Thai businesses must move HR to the cloud to stay relevant

• Cloud adoption is a game changer for managing hybrid and remote working
• HR cloud solutions give HR powerful data insights

It’s critical that Thai businesses adopt HR cloud solutions because hybrid and remote working have become new working norms.

Cloud-based solutions give HR the tools they need to manage these new work models. They also offer enhanced HR data, better insights into employee upskilling needs and improved employee engagement.  

Jirapol Tangtatswas, PwC Thailand’s Consulting Partner, said organisations in Thailand are already starting to replace legacy technology with HR cloud solutions because they can deliver better business outcomes – for example by increasing productivity, improving employee experience and refining HR data collection. 

This is a great help to human resources leaders when planning recruitment, upskilling and talent retention. Relations between organisations and employees are also better managed since these solutions give the HR team data insights in real time, giving them a clearer understanding of different situations and employee needs. 

“HR cloud solution technology will play a significant role in workforce management in the future because it gives business leaders real insights into employee data,” Jirapol said.

“These solutions feature powerful tools to help businesses hire the right talent and answer their human resources needs, including pinpointing knowledge gaps for upskilling and planning talent retention strategies. This is all possible with cloud solution features like skill development programmes, performance reviews and reward programmes that help motivate employees. 

“HR cloud solutions also address the growing need for effective ways to manage hybrid working and equality in the workplace since everyone can gain access to their own information remotely,” he said.

There’s an increasing trend among leading companies to adopt HR software as a service (SaaS) to reduce costs and increase flexibility, according to Jirapol. 

This allows companies to benefit from service providers who are expert in using cutting-edge technology to manage HR functions. Another advantage, besides reducing the IT team’s workload, is that the organisation can put new cloud-based systems that meet international standards into place immediately, he said.

HR cloud transformation is still a challenge

However, cloud adoption is rarely a smooth transition for Thai businesses and there are challenges that need to be addressed. These include preparing the right investment budget, connection security, transferring information from existing systems and learning how to use data analytics to manage recruitment.  

This is in line with the latest PwC HR Tech Survey 2022 report which polled 688 HR leaders based in the United States about how they used technology to improve their workforce. The survey revealed that cloud transformation was the third-biggest human capital challenge for respondents (36%) after data analytics (39%) and recruitment (39%). 

With cloud transformation comes cloud security and skills challenges. Twenty-one percent of the HR leaders surveyed were concerned over the security of critical HR data stored in the cloud. Increasing ransomware attacks on cloud service providers contributed to further concerns. 

Taking a gradual approach to investment

“As cloud adoption increases, some HR leaders want to pour more investment resources into solutions without analysing them properly or creating a clear investment roadmap. This makes the end investment higher than expected. 

“It’s great that businesses want innovation, but having too many solutions can cause inefficiency. Employees will also need time to be trained and learn how to use the new process, which can be an overwhelming task,” he said.   

Organisations should plan their cloud adoption in phases and choose solutions that are suitable for their business after researching them thoroughly. They should look at case studies and evaluate the modules they need, making sure they have appropriate data security and internal system connection measures.  

“In the early stages, business leaders may choose to gradually invest in HR cloud solutions, increasing the capabilities of their HR functions in phases. This may make the transition smoother and gives employees more time to become familiar with new processes. It’s a more flexible approach and allows them to adapt investment plans and time frames for future cloud investment,” Jirapol said.

Migrating human resources to the cloud has become even more important because of the shift to hybrid working, according to Jirapol. 

HR cloud solutions help manage and simplify the complex processes involved now that organisations’ policies support working from anywhere. The cloud also reduces the barrier between employees and HR services since the self-access systems offered by the cloud give people access to the services and data in real time.