Five ways business can make a positive impact on the planet
CategoriesSustainable News

Five ways business can make a positive impact on the planet

In 2002, Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, and Craig Mathews, founder of Blue Ribbon Flies, founded 1% for the Planet – an organisation that encourages businesses to commit to donating at least one per cent of their annual sales (not profits) directly to vetted environmental organisations. This giving is then tracked and certified by 1% for the Planet through receipts and revenue documentation.

Fast forward to today, and the organisation has certified $500 million in donations and has set an ambitious target to reach the $1 billion mark by 2027. “Of the $500 million, we certified a hundred million in 2023 alone and it’s made up of small and large donations,” says 1% for the Planet CEO Kate Williams. “It’s diverse, democratic, and distributed – most giving at scale is in big chunks by big players who are calling the shots, but we have a mix of players all over the world coming together and demonstrating that if everyone participates, we can drive big, smart change.”

The many organisations supported by 1% for the Planet members work towards a wide range of goals, which means that for businesses looking donate, there will be something that aligns with their ESG strategy and offers tangible results. We’ve picked five inspiring examples.

Going wild for nature

Walking through the lowland British countryside at the turn of the 20th Century, you would be surrounded by the thrum of life, from the drones of insects and the songs of skylarks and turtle doves to the ‘qwark-qwarks’ of toads. In the uplands, you would stand a chance of spotting a black grouse or maybe even a golden eagle. Today, not so much. Since as recently as the 1970s, 41 per cent of UK species have declined, and wherever scientists look – from farmland to coastal waters – the number and abundance of species is waning. Despite this, Rewilding Britain believes that through protection, restoration, and regeneration work, the rich mosaic of Britain’s habitats can be reclaimed, with benefits not just for biodiversity but also for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Local communities, meanwhile, benefit from more resilient and diversified nature-based economies, as well as improvements in mental and physical health. The organisation has built a network of around 800 rewilding members and 25 marine projects, covering 145,000 hectares of land and 50,000 hectares of sea. Its ultimate goal is to restore and connect habitats across at least 30 per cent of Britain’s land and sea by 2030. Find out more.

Note: Springwise supports Rewilding Britain through its 1% for the Planet donation.

Girl power

In sub-Saharan Africa, 600 million people live without electricity – over half of the region’s population. Hundreds of millions more survive with a limited or unreliable power source. Stable access to electricity is transformational for communities on the continent, and in off-grid areas there is a unique opportunity to bypass fossil fuels and go straight to cleaner forms of generation. For Solar Sister, women entrepreneurs are the key to this process, with the organisation investing in local women so that they can start, grow, and sustain successful clean energy businesses. Support comes in the form of training, mentoring, and a ‘business in a bag’ – a set of key tools to get business owners up and running. In 2018, the organisation set a target to recruit, train, and support 10,000 women by the end of 2023, which it successfully surpassed. Every dollar invested in Solar Sisters creates $10 of economic impact, the non-profit claims. Find out more.

Blue is the new green

Hugging the coastline of every continent except Antarctica is a belt of ‘blue carbon’ ecosystems. Coral reefs, seagrass meadows, mangroves, kelp forests, and wetlands, these marine habitats are hotbeds of biodiversity, and they also act as a massive carbon sink. For all the (justified) popular focus on rainforest preservation, research suggests that coastal wetlands sequester carbon at ten times the rate of mature tropical forests. But despite their importance to the global carbon cycle, marine habitats are among the most threatened on earth with 340,000 to 980,000 hectares of blue carbon ecosystem lost each year. SeaTrees is a programme run by US non-profit Sustainable Surf that delivers coastal restoration projects across all five of the main blue carbon habitats. The on-the-ground legwork is delivered by local charity partners, and the projects deliver benefits to both people and the environment. To date, SeaTrees has planted just under 3 million mangrove trees and 40,000 square feet of seagrass, while restoring over 500,000 square feet of kelp, 14,500 coral fragments, and 85,000 square feet of watershed. Find out more.

From food waste to fine fare

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), if you could collect all the food that is lost and wasted around the world, it would be enough to feed 1.26 billion hungry people every year. In the UK alone, we throw away 9.5 million tonnes of food waste in a typical year – even though 8.4 million people live in food poverty. FareShare is the UK’s national network of food redistributors. Collecting surplus food from businesses across the food supply chain, its 18 member organisations provide the ingredients for nutritious meals to frontline charities and community groups. Delivered via homeless shelters, schools, lunch clubs, and community cafes, the rescued food nourishes vulnerable people of all ages from schoolchildren to the elderly. Each week, FareShare provides enough food to feed almost a million people. Find out more.

