The top 5 advantages of using HR software

• Keep productivity levels high.
• Meet training and compliance needs.
• Maintain up-to-date health and safety records for legal compliance.
• Resolve employee- and employer-related incidents in a timely, data-driven manner.
• Ensure that wage calculations are always accurate and payroll never runs late to employees.
• Serve as an efficient point of first enquiry for employment-related queries, disputes and issues.

HR system is designed to help you address these challenges and establish a more efficient as well as effective function that contributes meaningfully to company revenue and growth. Let’s first look at the features of HR software that enable such a transformation. 

Key features of HR software

1. An employee information database that keeps data organized and easily accessible. If you’re still using hard copy files, you cannot postpone your move to a virtual HR system any longer!
2. A payroll system that integrates employee data with payroll data simplifies payroll administration, changes to pay and schedules, tracking employee hours, and payroll-related reconciliations.
3. Employee self-service where employees can conveniently view and make changes to their personal information, send queries to the HR team, submit leave requests and keep track of schedule information, from their work or personal desktops, laptops or mobile devices.
4. A benefits administration system that provides a simple explanation of policies and addresses the common questions that employees have about their benefit options, enrolment eligibility and other coverage-related queries.
5. Recruiting and onboarding process features that make the application process simple, filter applications by various criteria and add information to employee files after vacancies have been filled.

How do these features of HR software translate to benefits?

1. Time savings

HR software digitalizes and simplifies routine tasks. For instance, time-off requests placed by employees with a push of a button can also be edited by team leaders within seconds. Organizations can expect a 20%-25% reduction in HR administration time when they move to self-service.

With HR software, you don’t have to spend time answering questions that employees can easily access on their own. Instead of shuffling through digital or paper files for inquiries like "Can I have a copy of my last four payslips?" or "How many personal leaves do I have?", you can devote your time to strategic HR tasks such as aligning the workforce with long-term business goals.

Small businesses spend up to 10 hours a month on running payroll. HR software automates salary and tax calculations, saving both time and money on crunching numbers and reducing errors as well as admin work.

2. Productivity improvements

HR software is a big productivity booster – for HR staff, managers and employees! In today’s fiercely competitive and disruptive work environment, employees should be spending time on high-value tasks rather than repetitive tasks. Companies across industries are adopting automation and digitization to focus most of their productivity on profit-generating activities. HR software is one of the ways in which businesses are transforming digitally. It can make your entire workforce more productive in the following ways:

• Driving up the speed of HR tasks
• Creating a centralized portal/area of contact for managers and employers for quick information access, action and decision-making
• Enabling employees to manage their own data
• Offering access to information on the move through mobile browsers (this is especially useful for employees who spend considerable time on the road)
• Streamlining and simplifying performance management by empowering managers to record targets and actions, make changes, address development needs as and when they arise, and increase the frequency of informal check-ins.

Repetitive, cumbersome paper-based tasks cost $5 trillion in lost productivity every year. Adoption of HR software can help companies optimize productivity and improve business outcomes.

3. Break down siloes

Being a highly specialized function that handles sensitive information, human resources lends itself easily to a silo mentality. As all other departments are affected by HR policies and practices, siloes can be undesirable as they keep non-sensitive information inaccessible to employees and managers.

Managing HR online solves this problem by creating a single, accessible platform for information sharing and collaboration. For examples, team leaders can maintain a clear, updated view of all employee data to make quick, evidence-based decisions that adhere to company policy and satisfy employees.

By breaking down siloes, HR software also creates transparency and build a stronger sense of connection. If features like automatic reminders, document sharing and chat are integrated into the software, it can further drive team leads’ and executives’ efficiency and productivity.

4. Data is always up-to-date

The accuracy and recency of HR database is an important concern for HR personnel. The proper management of personnel files has become even more demanding in the face of data privacy laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the rising incidences of workplace disputes. Maintaining up-to-date employee records is an administrative burden that HR software can address effectively.

For example, employees can themselves update their personal data. Virtually all HR software solutions allow you to maintain an accurate employee database and access records of existing as well as former workers with the click of a button.

It is easier and more secure to maintain employees’ personal records, employment contracts, performance appraisals and other data in a digital database rather than physical files. Ideally, HR should hold on to this data to respond effectively in the event that a terminated employee brings a claim against you. Payroll and related documents should be kept for six years, starting from the end of the respective payroll period. 

5. Resources are optimised

HR software is yet another way of digitizing paper documents. If your organization is looking to reduce paper consumption and strike a balance between digital and paper receipts and statements, HR software is a practical choice. A move to a software solution also eliminates the need to archive paper records, make space to store folders, and photocopy documents as a backup. HR software can be accessed on all devices, offering information on-the-fly. It is easy to set-up and has an intuitive interface that enables all users to make the most of features and tools.

Refreshingly easy HR software with kiwiHR by Tellent