Your HR department plays an essential and strategic role in securing optimum productivity, growth and longevity for your company. Most HR tasks are focused on very basic record-keeping. Presently, more and more businesses are discovering how identifying gaps, inefficiencies and other trends in their workforce’s lifecycle, from data routinely collected by human resources, can result in significant operational savings.
However, while an HR manager can very well appreciate the impact that smart record-keeping contributes to the company’s overall health, the sheer volume of paperwork involved can be daunting for anyone, and there is always the risk of human error.
An ideal HR workflow system can boost efficiencies across the entire organization. Task automation allows a single HR manager to keep track of even a sizable headcount, resolve issues on employee records in a timely manner and communicate changes made to the data to payroll and management immediately.
This is why managers utilize Human Resources software to simplify HR tasks and to minimize typical inefficiencies such as misplacement of records, unnecessary duplication and communication lags.
Below are some common problems that HR managers face regularly and how the right software tools effectively help in solving them:
Problem #1: What can I do to speed up the recruitment process so more applications can be accepted and more job vacancies can be filled faster?
An HR department oversees the status of potential hires undergoing a multilevel screening process and makes sure that each applicant’s pertinent information is passed on smoothly to the next level for further recommendation, rejection or ultimately, approval. Using a good hiring workflow tool can help an HR manager monitor the flow of applicants through the screening process and, further, prevent bottlenecks due to pending evaluations.
This can effectively help in trimming down the time it takes to complete the recruitment process and allow HR to handle greater loads of applicants and fill in more job vacancies in the organization at a faster pace.
Problem #2: How do I keep up with the day-to-day maintenance of employee records and still have time to address their concerns, as well as perform my other HR duties?
Keeping track of every single incident affecting each individual employee, from daily attendance to payroll issues, is bound to be a complicated, time-consuming matter. HR managers can utilize good employee management software tools to automate the more simple yet redundant record-keeping activities.
Automating the process for leave application, for instance, frees HR people from manual encoding and tracking of employee data. This allows for more time and focus on responding to queries, settling disputes and transacting with employees and other departments more speedily and accurately.
Problem #3: How can I keep better track of new employee integration and ensure that each new hire fits into the organization smoothly and quickly?
There are a myriad of small yet essential details handled by the HR department when processing the acceptance and integration of a new employee into the organization. From creating a new record to working on the documentation for his/her salary and benefits scheme to making sure the employee has a functioning workstation and a parking spot, the HR department accomplishes these and many other tasks in a very short and strict time frame.
A good new employee management tool allows HR people to track the processing of documentation for new hires. This can be especially helpful to an HR organization with a very active hiring process and large batches of freshly-hired employees coming into the fold regularly and frequently. Further, a good employee management software can help HR far better than a simple checklist in securing the company’s compliance with employee and labor rights.
About The Guest Author: Maricel Rivera works as a content writer for Comindware, a business software provider that offers a suite of work management solutions that can cover a wide range of business areas – HR, IT Helpdesk, Finance and Administration, Sales and Marketing, etc. She has also already contributed to several different business blogs. When not writing, she does research for a financial firm.
HR Photo via Shutterstock
Thanks Maricel. Its a very interesting post and the solutions to the problems are really very practical and useful.
Thank you for the kind words, Shilpi. I’m glad you found the post helpful.
Keeping track of employees work sync is very important and I appreciate your thoughts on that Maricel. At the same time, I would say its all the employee – employer relationship that I am concerned about.
For instance, we started tracking employee activities couple of years back which turned into a nightmare. Employees started opposing it, but it was shocking to see the results. Later based on the oppose we removed the tool. But ultimately we understood how important tracking employee activities is.
Now, since I am working from home, I need ways to keep track of all my activities. I might sound better in employee management, but when it comes to managing myself, I am weak.
So, this is where I would need your advice. I had been tracking all my activities often using some tools, here they are – Replicon, Basecamp, Zoho, etc.
These three are the very important tools that I use, as ultimately I must report to my superiors as on what I was doing for the whole day, every day. Replicon’s employee time tracking software helps me in tracking time and activities, whereas Basecamp and Zoho helps me in project and invoice managements.
Could you please let me know any tools that you believe is a must use? and at the same time let me know your thoughts on this?
Vincy