Last year, only 28% of healthcare organizations utilized at least one cloud-based human resource process. A year later, that number has almost doubled, reaching 56%. A new Black Book survey asked 3,200 human resource professionals within the healthcare industry questions about how they completed their tasks at work, specifically focusing on how they planned to ensure their employees’ safety once brick-and-mortar offices start reopening for employees.
While doubling cloud-based processes over the course of a single year is already a big jump, Black Book also revealed that 32% of companies who currently do not utilize cloud-based HR services plan on doing so in 2021.
COVID-19 provided the push that many healthcare systems needed to complete the previously slow transition from in-house to cloud-based. Once the pandemic dictated the need for social distancing and forced as many non-front-line employees to stay at home as possible, options for safe and secure remote administrative work increased as well.
Still, adding yet another change to a workforce that has already had to make many adjustments is bound to result in some challenges for both healthcare workers and IT vendors.
"Supporting an evolving, complex technology stack along with the needs of human resources leaders, employees and job candidates is not easy for healthcare IT vendors amid the pandemic," said Brian Locastro, Senior Analyst at Black Book. "Yet many healthcare software providers have begun to use AI, machine learning, and even Internet of Things (IoT) technology to enhance HR technology solutions."
In the long run, cloud-based HR services will be cheaper to implement and maintain. Previously, companies and hospital systems have had to invest in expensive hardware and software to develop safe, secure in-house human resources. Employee participation in HR applications, such as time tracking, will also be easier as employees will be able to log into these platforms from their smartphones and other mobile devices. With the new shift to the cloud, these costs will be cut down and security threats will be easier to keep at bay.
