned with organizational goals, but they’re hindered from meeting those goals by administrative burdens. We asked participants about what they need—and yet are lacking— to achieve greater administrative efficiencies. It turns out that nearly two-thirds (63%) say a lack of automation hinders them, and 45% cite a lack of technological integration across HR silos. To enable HR to address efficiency barriers and achieve higher performance, HR professionals benefit through investments in greater automation, better technology integrations and support, and more process improvements. For example, compared with less efficient HR departments, Highly efficient HR teams are more likely to BE VIEWED AS BUSINESS PARTNERS, CULTURE KEEPERS AND STRATEGISTS HR leaders re-allocate time saved to strategic initiatives like FINDING, DEVELOPING AND ENGAGING TOP TALENT Process improvement and automation allow HR teams to become THE HIGH-VALUE STRATEGIC FUNCTION THAT TOP LEADERSHIP REQUIRES. of high efficiency HR teams cite greater automation of workflows for reducing paperwork and improving compliance. Download the report to help you become an HR strategic leader at AccessCorp.com/hr-success Making the leap from administrator to strategist HR departments who have already reached higher levels of efficiency have seen the benefits. HR’s Achilles’ Heel: Back-office Burdens 71% 65%
