Traditionally, HR Helpdesk software was used by HR Service Advisers and their managers to track and manage employee inquiries, issues and questions coming into HR from the business. Employees would call or email HR, and the Adviser would use the HR Helpdesk software to log and track details of the employee’s inquiry. The HR Manager would then use the Reporting functionality to monitor KPIs, such as call volume, number of cases open/ closed, and call handle time. From a technical standpoint, the HR Helpdesk included a software interface (or Console) with searchable Knowledge Base, which enabled HR to search and locate answers to employee questions quickly and efficiently. In recent years, the traditional HR Helpdesk has evolved into a far more sophisticated HR Service Delivery solution. For example, HR Helpdesk software now incorporates an Employee Portal application with ‘self-serve’ functionality, making a searchable Knowledge Base available to all employees.
Why did HR Helpdesk software evolve into an Employee Experience Platform?
This development in HR Helpdesk software design was driven by the need of forward-thinking organizations to improve the employee’s experience in the workplace, and has resulted in the transformation of HR Helpdesk software into a group of HR Service Delivery applications known as HR Case Management, HR Knowledge Management and Employee Portal (also referred to as an HR Portal). When integrated, these advanced applications form a powerful solution that is being termed the Employee Experience Platform, or EXP.
The purpose of an EXP (which includes all the features of the traditional HR Helpdesk) is to enhance the employee’s experience of interacting with HR, while continuing to improve the productivity of the HR Service Delivery team. It does this in a number of ways. Firstly, it offers employees a consumer-like technology experience that provides a more satisfying user experience. For example, it enables employees, via the Employee Portal ‘self-serve’ features, such as FAQs, Infographics and the searchable HR Knowledge Base, to find answers to most of their questions, issues and requests, both quickly and efficiently (notably this benefits HR by reducing employee call volume by over 50%). Secondly, its advanced HR Case Management application features, including Case Tracking, Workflow Automation, and HR Knowledge Base, enable HR teams and their managers to better track, manage and report on employee cases, which saves time, improves processes and boosts productivity. Finally, the insight generated by using the EXP’s Reporting & Analytics application, which includes features such as Smart Dashboards and Pre-built Reports, enables HR to analyze, evaluate and interpret employee service data, allowing HR to better understand their employees’ behavior and respond accordingly, taking actions to continually improve the employee’s experience of working in their organization.
Conclusion
HR Helpdesk software is used by HR Service teams to manage the employee request process, ensuring HR can handle employee requests, inquiries and questions in an efficient and timely manner. We have seen how this software has evolved in recent years, from an HR Case Management system with HR Knowledge Base application, into a more complete HR Service Delivery Experience, with the addition of an Employee Portal. This latest development of the HR Helpdesk software product is being named an Employee Experience Platform, or EXP, and has been driven by market demand for HR Service Delivery solutions that improve the employee’s experience in the workplace. A key benefit of an EXP is that it offers employee’s an improved technology user experience, while continuing to offer HR the capability to improve processes and increase HR Service Delivery productivity. The result of this transformation of the HR Helpdesk tool into an HR Service Delivery Employee Experience Platform (EXP), designed around the employee’s needs, is the creation of a solution that meets the needs of modern HR Service Delivery teams and their organization’s employees, both now and in the future. Find out more about HR Service Delivery Employee Experience solutions by reading our Guide to HR Case Management.
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