Effective human resources (HR) management is crucial to the success of any business. Human resource professionals are responsible for managing the most valuable asset of an organization – its employees.

A Professionally well-managed and effective HR team leads to better productivity, better employee experience, and a higher employee retention rate.

Post covid there is a rise in hybrid, remote work, and virtual teams, many organizations are considering virtual HR to streamline their HR processes and get access to trained HR Professionals at a cost-effective price.

Let us explore how virtual HR Differs from onsite HR and the benefits of virtual HR, and how it can help organizations to maximize efficiency and productivity. We will also discuss best practices for working with virtual HR and share some real-life success stories.

How does virtual HR work?

Virtual HR is a type of human resources management that is carried out remotely with the help of technology and trained HR professionals. Instead of having an in-house HR team, companies can outsource their HR needs to a virtual HR service provider or build their own virtual HR team.

Virtual HR professionals use technology to communicate with employees, manage HR processes, and provide HR services.

Compared to onsite HR, virtual HR offers many benefits. Virtual HR allows companies to access a larger pool of trained HR professionals, optimize and reduce overall HR cost, and provides more flexibility in terms of HR service delivery.

Additionally, virtual HR can help companies better navigate the challenges of remote work and manage a geographically dispersed workforce.

How can virtual HR maximize efficiency and productivity?

Virtual HR offers a lot of flexibility, cost benefits, and stringent turnaround time to improve the overall employee experience.

Tech-enabled virtual HR offers faster response time and it tracks every employee request which improves overall productivity and efficiency.  

Improved communication and collaboration

Virtual HR professionals use technology to communicate (Chat support or Ticketing system) with employees and team members in real-time This allows for faster response times and more efficient collaboration.

Virtual HR teams can also leverage video conferencing tools to hold virtual meetings, reducing the need for travel and hence reducing the cost and faster response time.

Streamlined HR processes

Virtual HR teams can use technology to automate and streamline HR processes. This reduces the time and resources needed to manage HR tasks, freeing up HR professionals to focus on the more strategic HR function.

It helps to simplify and streamline end-to-end employee life cycle management from onboarding to separation.

Increased access to HR services and resources

Virtual HR providers often offer a wide range of HR services and resources that can be accessed online.

This includes virtual recruitment support, virtual onboarding, employee record management, HR software, training materials, employee helpdesk, payroll management, and support from HR professionals. Employees can access these resources at any time, improving overall HR service delivery.

Data-driven decision-making

Most people’s decisions are made on a gut feeling by most of the organization as they do not have the right tools which can give them people analytics. Virtual HR teams can use technology to collect and analyze HR data.

This allows HR professionals to make data-driven decisions that can help improve HR processes and employee performance.

Enhanced employee experience

Virtual HR can improve the employee experience by providing better HR service delivery and access to HR resources.

Employees can also benefit from virtual HR training programs and online employee engagement initiatives. Through virtual HR the responses to employee queries can be faster than for every small query they need to visit them personally.

Best practices for working with virtual HR

To get the desired output from virtual HR, we need to ensure we define the process and expectations clearly and that we have a mechanism to measure the progress at regular intervals.

In absence of well-defined expectations and documented processes virtual HR is not effective and to ensure we get the best output from a virtual HR team we need to set up below things in place:

Communication and expectation setting

It is important to establish clear communication channels and expectations when working with virtual HR teams. This includes setting deadlines, agreeing on turnaround time, establishing performance metrics, and providing regular feedback.

Communication channels to be fixed and ensure you do not have multiple channels to communicate. Set up the SLAs to manage types of queries based on priorities.

Technology and infrastructure

Virtual HR teams rely heavily on technology and infrastructure.

It is important to ensure that your virtual HR service partner has the right tool, cloud infrastructure, right database backup policy to support virtual HR service delivery.

The ticketing process, chat support or even phone call support must be set up to manage the virtual HR process effectively.

Collaboration and feedback

Virtual HR teams can benefit from regular collaboration and feedback. This helps to build trust and improve performance. It is important to establish regular check-ins and provide timely feedback on performance.

The virtual HR team should be customer experience focused and sensitive to ensure they collaborate with employees and take their regular feedback to improve the overall employee experience.

Time management and prioritization

Virtual HR professionals must be skilled in time management and prioritization. This includes setting realistic goals, managing time effectively, and prioritizing tasks based on importance.

Most times virtual HR teams go wrong in managing multiple priorities and requests and if they are not good with time management and prioritization it will impact the overall employee experience.  

Compliance and security considerations

Virtual HR providers must comply with all relevant laws and regulations, including data privacy and security requirements.

It is important to ensure that your virtual HR provider has the necessary policies and procedures in place to protect sensitive HR data.

Conclusion

In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, it’s essential to have a dedicated virtual HR team to maximize efficiency and productivity.

Virtual HR teams provide a range of services, including recruitment coordination, full cycle recruitment, Employee Onboarding, Employee helpdesk management, Payroll management, employee engagement, performance management, and labour and statutory compliance, among others.

With the right virtual HR team, businesses can streamline their HR operations, reduce costs, and boost productivity. Virtual HR teams can help companies stay ahead of the competition by leveraging the latest HR technologies and best practices.

If you’re looking to maximize efficiency and productivity in your business, consider partnering with a dedicated virtual HR team.

At Emgage, we offer a comprehensive virtual HR platform to help you streamline your HR operations, reduce costs, and boost productivity. Contact us today to learn how we can help your business succeed.