IT firm launches app to ease HR processes

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu-based IT company Konsum Technologies launched a workforce management app called Ashima that democratizes human resource (HR) processes such as payroll.

Ashima integrates HR processes from employee onboarding to payroll management in a user-friendly platform.

Konsum chief executive officer Joe Mercado said in an interview yesterday the application is suitable for startups and corporations alike and is geared towards the young and tech-savvy workforce.

"Today's more mobile and technologically savvy workforce recognize that the blurring between work time and personal time is permanent, as companies compete in a hyper-active and constantly-on world. The quid pro quo required by these knowledge workers is a more participative and collaborative work environment," he said.

Ashima allows employees to record their attendance, view work schedule, request for leaves and overtime and view payslips using their mobile phones.

Presently, Ashima has catered close to 20 companies in Cebu mostly business process outsourcing (BPO) firms using the app.

Mercado said there is a need for other companies to change their "mindset" in democratizing their HR processes from being traditional.

He said democratization of HR and its different processes is a necessary condition for companies to attract, retain and enable their employees — their most valuable resource.

"Authority and responsibility must be pushed to the edges where they belong. Highly hierarchical and centralized structures are anathema in a landscape where agility is primary. They lead to disconnected employees," he explained.

He noted HR departments need to transition from their legacy systems, which reinforce centrally-administered silos that interact with employees mostly in a downward and outward direction, to platforms that not only facilitate but, more importantly, require multiparty collaboration.

"The integrity of data and processes is a shared responsibility across the entire organization," he said.

He cited the three major components of payroll administration namely time and attendance, scheduling and pay interpretation.

"Platforms may subsequently facilitate collaboration by publishing future schedule requirements and pooling skill-set qualified employees who select their preferred assignments, again all subject to transparent, perhaps even incentive-based rules," he said.

Furthermore, he said HR departments must consider the growing gig-economy and leverage this to proactively pool talent.

Similarly, he noted that time and attendance methods must cater to workforces un-tethered to single geographic locations: people who work across different company sites, are assigned off-site and customer premises or are home-based.

Attendance logging may be required at central locations for some, workstation enabled for others, not necessary for another group or a combination of scenarios for any one individual.

"These processes must be effected with minimal friction while maintaining integrity. They need to be convenient and reliable," he said.

Participation and collaboration, Mercado noted, increase engagement of the workforce, which in turn is a catalyst for increased productivity and levels of satisfaction.

"This democratization of the workforce will need to permeate all areas of enterprises, and platforms must be put in place to enable this," he said.

"Many HR departments, bastions of the traditional, will need a swift change of paradigm, pull up anchor and orchestrate this adaption to keep their respective companies ahead of the pack," he also said. (FREEMAN)