HR Portals a Top Priority

Eight in ten companies responding to the Workforce 2002 HR Trends Survey either have or plan to add an HR portal. Workforce found that HR professionals currently are using HR portals or intranets for:

• Company communication (49 percent)
• Employee handbooks and policies (42 percent)
• Work/life information and links (29 percent)
• Benefits enrollment (24 percent)
• Training (24 percent)
• Employee message board (22 percent)
• HR record-keeping (18 percent)
• Other uses, including recruitment and employment information (4 percent)

HR Spending on Technology and Software Increases or Stays the Same for 2002
More than half of the respondents said they will increase the amount they spend on technology and software this year. Twenty percent said spending is staying at 2001 levels.

The 2002 spending follows healthy technology and systems spending in 2001, according to the survey. In 2001, 68 percent of those surveyed by Workforce kept or increased their level of spending. Of those:

• 25 percent increased their spending based on need
• 22 percent spent their software/technology budgets as planned
• 21 percent put expenditures temporarily on hold and eventually spent them

Software and Technology Contribute to Cost-Cutting
Software and technology still hold the key to increased productivity and efficiency–it can save employee’s time, help them work smarter, and reduce manpower. When asked why software changes are planned, efficiency (59 percent) and cost savings (22 percent) were among the reasons most cited by Workforce survey respondents.