Other CIPD research [3] has found that most HR departments do not yet have the right tools to join the Big Data revolution. Asked to identify difficulties they faced when analysing learning and development data, more than half the HR leaders surveyed (58 per cent) said it was difficult to access data consistently in their organisation. Almost a third (31 per cent) agreed with the statement: ‘We have difficulty accessing timely data from our available systems'.

These problems can result in HR leaders spending much of their time looking for the data they need to make decisions with, or assess the impact of decisions they have already made. Even then, they cannot be sure that workforce information generated by inconsistent processes is accurate or reliable. This is a particular challenge for companies experiencing rapid growth, such as Vallourec, a provider of tubular products to the oil and gas industry that has turned itself from a French company into a global one with over 20,000 employees.  

Vallourec needed a centralised HR solution to support a worldwide approach to talent management. The company therefore replaced its legacy HR systems with a Cloud-based solution consisting of modules covering a range of HR activities, including performance reviews, compensation management and succession planning.  A recent article in Human Resource Executive Online [4] describes how these modules, combined into an integrated solution, have enabled line managers and HR professionals from across the business to take a consistent approach to talent management activities.

- See more at: https://www.international.adp.com/digital-packs/cloud/competitiveness#sthash.sGdUVgnD.dpuf

- See more at: https://www.international.adp.com/digital-packs/cloud/competitiveness#sthash.sGdUVgnD.dpuf

- See more at: https://www.international.adp.com/digital-packs/cloud/competitiveness#sthash.sGdUVgnD.dpuf

Cloud HR solutions, do not require up-front investment in new hardware or software licences. So companies adopting these solutions are able to make significant cost savings.  .

But the drive to cut costs is not the only - or even the main - reason why more and more companies are now adopting Cloud-based HR solutions. PwC’s 2014 HR Technology Survey found that innovation tops the list of drivers, with more than 40 per cent of respondents who had moved to the Cloud citing the ability to take advantage of software innovations more quickly as their primary motivator.

HR Cloud solutions based on the latest technologies provide instant access to accurate, reliable workforce data. They also offer the ability to scale activities up or down in response to changing business needs. But HR organisations that adopt Cloud solutions without going through a wider transformation are unlikely to realise these benefits.  

The PwC survey found that the experience of moving HR processes such as payroll and recruiting to the Cloud is generally positive, with companies citing advantages such as greater agility and innovation, potential cost savings, and greater workforce mobility. However, the transition to Cloud solutions often throws up unexpected challenges along the way. ‘Many organsations are simply underestimating the cultural and mindset shifts required, the need for new business processes, and the overall organisational impact,’ say the authors of the report, who expect these issues to increase as larger and more complex organisations move to the Cloud.

In many cases moves to the Cloud form part of major outsourcing projects, because companies need more than flashy, new technology to drive their HR transformation. They may, for example, be looking for advanced RPO (Recruiting Process Outsourcing) services to help them reduce time to hire or source candidates with particular skills. Outsourcing HR services to a single Cloud provider can deliver many benefits but it also magnifies the challenges highlighted by the PwC survey.