(This article stems from Ep. 4 of Research Meets Reality — Small Business HR Technology, with Mike Lock and Jim Stefanchin. Its main points have been consolidated for brevity.)

Aberdeen recently wrapped up research focusing on small businesses (under 100 employees). Specifically, we set out to find out more about how these organizations are using technology.

When it comes to challenges that some of these companies face, at the top of the list was a lack of knowledge and understanding of the technology. That includes not just a lack of technical skills, but a fundamental lack of knowledge and understanding of what’s out there. The HR world is no exception.

Jim Stefanchin, Aberdeen’s head of HR research explains that one third of small businesses see the lack of knowledge of HR technology as a top challenge. More specifically for small businesses, it’s about costs – managing the ongoing costs to maintain the technology. In fact, 47% say managing costs is their top issue. In addition to lack of knowledge and costs, there’s a challenge with integration. Small businesses are struggling with not only current, but the integration of planned future technologies.

All Businesses Start Somewhere

When it comes to HR technology, small business owners or managers might not even know where to start. With tools for payroll, expense management, hiring and talent acquisition, etc., the landscape can be daunting. Today, 3/4 businesses have implemented payroll and benefit technologies, and 63% of them cite payroll tech as the #1 driver of business value, but with the complexity of legislation at federal, state, city, and often municipal levels, maintaining compliance could be difficult. However, small businesses who use tech to manage payroll and benefits reap the benefits. They’re more likely to control their voluntary turnover to below 10%. This is especially important considering the ongoing uncertainty stemming from the pandemic.

Work models have drastically changed over the last couple of years. Today, post-pandemic, we’re dealing with combinations of onsite, hybrid, and remote workforces. Employers are dealing with full-time, part-time, and a growing number of contingent workers. How the work gets done, where it’s done, and who’s doing the work is changing very quickly and in unforeseen ways. Given all that, Stefanchin advises that creating a company culture is crucial. This can ensure company regulations and policies are clearly communicated and regularly accessed. Additionally, securing collaboration both inside and outside of the organization is incredibly important in today’s hyper-sensitive data security environment.

Focus on the HR Tech That Works for Your Business 

Bringing it all together, small businesses should establish policies and practices that drive excellence. They should focus on tools and technologies that enable their employees to interact and collaborate in a secure and real-time manner. With the amount of solutions available in the marketplace, there are low-cost and even no-cost options to consider. Focus on the tools and technology that can help align capabilities to current and future strategies and kickstart your HR technology plan today.