According to Gartner, “by 2020, 65% of organizations with more than 5,000 workers will commit to deploying integrated HR service delivery tools to support HCM transformation initiatives.”
Organizations are deploying these tools, because they enable HR to resolve requests in less time, and with a higher level of quality and consistency. The time saved is typically reallocated to higher-value initiatives.
So, what exactly are these “HR service delivery tools” and more importantly, how do they benefit the organization?
HR Case Management Defined
The three core components of HR service delivery tools are HR Case Management, an HR Knowledge base, and a Self-service Portal. Case Management is arguably the core component of HR service delivery. So let’s take a look at the advantages of case management from the perspective of an HR organization.
Think of a case as a request. Requests can come from employees, managers, pre-hires and new-hires, HR Business Partners, and external persons or organizations.
Each request needs to be recorded, along with key information about the requester, the category and subcategory of the request and the source of the request (e.g. email, self-service, telephone, chat).
An HR case management solution delivers five key features that enable efficiency, time savings and customer satisfaction. Those five are Dashboards, SLA’s, Collaboration tools, Workflow automation and Analytics.
Let’s take a look at each one in some detail:
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Dashboards organize HR case management for the HR Reps
The purpose of the dashboard is to make the rep’s job easier, by organizing a potentially long list of cases into a simple, color-coded graphical view. The colors prioritize the cases into groups, indicating which should be worked on first, second and third. Since the cases are organized for the reps, they don’t have to manually prioritize their work. This leads to higher productivity, and lower stress!
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Service Level Agreements (SLA’s) keep cases on track.
When a case is created, an SLA is automatically assigned according to the case type, categorization, requester, or other parameters. And the SLA is what calculates the deadline. And the deadline is what drives the color-coding on the dashboard.
Another advantage of the SLA is that it will trigger automatic escalations, reminders and notifications. For example, if a case is within four hours of reaching its SLA deadline, the case can be escalated to a supervisor.
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Collaboration tools enable faster resolution.
Not every case can be easily resolved by the Tier One representative who first receives it. But when the case management solution contains collaborative tools that enable the representative to access the best knowledge sources for the case in question, they’re better equipped to get the job done on time.
One of these tools is an integrated knowledge base that will automatically provide the content according the key words, an meta-data in the case record. This means that the rep can find the right answer in a single click, without having to spend the time manually searching the knowledge base.
Skill-based transfers enable the rep to transfer a case to the right subject matter expert in a single click. Skill-based routing can be combined with workload-based routing to gain the additional advantage for a faster resolution.
Some cases require the effort of multiple skill sets. The ability to create one or more child cases, and transfer them to the right subject matter experts, means multiple representatives can collaborate concurrently, to deliver a complete solution.
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Business Process Management (BPM) tools automate workflow.
Not every case can be resolved by providing the right answer. Complex requests such as Leave of Absence, On-boarding, Grievance Investigations or Tuition Reimbursements require capturing specific and routing it through a defined workflow.A case management solution that includes tools for a non-technical HR Process owner to create the smart forms, and design and automate the workflow is a big advantage. HR can automate its own processes to reduce administrative work time, without having to rely on technical, IT or vendor resources.
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Analytics for continuous improvement.
Strong analytics go beyond “the rear view mirror” and provide the capability to identify opportunities for improvement by identifying SLA shortcomings, training opportunities for HR representatives, and process bottlenecks. In other words, case management analytics can deliver insights from Descriptive to Predictive and Prescriptive.
The previous four case management tools are operational – they help HR to get the job done. But the higher-achieving HR service organizations focus on continual improvement. That’s where analytics contribute.
As more organizations implement HR case management, they’ll become more productive. And they'll delivering a higher quality of service on a consistent basis. This will allow them more time to dedicate to the strategic work to advance organizational goals.
