A Flexible HR solution is a Need, Not a Want

Flexible people solutions have always been favoured by the majority of HR teams, but recent shifts in the world we live have changed the landscape in an irreversible way. Covid-19, the remote work wave, return to office mandates, Gen Z, the Great Resignation, UK cost-of-living crisis… we’re tired just listing them, and we all know how exhausted and overworked HR were (and still are) when each of these challenges arose.

No matter who you are or where you’re from, the working landscape has changed irreversibly and has proven itself to have become an evolving entity, with many overdue culture updates finally being pushed through, and force majeure events prompting HR to think on their feet.

Whether you’re going to market for a new solution or trying to figure out how to better harness your current one, below is the nitty gritty of how flexible HR solutions have become necessary to healthy, thriving businesses in the modern world.

Customisability

As the years go by, many would like to think that the workplace has become a more versatile place. Generic, highly structured processes with no room for customisation leave no room for necessary updates – especially if they are fixed within something as at the heart of your organisation as HR software should be.

For example, customising performance reviews or Learning & Development journeys allows talented employees to be nurtured in a holistic and thoughtful way according to their individual strengths, visions, and circumstances. Being able to customise these crucial processes leads to improved productivity and retention. It can also feed in positively to inclusivity practices, as it will allow for consideration of factors that may impact a individual’s career, such as health or socio-economic backgrounds.

While the people benefit, so will HR. Bespoke reports customisable to a business’ unique needs can be a treasure for reporting for all kinds of purposes, from reporting for change to leadership, to considering key points in the organisation such as gender pay gap, employee churn, or burnout.

Business Growth

Implementing a new HR solution is a headache and switching providers is expensive, so having a solution which can grow with your organisation is crucial.

Scalability will allow your business to continue a partnership with the HR software provider for years to come. A high-quality solution should fit around your business, not the other way, and so whether your workforce grows or your model changes, a truly scalable solution will be able to cope with the majority of changes.

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) were looking for a new HRMS provider to aid in the vital work they carry out offering award-winning debt counselling services which change lives for tens of thousands every year.

Anne Haldane, CAP’s Change Management Lead explains the organisation’s decision to select xcd as their new provider:

 “This is a big spend for us, as a charity. We needed a partner that could meet our requirements, meet within a price that worked for us, and a partner who we felt we could trust… with the xcd team, right away we felt there was honesty around what they could and couldn’t do, which you don’t always see with other providers.”

Read the full case study here.

Global Changes

Numerous events over the last three years proved the working landscape can change quickly and radically. These changes were not temporary either – unique working models have become a permanent norm for many after the rise in remote work, employees of every generation have been pushing consistently for improved life balance after the collective Great Resignation and entry of Gen Z attitudes to the workforce.

No matter how to look at it, people expect more from work today. A flexible HR solution which would have once allowed people teams to provide the accommodations, self-service, and bespoke experiences that would have been considered radical and trail-blazing now provides opportunities which have become such high priority for people that they are deemed essential, with the CIPD finding 4 million UK employees have changed jobs due to lack of flexibility.

In other words, what was once a preference in the ‘nice to have’ section of people professional’s checklist when seeking a new HR software has become a non-negotiable.