Modern HR is continuing to change, and fast. HR professionals are no longer simply responsible for hiring, compliance, and assisting with payroll. HR teams are now on the hook for creating robust policies that protect both employees and the employer. They’re responsible for finding candidates who aren’t just qualified, but are also a good culture fit and will be able to support the overall mission-critical objectives for the business. HR leaders and executives also need to create policies that help grow a business culture that retains employees and increases productivity. All of these objectives require a new way of looking at the HR business unit and HR practices overall.
For HR leaders looking to create more robust HR plans and increase the success of HR objectives, blockchain may be part of the answer. The role and potential uses cases of blockchain have expanded significantly past its introduction to the world as a cryptocurrency ledger. Blockchain can now be applied to not just various industries, but to business units within organizations.
Blockchain Use Cases to Simplify HR Process
Here is how blockchain is currently influencing HR processes, as well as its promising applications that may make even more possible in the future.
1. Payroll
Blockchain has already had an impact on businesses looking to simplify cross-border payments and currency conversions. SHRM notes, “Blockchain could also have advantages for payroll, particularly for international payments, which can be costly and delayed because of the many intermediary banks and third parties involved.” They also go on to mention two businesses who have successfully adopted blockchain in their HR financial processes, including a company in Australia called Chronobank who uses blockchain to enable employers to pay their contract workers without relying on banks and also Bitwage, a company in California, who uses bitcoin and blockchain to pay employees in their preferred currency, going from Bitcoin payment and converting to the local currency.
2. Recruitment
Recruitment is a labor-intensive process that occupies a good amount of the time and budget of HR recruiters and departments. Blockchain can help to streamline the information gathering process. The CakeHR blog notes, “As most of the candidate information usually sourced during the recruitment phase can already be viewed on the blockchain, there’s a huge amount of the process already streamlined. Resumes will be a thing of the past and looking at grades, certificates, work history and experience will be easily verified and visible to people with direct involvement.”
3. Background checks and verifications
The nature of blockchain means that information is nearly unalterable or that record changes are noted and public. That means it could become a more valuable tool in helping businesses run employment history and verification reports and background checks before hiring. CakeHR notes the value of this by stating, “Being able to verify individuals’ identities, background and work experience alongside real-time information relating to pay and claims will undoubtedly free up some much needed time to allow HR to focus on the more strategic goals of the business.” Since many HR leaders are needing to pivot to increasingly strategic endeavors, this timesaving technique from blockchain technology could enable real business change.
4. Compliance
While compliance may now be one of many more responsibilities that HR professionals are tasked within modern-day businesses, it is still a crucial segment of HR attention. From payroll and hiring compliance to ethical business dealing and vendor relationships, businesses are subject to a number of laws that HR is often responsible for enforcing. HR professionals may be looking for solutions that help make the process of ensuring compliance and checking data and records simpler and more streamlined. Since the data in blockchain technology is already accurate and validated, it lends itself as an incredibly useful tool for businesses to use in their compliance and auditing procedures.
5. Time-keeping
Timekeeping and attendance are an important part of business operations and can often have both a significant impact on the budget as well as compliance. HR experts note that one company, ID2020, has been using blockchain to store biometric data, such as fingerprints or iris scans, for legal ID and recordkeeping purposes. It’s possible that organizations could adopt this technology to safely store and track employee data to more accurately track attendance and expenses and reduce disputes between HR and payroll departments or disputes between HR and employees.
Blockchain use cases continue to emerge for businesses everywhere, and HR business units are no exception. Many organizations have already found that it makes parts of their processes much easier and more accurate, encouraging other businesses to adopt some of the same technologies and techniques to help improve their business. Over time, businesses may see increasing value from blockchain across their organization, but for now, those HR leaders who are looking to add value to their department can investigate blockchain software as a possible way to troubleshoot, problem-solve, and simplify their HR processes.