Securing Mother Earth’s sacred spaces

In 1990, a gathering of tribal grassroots youth and Indigenous leadership came together in the US to compare notes on the environmental ills afflicting their respective lands, waters, and communities. Out of this was born the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), an organisation that helps tribal governments and Indigenous communities build mechanisms to protect their sacred sites and natural resources for the benefit of all living things. In the process, the network facilitates economically sustainable communities and promotes environmentally friendly livelihoods. Practically speaking, IEN acts as a clearinghouse for information, organises campaigns, and convenes meetings of Indigenous community and youth groups, primarily in North America, but also globally. Find out more.

The world is facing many environmental crises from climate change to biodiversity loss. But 1% for the Planet’s environmental partners are demonstrating that, despite this, there is cause for hope. The giving of thousands of global businesses adds up to a lot, and is being translated into tangible action on the ground.

Written By: Matthew Hempstead

Springwise is proud to be a member of 1% for the Planet. We feature Kate Williams in our latest report, Horizon 2030, where she shares how business is helping drive positive change as we approach the end of this decade. To read her opinion piece in full download Horizon 2030 here.

Reference

“No hiding” from environmental impact of trade fairs say designers at Salone
CategoriesSustainable News

“No hiding” from environmental impact of trade fairs say designers at Salone

More work is needed to improve the sustainability of trade fairs like Salone del Mobile, designers told Dezeen at Milan design week.

British designer Tom Dixon warned it could take a decade for brands to transform their operations at events like Salone in order to reduce emissions and resource consumption.

“It’s a lot of people coming from all over the world – it’s a lot of carbon footprint just embedded in the flights,” he said. “I think we’ve got to rethink completely how we show [products], where we make them, where we transport them to, and the rest of it, but that’s a project which is a 10-year project.”

Need “to rethink completely” how products are showcased

Norm Architects’ Frederik Werner, in Milan to exhibit a collaboration with Japanese furniture maker Karimoku, suggested that fewer trade fairs should take place during the year to cut the carbon cost.

“I think for the setup of the fair itself there’s no hiding from it, it’s kind of crazy how much is being produced and built, and that’s just the reality right now,” he said.

“I think probably the main issue is that there’s so many venues around the world doing the same, with things being shipped around. It somehow makes sense to create one hub for it to happen.”

Setting up Salone del Mobile 2023
Around 2,000 brands showcase their products at Salone, shown here during setup. Photo by Andrea Mariani (also top)

Salone del Mobile was held in Milan last week, back in its conventional April slot for the first time in four years following covid disruptions.

It is the world’s biggest design fair and forms the trade centrepiece of Milan design week.

The organisers have sought to improve the sustainability of the event in recent years, signing up to the UN Global Compact corporate sustainability pledge for 2023 and updating voluntary guidelines for exhibitors.

In an interview prior to the event, Salone president Maria Porro told Dezeen that the fair has tried to use recycled and recyclable materials and work with organisations committed to caring for the planet.

But with 2,000 brands showing their products at the week-long show and around 400,000 visitors expected, mostly from overseas, some remain concerned about Salone’s environmental impact, including Dezeen columnist Katie Treggiden.

“We’re all part of it, as we flew to Milan”

“We can’t walk around the city, gelato in hand, and pretend that almost 2,000 international brands haven’t shipped or air-freighted their wares into the Rho Fiera Milano fairgrounds,” Treggiden wrote in a recent piece.

Dutch designer Maarten Baas deliberately referenced the contradiction of promoting more sustainable designs by flying them to Milan in a collaboration with fashion label G-Star RAW.

His More or Less exhibition for the brand features a private jet wrapped in denim.

“Each year in Milan, I enjoy the tragicomic dialogue between green design and mass consumption,” he told Dezeen.

“We’re all part of it, as we flew to Milan to enjoy our prosecco next to some works of recycled materials.”

Salone del Mobile lanyards
Around 400,000 people visit the fair, which is the world’s largest. Photo courtesy of Salone del Mobile

Nevertheless, designers argued there is still a value to large-scale physical events like Salone.

“Airplanes aren’t sustainable but I think people coming to see art and people coming to see new ideas is always a benefit to society,” said Santiago Brown of New York-based Forma Rosa Studio.

