East African enterprises need to manage their human talent to develop into world-beaters. Visibility is the means by which they can achieve this.
East African countries can boast a number of recent mineral discoveries that are attracting the attention of some of the biggest multinationals in the world. Yet global surveys frequently show that resource-rich nations do not necessarily have high living standards. Human talent is just as important a factor in the transformation of these resources into measurable development, yet is often overlooked.
Companies need human innovation to grow. A poor human resources strategy can drive away talent or make poor use of their skills, leading to stagnant growth. The unique circumstances facing the HR sector in the East African region can make finding, deploying and managing human talent a challenge.
Thanks to the advent of new technologies and the far-reaching implications of globalisation and always on connectivity, human resource practices are evolving. Instead of solely focusing on traditional personnel, administration, and transactional roles, HR is now expected to oversee strategic utilisation of employees and programs, all of which must be shown to impact the business in measurable ways.
Visibility is necessary to track and manage all the processes, transactions and other activities that the contemporary HR department must deal with. The higher the visibility, the easier it is to automate processes, reduce overheads, ensure consistency of overall business goals, and identify and respond to potential problems.
Fortunately, there are integrated software solutions out there designed to dramatically improve visibility. Cloud-based human resource applications can revitalise HR practices and boost productivity by encouraging a culture of employee engagement.
Companies can select from multiple customisable human resource management solutions depending on their budget and exact requirements. Trusted names in enterprise software such as SAP have a large portfolio of services that include HR reporting and analytics, talent management, automating and optimising HR processes and services, HR mobility options, HCM visualisation, optimising payroll and time processing, data ownership and management, and organisational management.
These state of the art tools have an excellent track record of transforming company’s HR practices by empowering employees to perform better, attracting and hiring the right talent, aligning employee goals with overall business objectives, and evaluating workforce performance. Automated administration, time management, payroll, and legal reporting speed up these processes while virtually eliminating human error. Learning solutions allow for a highly trained workforce that is fully equipped to deal with the changing demands of their respective industries.
The East African human resources sector cannot afford to be left behind in the increasing move towards greater visibility in business practices. The opportunities and challenges of the current always connected world are such that a forward-thinking HRM strategy is a necessity for businesses to grow to new heights.
