In the past, human resources departments have had a fairly clear and straightforward brief: manage recruitment, run training programs, and ensure that employees are paid on time. As the corporate world changes, however, departments that run along these lines have had to adapt.
“Human resources” is increasingly becoming about more than just managing employees. Managers are being called upon to drive positive changes across entire companies, such as cultivating employee happiness, streamlining the customer journey, and boosting employee efficiency.
Customer relationship software, which has traditionally been used by sales teams, can help achieve these goals. In this post, we’re going to look at how to use a CRM in your own HR department.
What is customer relationship management software?
At a basic level, customer relationship management or CRM software is used to handle customer data. It helps sales teams to draw actionable insights from client activity, move leads through the sales cycle, and maintain an up-to-date database of contact information.
Features of the best all-in-one CRM tools usually include:
- Contact management
- Lead ranking
- Analytics and forecasting tools
- Sales funnel management
- Sales automation
- Collaboration tools
Most modern CRM apps also integrate with existing tech stacks, connecting seamlessly with tools for accounting, project management, document management, and so on. Most companies consider CRMs to be an essential part of their software infrastructure.
1. Streamline Recruitment
HR departments can leverage CRM software to streamline the recruitment process and find the best talent, in much the same way sales teams use it to manage leads. CRM tools allow users to filter the best candidates, keep track of responses, and analyse the quality of recruitment sources.
It’s also possible to score candidates during the hiring process based on their experience, skills, and performance in interviews. Many of these tasks can also be automated and improved with artificial intelligence based on the unique and recurrent needs of your company.
2. Speed Up Payroll Management
CRM software usually works seamlessly with accounting apps to speed up a range of menial tasks. Most CRMs build on the basic functionality of tools like Quickbooks and Xero, enabling HR managers to keep track of bonuses, deductions, commissions, absences, sick days, holiday leave, and so on, and quickly pass this information over to accounting.
Companies tend to waste a lot of time and resources because of misalignment between accounting and human resources. But CRM software acts as an intermediary between both departments. Automation and integration tools can speed up the transfer of information even more.
3. Automate Employee Management
CRMs are built to automate everyday sales processes. Human resources departments can leverage these tools to take care of a range of tasks, including notifying employees about important updates, organizing documentation, and collecting feedback.
The automated transfer of data between integrated apps can also save significant amounts of time. Legal experts, for example, can quickly access employee details when drafting contracts. Accountants can verify bonuses and commissions. And the sales team can connect leads with relevant employees.
4. Gather Employee Feedback
CRM software can be used to gather and organize employee feedback from multiple sources, including social media, anonymous surveys, third-party websites (like Glassdoor), and, of course, direct testimonies. This information will help to make improvements moving forward.
It’s equally important to gather feedback from employees that are leaving your company, whether due to retirement or because they’ve found a new position. Human resources can use their insights, both good and bad, to drive positive change. Having a reliable database of details relating to past employees will make this possible.
5. Generate Data Insights and Track Employee Performance
Customer relationship management apps allow users to quickly generate detailed reports that cover all facets of employee performance. The purpose of tracking employee activity is to replicate effective practices across your entire organization. CRM apps also provide a collaborative space for high-performing individuals to influence and help other employees.
What’s more, one of the most important benefits of CRM software is that it provides a central, accessible information hub in your organization. Often, reports move between different individuals and departments and quickly become lost, outdated, or disconnected from complementary data. It’s not uncommon for human resources managers to be reliant on individuals from other areas of their company for information.
Who, for example, are your top-performing employees? Which individuals are lagging behind and require extra training? Which members of your team have consistently underperformed and may need replacing? A CRM app will help answer all these questions. [gr]
6. Cultivate Employee Wellbeing
It’s far more cost-effective to hold on to existing employees than to find new ones. Companies with high levels of employee turnover are needlessly wasting resources.
One way to ensure employee loyalty is to focus more on wellbeing. Use your CRM to track levels of happiness along with more quantitative, results-focused metrics. Once you have a clear idea of how your team feels in regards to their workload and environment, you can develop initiatives geared towards boosting productivity and satisfaction.
Conclusion
By not leveraging customer relationship management software in your organization, you’re putting yourself at an unnecessary competitive disadvantage. Rest assured that other companies are using CRM apps to find, foster, and keep top-notch talent.
CRM solutions tend to be inexpensive, easy to use, and integrate seamlessly with existing tech stacks. Take the time to find an app that’s a fit for your HR department. Your employees will thank you.