“The issue is transportation, but it’s super important for people to see art and not just on Instagram.”

“In this digital era you can see everything online but, especially with materials when it’s about the haptic, the touch, the interaction, you come to a better understanding of the research project when you see it with your eyes, when someone talks to you about it,” added Crafting Plastics’ Vlasta Kubušová.

“So for me, it still makes sense to do this once a year I think, even if we have to travel – and we always will travel.”

Studios and brands try to use less materials

Jussi Laine of Nemo Architects, who designed the Habitarematerials installation at Milan design exhibition Alcova, said he is “absolutely” concerned about the environmental impact of Salone.

He said it was important for designers travelling to Milan to use it as an opportunity to learn about how to make their work more sustainable.

“Design shows are a way to pass information and knowledge,” he told Dezeen. “It is really up to us how relevant the message is, and also up to us how we receive that information and act upon it.”

Brands and designers have attempted to improve the sustainability of their activities in Milan, especially by planning for the re-use of materials.

“For this year’s fair we’ve tried to work with systems and patterns that we can reuse for next year, so all the louvres and lamellas can be stored and put away again,” said Werner.

“Half of the furniture collection I think might be taken to our next exhibition instead of being shipped back to Japan.”

“Our booth is made out of storage racks that we took from our own storage,” Mexico-based David Pompa told Dezeen.

“So we took them, we built them down, we build them up here and we’re going to build them up again in our storage after the exhibition. So we’re not throwing away anything.”

However, Dixon admitted it was still “difficult to claim total sustainability”.

“We’ll reuse a lot of this stuff,” he said. “I’m sure a lot of people are thinking about how they can do that.”

“But it’s difficult to claim total sustainability in the context of fairs, I’m not going to try and greenwash you on this one.”

Milan itself is frequently ranked among Europe’s most polluted cities, though it is working on an ambitious project to construct 750 kilometres of bike lanes by 2035 as part of a strategy to become net-zero by 2050.

Additional reporting by Cajsa Carlson and Jennifer Hahn. The photography is courtesy of Salone del Mobile.

Salone del Mobile 2023 took place from 18 to 23 April at the Fiera Milano exhibition centre, Italy. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

Reference

Ten food innovations to reduce the carbon impact of our diets
CategoriesSustainable News

Ten food innovations to reduce the carbon impact of our diets

Following the recent news about an avocado alternative called Ecovado, here is a roundup of 10 innovations that aim to reduce the carbon impact of the food industry and our diets.

The global food system, including the actions that take food from farm to plate such as transportation and production, is estimated to contribute 30 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions, with over half of those a result of livestock agriculture.

In the past few years, designers have come up with numerous ideas for reducing food-related emissions as part of the global effort to slow climate change.

These innovations include developing alternatives to meat and other energy and resource-intensive foods, as well as creating more sustainable food production processes.

Read on for 10 designs that seek to decarbonise the food industry:


Ecovado by Arina Shokouhi

Ecovado by Arina Shokouhi

Central Saint Martins graduate Arina Shokouhi invented an avocado alternative named Ecovado, designed to break people away from purchasing the resource-intensive imported food.

“Avocados are one of the most unsustainable crops to export because of their delicate, easy-to-bruise nature, and the plantation-style monoculture farms required to meet the global demand for avocados are driving the deforestation of some of the most diverse landscapes in the world,” said Shokouhi.

The alternative contains a green, creamy, avocado-like foodstuff that is made from a combination of ingredients local to its country. It is packaged in a replica avocado skin formed from wax.

Find out more about Ecovado ›


Air Meat by Air Protein

Air Meat by Air Protein

Californian startup Air Protein has created a meat alternative titled Air Meat, made from microbes that turn recycled carbon dioxide into protein. The product aims to replicate the flavour and texture of real meat products.

With beef generating 70 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions for every kilogram produced, Air Meat was developed in an attempt to tackle the negative climate impact of the agricultural industry.

Find out more about Air Meat ›


Solein by Solar Foods

Solein by Solar Foods

Solein is a protein-rich food made from electricity, air and water laced with bacteria. It was created by food-tech startup Solar Foods in collaboration with the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the Lappeenranta University of Technology.

The food does not require land or large quantities of water to produce, both of which contribute significantly to the agricultural industry’s emissions, with the company claiming it has potential to “remove the climate impact of food systems on the planet”.

