Give HR Function a New Lease of life by deploying HR Software

Gone are the errors prone days of calculating payroll on excel sheet, manually generating and distributing pay slips to employees and then spending the next week or so responding to employee queries and recalculating salary due to incorrect deduction or extra payment. Payroll Management system enables easy management of all aspects related to employee’s financial dealing with the company including salary, reimbursements, taxation etc. A well-designed payroll software goes beyond mere calculation of salary, it enables an organization to monitor and track cost and expenses against each employee. Advanced payroll modules also provide for an employee self service application wherein employees can view their pay slips and other details online when needed. The ESS module removes much of the administrative burden associated with payroll management as all information pertaining to their individual finances,with respect to the company can be accessed by employees through their own unique ID and password.

The extensive range of reports and features available is what distinguishes a good payroll system from an average one.

1.Automation of salary calculation based on formulas for tax and allowances
2.Auto generation of pay slips
3.Manage statutory payments
4.Greater control over data
5.Reduces time and effort spent on administering payroll manually
6.Claims management including Local Conveyance, Travel claim, Medical, LTA etc
7.Easy browsing historical salary records for audit purposes

Modern payroll systems are designed to be flexible and adaptable to integrate easily with an organization’s existing HR system or Human Resource Information System making it a single window for all HR information and activity related to employees. The ESS application when combined with the HRIS and payroll system helps to streamline the entire HR process and make it paperless as all approvals and forms are then submitted and approved online rather than on paper.

The greatest benefit of employing an Employee Self Service application is that it makes dissemination of information to geographically dispersed employees easy to administer and manage. Also since the onus of updating his or her information in the system lies with the employee, employee records generally tend to be more relevant and efficiently managed.

The prominent features of a good ESS are

1.Ability to view / edit personal information
2.Submit Tax declaration online
3.View pay slip and tax working online
4.Makes it possible to submit tax returns online
5.Manager access to view team member records
6.Define workflow for employee joining and exit
7.Leave Attendance System
8.Leave Management System through integration of attendance / access card with shift system
9.Asset Management
10.Travel requisition or taxi requisition
11.Book Conference room
12.Mobile / SIM Card or Data card requisition
13.Raise request for ID card/ visiting card

A hallmark of a good HR software is its ability to scale up to add on more features and module based on requirement. In today’s scenario when organizations are looking at automating administrative and repetitive tasks to reduce operational costs and free staff for more value adding activities, it makes sense for organizations to opt for an integrated Human Resource Management system (HRMS) which covers the entire employee life cycle. Read more.

Human Resource Information System– A Quick Guide

The Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is basically an online solution or software designed to meet the data needs of the HR team and is mostly designed to include an option to add an integrated payroll management and accounting module.

A well-designed and implemented Human Resource Information System provides organizations with a three-fold benefit. Firstly and most importantly, an HRIS system empowers employees with tools to update their own particulars as well as access critical information related to team management, career growth and skill and knowledge enhancement.  Secondly, It frees up HR staff from administrative query management and record updating to perform a more strategic role. Lastly, a Human Resource Information system enables managers to make better decisions and support their team by providing them with tools for real time access to data and analytical reports on their team.

Businesses that invest in implementing an HRIS system suited to their culture and employee values are able to reap rich benefits of a more engaged and productive workforce. Key benefits of using Human Resource Information System include

Newer features like chatting within the HRIS system enable easy flow of information among employees allowing for greater team work and productivity. With a centralized database accessible from anywhere and at any time, Human Resource Information system provides a convenient tool for organizations to host company policies as well as make important announcements. 

Workflow based HRIS system is particularly useful for automating recurring events like monthly payslip generation or annual tax return filing which can easily be completed without human intervention.

Well designed HRIS systems incorporate flexible designs with databases that can easily be  integrated with a range of modules and features. A good HRIS system also provides options to generate customized reports for fast and accurate data analysis and workforce management. Self service module enables more efficient administration of benefits and other employee related processes.

A basic Human Resource Information System typically includes the following features

A more advanced comprehensive HRIS system provides options to add or integrate related application modules such as recruitment management, succession planning, performance management and even learning management.

The HR function is increasingly being called upon to play a more strategic role in current economic conditions for companies to derive and sustain competitive advantage. As the war for available talent pool intensifies, HR and consequently human resource information systems (HRIS) will need to constantly evolve and innovate to include even more value adding business intelligence reporting features, above and beyond, self-service and access to critical information and processes anywhere and at any time. A Human Resource Information system can prove to be an immensely useful tool in helping businesses seamlessly manage a globally dispersed workforce, enhance employee satisfaction, improve efficiency of HR processes as well as achieve cost savings. Read more.

Growing Popularity of Employee Self Service Portals

Employee Self Service solutions are fast gaining ground as they relieve the HR function of time consuming administrative responsibilities to focus on strategic initiatives. Self service as the name denotes facilitate managers and employees to independently manage information, data and processes related to their roles.

Employee Self Service Portals provide significant advantages and cost saving to businesses by enabling a "paperless" office and streamlining processes. With ESS, all confidential data related to employees can be stored in a centralized database providing data protection and easy accessibility and navigation to all relevant stakeholders unrestricted by geographical or time differences. An ESS system allows the HR team to set access rights based on the role of an employee.

