By Bella Khan – Associate Director, HR Outsourcing – Links International Hong Kong
Within the Human Resources industry, there are a wide range of technologies that can help facilitate HR processes. At Links International, our award-winning HR outsourcing team uses a number of these technologies, yet it is also important that we don’t lose our human touch. Regardless of the growing interest in technologies, systems, gadgets and applications, one thing that will always remain highly important when engaging with customers is, of course, customer service, otherwise known as that all-important “human touch”.
Technology helps to make processes a lot faster or more efficient, essentially providing short cuts to long-winded processes, yet sometimes people need that human experience provided by customer service that cannot be replaced by technology. There are times when a customer just wants to speak to a real person on the phone, rather than a recorded voice. Think of when you’re trying to get through to the bank, for example, and all you get is a machine – how frustrating that can be! Customer service provides a much better image of what sort of experience a company provides.
In today’s age, with so many methods of communication, people are speaking directly to each other much less, and instead emailing or messaging the person sitting right next to them. Not only have these new forms of communication overtaken the more traditional (some might say “old-fashioned”) methods of communication, but they also can result in a deterioration of relationships and collaborations.
In my opinion, you therefore can’t have one without the other – both technology and customer service must go hand in hand. Whilst technology is becoming more and more crucial in today’s competitive business environment and a company that possesses the newest technologies is highly regarded, success cannot be attributed to technology alone, and companies should strive to complement their technologies with a human touch.
At Links, we combine our 10+ years of experience successfully managing HR solutions across Asia with the best technologies in order to provide our clients with a service that is second to none. If you’re interested in outsourcing your HR and would like to know more about the services and technologies that we offer, please do not hesitate to contact us.