“Solein does not reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere directly, but the indirect effect is that we need about one-tenth of the land compared to photosynthesis,” Solar Foods CEO Pasi Vainikka explained in an interview last year with Dezeen.

Find out more about Solein ›


Spira by Rob Russel

Spira by Rob Russell

Rob Russell, a 2019 product design graduate of the University of Leeds, designed this countertop Spira device that can harvest microalgae daily. The device can produce two tablespoons of fresh, nutrient-dense spirulina each day.

This small amount constitutes a recommended daily serving, which the designer suggests adding to sauces, smoothies or salads.

“Home-cultivated spirulina combats the four contributors of food-related greenhouse-gas emissions – production, transport, cooking and waste disposal,” said Russell.

Find out more about Spira ›


Lab-grown meat by Eat Just

Lab-grown meat by Eat Just

In 2020, the Singapore Food Agency deemed Eat Just’s lab-grown, cultured chicken safe for human consumption. The US startup’s product is known as a clean meat, meaning it does not consist of dead animals but instead uses cells harvested from live animals that are grown and cultured into meat.

East Just explained that the cultured chicken has an “extremely low and significantly cleaner” microbiological content when compared to real chicken, which can contain bacteria from the gut, skin and feet of the poultry.

Find out more about Eat Just’s lab-grown meat ›


Dissolvable ramen packaging by Holly Grounds

Dissolvable ramen packaging by Holly Grounds

Product design student Holly Grounds developed an edible, flavourless biofilm that is seasoned with herbs and flavourings to replace the multiple plastic sachets which typically accompany packets of instant noodles.

The dissolvable ramen packaging is made from a handful of ingredients including potato starch, glycerin and water. The biofilm seals the noodles and prevents the food from becoming stale but dissolves in less than a minute when put into contact with water.

Find out more about Grounds’ dissolvable ramen packaging ›


Strøm by Charlotte Böhning and Mary Lempre

Strøm by Charlotte Böhning and Mary Lempre

Charlotte Böhning and Mary Lempres of studio Doppelgänger designed a collection of carbon water filters that are developed without fossil fuels and from their own kitchen waste.

The four-item range includes a substitute for Brita filter cartridges, purifying sticks and a self-cleaning pitcher and carafe. Traditional water filters are comprised of activated carbon within plastic cartridges typically derived from non-renewable energy sources.

“While carbon filtration immobilises harmful contaminants, the plastic cartridge’s only function is to hold the activated carbon,” Lempres told Dezeen. “Meanwhile, sourcing, manufacturing and injection-moulding the polypropylene are the largest contributors to the filter’s impact.”

Find out more about Strøm ›


Zero by PriestmanGoode

Zero by PriestmanGoode

Multi-disciplinary design practice PriestmanGoode developed a concept for an incentive-based food delivery system that could encourage consumers to use and return bioplastic containers to takeaway restaurants.

The concept was created to discourage the use of single-use plastic for fast food boxes and bags. If put into widespread production, the containers and bag would be constructed from sustainable materials such as cocoa bean shells, mycelium and pineapple husks.

The boxes would have a bento-style stacking system, removing the need for individual lids as boxes would be placed on top of the other.

Find out more about Zero ›


An Egg Without a Chicken by Annie Larkins

An Egg Without a Chicken by Annie Larkins

Around 36 million eggs are eaten per day in the UK alone, produced by highly intensive farming processes.

Central Saint Martins graduate Annie Larkins developed an unusually shaped alternative to chicken eggs made from pea protein, salt and algae-derived acid.

The designer altered the shape of the egg alternative, creating elongated and cubic forms, but looked to replicate the food’s white, yolk and shell, all of which were created from plant-based ingredients.

“Human desire to consume meat and animal products runs deep in cultures globally, and having an alternative that allows for an easy switch to plant-based products seems like a good thing to me,” said Larkins.

Find out more about An Egg Without a Chicken ›


3D-printed food products by Elzelinde van Doleweerd

3D-printed food products by Elzelinde van Doleweerd

Elzelinde van Doleweerd collaborated with a China-based technology company to develop food products 3D-printed from leftover food. The innovation was a result of Van Doleweerd’s final project during her industrial design degree at the Eindhoven University of Technology.

The designer began exploring 3D-printed food after learning that one-third of food produced worldwide is wasted. She used mashed, ground and sieved fruit peels, bread and rice to create the mixture, which is then printed to create 2D geometric patterns and 3D shapes.

