Does HR Technology Applicable for Non-Profits and Charities?

It is essential for non-profits and charities to realize their vision while maintaining internal and on-ground efficiency. HR tech can play a significant role in helping them achieve this level of efficiency.

Nowadays, organizations across segments and verticals are embracing HR technology like never before. It helps to optimize processes, automate iterative HR admin tasks, gauge employee sentiment, and foster an engaging and meaningful work culture.

Research suggests that charities and non-profit organizations might not be up to speed when it comes to modernizing HR admin tasks. For instance, Charity Digital’s Annual White Paper report indicated that 40% of the charities surveyed believed their trustee’s IT capabilities to be “below par” – up from last year's 29%. Further, today charity trustees are more vocal about this gap, with 33% admitting that their IT competence is below average (against 20% last year).

Clearly, there is a critical need for non-profits and charities to look at tech platforms for HR admin tasks and partner with cutting-edge solution providers to address this gap. We spoke with Jonathan Richards, Founder, and CEO of Breathe, to understand how HR tech could play a role in transforming how charities operate and pave the way for operational efficiency.

Right on top of any daily HR admin task schedule is the collection and management of data. Typically, charities have reams of incoming data, spread across donors, volunteers, target groups, and several other stakeholders. A cutting-edge, integrated data management system could transform, assess, and evaluate data, helping these teams gain new insights and even maintain compliance.

Some key impact area of HR tech is that charities can now automate repetitive HR admin tasks, freeing up resources for more valuable activities. And this would also help in optimizing in-house expense management – which is critical to the survival and success of a charity.

Now that we’ve established why even a non-profit company needs to digitize HR admin tasks, let’s discuss three key benefits/impacts of HR tech adoption.

HR tech is among the cogs in this process of standardization. Here are three clear benefits:

1. You can reduce time spent on HR admin tasks

The writing is on the wall: as you automate daily activities, your HR team can focus on the things that matter the most.

“Free HR people from this and they can focus on other areas such as strategic vision, business development, and fostering a positive company culture, which brings out the best in a charity’s employees and volunteers. This is essential for retaining people and effective recruitment,” (Richard,2019)

Richards said “going digital means HR people can dedicate their time to developing their colleagues and helping them grow.”

2. You can ensure data is secure, compliant, and impenetrable

Legacy systems of data management and multiple spreadsheets will always expose you to data theft. This is why charities must stay one step ahead of a possible breach, investing in a centralized data repository.

Richards opined, “Look for a system for which every employee within an organization has their own unique log-in. The ability to set different access and user permissions is just as vital. This ensures that people can only see what they are meant to see, and that HR administrators have complete control over which documents and information are visible to people.”

3. You can manage costs better by moving to the cloud

If you’re still considering staying on-premise with your IT infrastructure, you will have to:

Incur constant maintenance and support costs

Address the ever-increasing possibility of a data breach

But by moving to an on-cloud HR data solution, you can ensure data safety as well as cost-effectiveness.

Reinforcing the Case for HR Tech Adoption

Interestingly, it isn’t that charities are tech-averse. In fact, several non-profits use state-of-the-art solutions in areas like productivity, finance, and customer relationship management (CRM). However, HR tech remains untapped.

A cloud-based tech solution could transform HR productivity levels and reduce manual intervention by up to 80%.

For charities, it’s important to reach their targets but also stay true to the mission and values that birthed them. At the same time, it is important to apply the fundamentals of any operational business enterprise to ensure their viability in the long term.

In conclusion, it all comes down to this. Everyday issues and the absence of essential operational efficiency should not shift your focus from the vision of your charity. By offloading HR admin tasks to HR technology, you can ensure that you can devote more time to your vision and accomplish it.