Find out more about Van Doleweerd’s 3D-printed food products ›

Reference

Mitigating the impact of lithium-ion batteries in the energy transition
CategoriesSustainable News

Mitigating the impact of lithium-ion batteries in the energy transition

Spotted: Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) look set to play a crucial role in the future of energy as the world transitions away from fossil fuels. Found in everything from electric vehicles to smartphones and computers, these batteries have several downsides when it comes to environmental impact. Lithium mining is an extremely water-intensive process that involves the use of toxic chemicals. In fact, producing each tonne of lithium requires 500,000 gallons of water. And exacerbating this problem is the fact that several of the leading lithium-producing regions, such as the Atacama Desert in Chile, are among the world’s driest. 

Innovators are rising to the challenge in several ways. Some are exploring alternative ways of extracting lithium, while others are developing batteries that avoid using lithium (and other minerals with a high environmental impact) altogether. But given the current prevalence of LIBs, and the early stage of alternative technologies, one of the biggest things we can do to mitigate their impact is to invest in effective recycling technologies. 

Canadian company Li-Cycle has developed a two-step recycling process that enables the recovery of critical materials, including lithium, cobalt, and nickel. 

The first step of the process involves breaking down the end-of-life batteries into their component parts. The second step consists of refining the materials into different product streams which can then be used for new batteries.

Unlike other battery recycling processes, which require high temperatures, Li-Cycle’s patented approach relies on chemistry, using unique ‘hydrometallurgical’ technology that is more environmentally friendly. Moreover, traditional approaches to battery recycling typically result in the loss of up to half of the useful recycled material in comparison to Li-Cycle’s 95 per cent recovery rate. The Li-Cycle system can handle batteries of various sizes used for different applications.

The company has recently announced that it plans to expand its operations into Europe. The company will open spoke facilities in Norway and Germany in the first half of 2023, with an aim to recycle 65,000 tonnes of batteries annually by the end of that year. This expansion will help Li-Cycle to meet the growing demand for its services as the world moves toward a more sustainable future.

Other innovations spotted by Sporingwise that re-use end-of-life batteries include e-rickshaws that give a second life to electric vehicle batteries, a startup re-purposing used electric vehicle batteries into home energy storage systems, and technology that yields pure graphite from used lithium-ion batteries.

Written By: Katrina Lane

Website: li-cycle.com

Contact: li-cycle.com/contact

Reference

A CSR platform enables companies to choose and track verified impact projects
CategoriesSustainable News

A CSR platform enables companies to choose and track verified impact projects

Spotted:  Investors and corporates alike are increasingly interested in using software as a service (SaaS) models to integrate sustainability-focused infrastructure into corporate platforms. In line with this trend, Singaporean startup Handprint is providing businesses with an easy way to improve their planetary impact. 

The Handprint platform offers companies a choice of pre-verified impact projects grouped into themes such as social justice, clean water, and deforestation. Each company can then choose to support the ones that best align with its brand and values.  

Once a company has chosen the projects it wishes to support, software plugins integrate contributions to those projects into core business functions such as e-commerce. For example, food delivery company Saladstop integrated with Handprint’s technology to allow its customers to order ‘climate positive’ meals. Similarly, media platform Teads worked with Handprint to let its users dedicate part of their advertising spend to the regeneration project of their choice.  

The idea behind Handprint is that the company makes the contribution rather than the end consumer. But by using Handprint’s platform, companies gain benefits such as increased brand loyalty and greater cart conversion, while also linking their impact contributions to their core business. 

Handprint also makes it easy to track the company’s overall contribution – both in terms of monetary investment and impact outcomes. The progress of the company’s chosen projects can be traced with quasi-real-time data and on-the-ground photos – which the company can post on social media. 

A really important benefit of Handprint’s approach is that it significantly reduces intermediary costs on the back-end. By using blockchain technology and satellite imagery Handprint is able to avoid some of the costs normally associated with donation-based systems. As a result, more money flows to projects on the ground and less to third-party administration. In fact, the company claims to have one of the best dollar-to-impact rates in the world, being on average 68% cheaper than its competitors. 

In a crowded marketplace for corporate impact, Handprint’s credibility is boosted by its links with academia, and the financial backing it has recently received through a $2.2 million (around €2.08 million) funding round. 

Other recent software innovations aimed at corporate sustainability include a platform for measuring an organisation’s IT footprint, a SaaS platform that helps real estate investors lower their environmental impact, and a platform that simplifies ESG data. 

Written By: Katrina Lane

Website: handprint.tech

Contact: handprint.tech/contact

Reference

Impact of Information Technology on Human Resource Management
CategoriesHuman Resource Management Information Technology

Impact of Information Technology on Human Resource Management

This is a guest post from Asma Niaz. Asma is an Academic writer at Zoe Talent Solutions and loves to write stellar content on various educational topics, programs, trainings and courses. Zoetalentsolutions is a premium teaching division, which offers highly professional hr courses to excel at your workplace.

Published 7/12/17. Edited 1/16/20.

Impact of Information Technology on Human Resource Management

Nowadays, entrepreneurs with business acumen have acknowledged the power of information technology (IT) tools for reaching business targets. It not only helps achieve the business goals but also optimizes the work processes.

Human Resource Management (HRM) includes activities such as recruiting, training, developing and rewarding people in the organization. HRM must aim at achieving competitiveness in the field of HR by providing constant educational and training programs for the personal and professional development of the employees of the organization.

It has been conventionally proved that Information and Communication Technology (ICT), such as the Internet, mobile communication, new media, and such in HR can greatly contribute to the fulfillment of personnel policies of the organization. Technological advancement can have a huge impact on the HR department of an organization. It allows the company to improve its internal processes, core competencies, relevant markets and organizational structure as a whole.

Human Resource must mainly be focused on the strategic objectives of the organization. These strategies must be led to incorporate an IT strategic plan for the organization. These are activities related to any development in the technological systems of the entity, such as product design (research and development) and IT systems.

Technology development is an important activity for the innovation process within the business, and may include acquired knowledge. In the context, all activities may have some technical content, and results in greater technological advancement.

Information Technology may have a greater impact on organizations that exist in a dynamic environment. This will lead to greater efficiency and effectiveness of the Human Resources.  Hence, utilizing IT application for database management and advances recruitment system will increase the efficiency of the business.

However, innovation in Human Resource Management can manifest itself in a number of ways:

  1. To identify solutions quickly and flexibly during a negotiation
  2. To identify new ideas for products and services
  3. To identify new markets

Innovations such as these are supplemented with Information Technology to create a positive impact in HR. Rosabeth Moss Kanter, one of the leading management theorists of her time, argued that the re-birth and success of business organizations will depend upon innovation (developing new products, introducing new services, and operating methods), entrepreneurship (taking business risks) and inclusive management (encouraging all employees to participate in making decisions about work).

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can make the following major impacts in Human Resource Management.

1. Better services to line managers

Both HR and line managers primary interest is the success of the business. The human resource’s main function is to support the workforce needs of the organization. Strategic planning between HR and line managers is important for reviewing projections concerning future business demands to determine whether to train current employees, to prepare them for promotion or to recruit candidates with the higher level of skills to supplement the current employee knowledge database. Training and developing the line managers in IT tools will, therefore, prepare the line managers for a number of leadership tasks.

2. Enhancing management

Human Resource IT tools that can supplement management and enhance efficiency and effectiveness, which can lead to the success of the organization as a whole. For example, currently, SuccessFactors Solutions has developed an HR IT tool of talent management for Hilton Worldwide, which had a worldwide operational capacity. Organizations across the world are driving to improve organizational performance regardless of the size of the organization or the industry. Managers within the organization measure performance, sometimes by comparing it against a benchmark. They analyze and assess their findings and design their controls accordingly to advance the organization’s performance.

According to the Gallup survey, engaging your employees to organizational goals is the key feature of every business. The management should also ensure that all departments are improving its procedures and controls and targeting its activities on better achieving the company’s competitive differentiation through what the employees do and how they are doing it. These can be better utilized by customized HR IT tools according to the organization.

3. Effective recruiting

Nowadays, organizations have realized that effective recruiting cannot be done without the use of IT. Organizations now use job portals on the internet to search for the best candidates for the position. The process has been made effective with the use of the internet as many people come to know of the offer and hence increases the probability of hiring efficient employees.

Employers can present all necessary information related to job, careers and personal development of each employee on portals online. This is a great promotional tool for the organization. Currently, Envoy has developed Asana, an IT tool for recruiting that analyzes details down to where a potential candidate’s high priority values are. The HR IT tools not only help hire the best potential but also retain it.

4. Data management and critical analysis

Data management becomes easier when IT is used and it becomes paper-free. Many of the monotonous work is no longer manual. This increases the efficiency of the work and the effectiveness of it. Organizational performance can lead to the timely success of the business whether in a stable or an unstable environment. Jobs that do not offer much variety in their performance and are of a highly repetitive nature are disliked by employees and eventually results in low retention or decreased effectiveness.

Employee’s performance data can be critically analyzed by the HR IT tools more often if it’s online and becomes readily accessible to everyone. For instance, Zenefits has recently developed an HR IT tool, which has made Passport completely paperless. The tool is further hierarchy sensitive and pings the manager for approval once it is submitted. Thus letting an individual get rid of the hassle of filling the paperwork. Thus by developing this HR IT tool, Zenefits has helped Passport radically simplify and manage its HR internal processes.

5. Inventory management tools and human resource management

Entrepreneurs with business acumen describe that the performance of an organization can be made more effective and efficient by customer intimacy, operational efficiency, and leading edge. Customer needs must be met by customization and by providing outstanding customer instances. For this purpose, organizations use HR IT tools to provide a universal set of products and diversify the business by providing improved products and services.

6. Cost-reduction and efficiency

Considerable benefit can be obtained as various reports can be made using IT tools.

Xero wanted to save its resources and make them easier to manage. Xero then implemented PlanSource’s benefits system and ACA compliance technology with their payroll provider and now all their benefits are in one place and easy to access. This lead to cost reduction and efficient and work processes. Johnson, Scholes and Whittington have rightly said, “Poor performance might be the result of an inappropriate configuration for the situation or inconsistency between structure, processes, and relationships.” Organizational performance can be increased by implementing management by objectives and using a participative style of management through Human Resource Information Technology tools. The management of an organization is accountable to the owners of the business for the performance and the achievements of the organization. Managers can perform well and justify their authority only if they produce the desired economic results, for instance, the profits they have desired to achieve in a period of time. Management often uses the Operation’s Research to maximize the profit, yield, utilization and the performance. The management of an organization usually creates a measurement system to set targets for change and measure organizational performance.

7. Customer service and human resource management

Organization performance can also be described by evaluating the reliability of service and by understanding the quality of customers of the organization. Value can come from providing a reliable service, so that the customers know that they will receive the service on time, at the promised time, to a good standard of performance. As organizational change is inevitable, critical success factors and key performance indicators should be revised, and relevant Human Resource IT tool must be devised for the better quality of work.  Doing good quality work and providing quality results will increase organizational performance.

8. Career development and human capital management

The career planning tool is a learning and knowledge-based system that helps successful businessman around the world to manage their personal development and career paths along with those of their employees. Performance evaluation and career progression can be a key motivating factor for the employees to work effectively and efficiently. Performance measurement and reward systems in an organization establish views of priority i.e. what is important and what is not so important. Thus sound performance evaluation systems HR IT tool is crucial for the organization. The system must be a sound one so that people can rely on it. Rewards systems should be amended so that the rewards to managers and other employees are based on performance targets as stored in the HR IT tools. Employees should be rewarded for performance based on the desired behavior and results as per the HR IT tool database. Also, according to Vroom, one of the best management theorists of his time, instrumentality (rewards system) affects motivation for the increase in organizational performance. Managers must keep their promises that they have given of rewards for performance and try to make sure that the employees believe that the management will keep its promises. However, performance targets do not usually have to be financial targets. They can be in other forms such as recognition, promotion etc.

One of the major processes of HR is the Human Resource Development core process. This HR tool provides all information about the employee’s succession planning, evaluation of overall performance and the review of individual potential including the employee’s detailed profile. It also includes an agreement between the individual and the supervisor on business targets over a period of time periodically. Thus leading to a continuous development of the employee’s career. The great advantage of this tool is that data once entered into the system is stored in the database and can be attained in the future. This leads to considerable cost saving as well. Recently, Standard Life Group provided HR resource cost optimization tool to Oracle Human Capital Management Solutions. It is further contributing to the strategic transformation of the company by building the empowered workforce. Employees need feedback about their performance. Employees need to be communicated about their actual performance and their expected performance. In this way, they will know their own performance level within the organization. Bonus must be kept for employees who work overtime and provide efficient results. This HR IT management tool incorporates all such data.

According to the survey of 37 companies in Turkey applying IT in HRM, the employees expressed that their business environment satisfies them and they work efficiently. The survey confirms that these  companies use HR IT tools and should contain all HR processes which will sustain all parts of HR it means from ”Recruit to Retire” functions within the company.

Human Resource IT tools have great organizational effects; provide better services to line managers, serve as a pipeline connecting a personal policy and personal processes in all organization, facilitate personnel management in the company, provide important data for a strategic personal decision-making and enable a quick acquiring and analysis of information for HR assistants and reduce cost labors at performance of personal activities.

Globalization makes us realize how IT can contribute to the fulfillment of business strategy in the frame of Human Resources management in order to direct the business towards quality and to reach the competitiveness in the market. Research reveals that information technology sustains reaching the HR goals moderately and the precise plan of implementation of HR information system can significantly support HR strategy in the company to attain defined key performance indicators (KPI). This should mainly contain what has to be achieved. It means how he HR IT tools can support the KPI and which kind of HR IT tools should sustain.

The following was added 1/16/20.

9. Automation of HR processes

Human resource management is an incredibly complex domain that involves many processes. And it often happens that HR specialists spend too much of their precious time on mundane, monotonous activities instead of focusing on more serious issues.

The implementation of technology into the HR workflow frees the professionals from a great amount of routine work. The automation of processes eliminates paperwork, speeds up the execution of many tasks, and contributes to more efficient HR performance.

The advancement of technology means companies can use the latest innovations, such as machine learning to screen resumes and augmented reality to onboard new employees.

It is important to remember though that the whole HRM domain is impossible without people. A lot depends on the empathy and experience of an HR specialist, but the deployment of technology can significantly improve the quality of work of a single specialist.

10. Availability of HR tools

Some time ago, HR specialists struggled with endless phone calls, emails, and paperwork. They had to keep dozens of processes and tasks in mind. Now, there are hundreds of available HR tools that are designed specifically to facilitate and optimize the work of HR specialists.

The features of the HR software include:

  • Streamlining workflows
  • Organization and management of employee data
  • Creation of detailed employee records
  • Social collaboration
  • Management of payroll, vacation, and bonuses

The transition to a digital working environment enables modern HR specialists to perform certain tasks in a faster way and thus, pay more attention to such issues as the satisfaction of the employees, optimization of the recruiting and onboarding processes, employee motivation, etc.

11. Advanced candidate search

One of the main responsibilities of an HR specialist is finding and recruiting the specialists that a company needs at the moment. IT significantly changed the way these processes are approached.

First, the Internet granted HR specialists an opportunity to search for candidates worldwide. Freelance workers have now become a common thing, and collaboration with freelancers may be even more beneficial than hiring an in-house team. There are numerous benefits of working with freelancers: flexibility, affordable rates, specific skillset, and many more. In this way, HR specialists can fill the gap that their in-house team lacks and find a perfect candidate anywhere in the world.

Second, HR specialists can use advanced tools (i.e. Artificial Intelligence) to screen the resumes and pay attention only to those profiles that strictly match the requirements. This greatly speeds up the search process and helps to find the most suitable candidates.

Finally, HR specialists now have access to various online platforms where they can find candidates: Stack Overflow for developers, Quora for managerial positions, etc. The availability of such resources expands the talent pool and grants HR specialists new opportunities in terms of the candidate search.

12. A new way to brand a company

Company branding is an important factor in attracting and retaining employees. Thanks to IT, companies now have an option to build strong online presence and reach numerous potential candidates with minimal effort.

Thorough website branding and design, presence on major marketplaces and online communication – all these factors promote direct interaction between a candidate or employee and a company.

Social media plays a huge role in the company’s branding, too. Social platforms became the key source of information, and candidates are most likely to search for a company on LinkedIn than through traditional sources. Hence, companies should consider what kind of image they would like to build and what values and messages they want to transfer to the users.

Finally, don’t forget the mobile business applications. A mobile application is an amazing way to redesign a company’s brand in accordance with the demands and interests of a target audience, and add interactivity to it.

IT has greatly expanded not only the talent pool but also the way HR specialists can reach top talent and promote the company online.

13. Analytics grants access to more data

Finally, Information Technology granted HR specialists access to sophisticated analytics, taking their work to a new level.

Previously, HR specialists had to rely on guesswork and intuition when evaluating the employees, their level of motivation and satisfaction, and the efficiency of HR processes. Now, they can rely on the data and see all the processes and work results reflected in numbers.

With the help of analytics, HR professionals can track down the candidate’s journey and see at which point most people reject (or accept) an offer, how many people are involved in the processes, what percent of employees open their emails, and many other important events.

In this way, HR specialists can make data-driven decisions and use past experience as a base to redesign and optimize current processes.