By virtue of empowering employees with easily accessible data and information, employee self service portal helps to build an organizational culture of trust and transparency. Information can be accessed on demand eliminating the need to get in touch with the HR/Admin teams and waiting for a response.

Key features of an employee self service portal include

Employee Self service portal allows employees to view pay slip, earning statements, loan installment details, PF details as well as YTD statements online at their convenience. There is no lag time between raising a query and accessing data and information. 

Employee self service portals are based on pre defined workflows aligned to company policies. The system enables employees to initiate a workflow when required and company policy is automatically enforced at the application stage itself significantly reducing turnaround time and administrative costs. All stakeholders are connected via system-generated emails, which help in reducing transaction time and cost.

The Help Desk feature in the employee self service portal helps to set SLAs and monitor and enhance service standards of internal teams like IT, Administration, HR and finance. This feature enables employees to raise a ticket based on the issue being experienced, which is then routed to the concerned department. The ticket remains open till the issue is resolved enabling the manager to track the time taken to resolve an issue by the concerned department.  The feature also allows for an escalation mechanism in case an issue is not resolved within a defined time period.

A well-deployed ESS portal enables organizations to maintain a leaner HR team with higher productivity. The HR survey conducted by the Hunter Group in 2010 found that “companies with successful self service implementations reported a staff-to-employee ratio of 1:151 while companies without self service had a ratio of 1:99”. Self-service becomes an even more valuable tool when employees are provided access to update their personal information in real time. Data accuracy is higher and the system allows managers to update team information online, which is then routed automatically to HR team for approval enabling speedier transactions and better quality of service with lesser staff.

By allowing anywhere, anytime access to information and processes concerning them and their teams, businesses can make use of a powerful tool to empower employees and enable them to make better decisions. Read more on OfficeNet Portal.

Performance Management System - Empowering Transparency & Goal Accountability

A Performance Management System is designed to capture data related to the performance and professional development of employees with output focus on constructive feedback and developmental suggestions. They are customized for organizations with the aim to capture and store performance evaluation scores and employee review forms for conducting an objective review process, which includes employee’s self evaluation and participation. The basic objectives of the system include:

 1.Provide performance feedback to employee's

2.Identify training needs.

3.Customize development plans and assist in organization decision-making.

Carrying out the entire performance management process of creating, distributing, collecting and analyzing appraisal forms online, brings about greater efficiency, flexibility as well as management of the entire process. Organizations with geographically dispersed workforce find the flexibility that an online system offers, especially beneficial as it affords employee ready access to the system, irrespective of their location. 

Some of the key advantages of having an online system include:

1.Greater transparency.

2.Goal accountability.

3.Accessible from anywhere.

4.Improved decision making.

An online performance appraisal system allows access to data from anywhere, and at any time resulting in greater process efficiency as well as significant cost saving in terms of eliminating the need for paper forms and chasing people for signatures.

The performance management system allows managers to record performance data throughout the performance review period. This feature helps to provide managers with a more accurate view of an employee's performance vis-à-vis relying on memory to recall all assignments worked on by an employee during the review period, which often leads to biases of regency.

Since performance data is available to manager at all times, it is easier for managers to offer coaching or reinforcement to ensure performance and timeliness remain on track. It also makes it possible for Managers to view team metrics and make informed decisions on increments and promotions with the help of latest information. Also, an online performance management system makes it easier to fill open positions internally through proper evaluation on performance and potential.

Importantly, an online performance management system makes it possible to track goal accountability & ensure greater linkages of rewards with results. Employees can record achievements against the goals for managers to review and provide feedback allowing for greater accountability and alignment with organizational goals.

One of the biggest gains for employees with an online performance management system is the fact that it allows for greater transparency in the entire process as it maintains a record of all transactions, historic as well as current, related to a particular employee. Employees can track progress against the performance appraisal process online and can also record feedback on the system.

Modern performance appraisal systems have advanced to offer sophisticated tools and features for greater flexibility and analysis making it even simpler to generate summarized reports across various parameters. They not help monitor an employee’s progress, but also help to identify trends, that aid strategic decision-making. Read more.

A Quick Guide To An Employee Self Service System

"An empowered organization is one in which individuals have the knowledge, skill, desire, and opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to collective organizational success." --Stephen Covey

A well-designed intranet based employee Self Service system is a powerful empowering tool for employees, a relatively low cost means of building a positive association by ensuring all relevant information is available to them at the click of a finger.

In current times, with the internet making access to information instant and easy, employees and managers are simply not willing to wait for information to be made available by a HR representative in a time lag. Employee self-service as a concept, was born out of this very need of businesses to be able to access critical employee information as and when needed. The original concept was to provide an application that could:

ESS was first adopted in a big way by the IT services sector due to the availability of a significant proportion of employees with access to and possessing knowledge of computer and internet. It is particularly advantageous for large corporations with offices and employees spread out geographically across cities and countries. A well-planned and implemented Employee Self Service system provides employees, access to a diverse range of information and forms from a single login. Employee Self Service systems are increasingly evolving into technology tools enabling employees and managers to handle most of their role based data and processes.

Some key benefits of a well-developed ESS system include

Employee Self Service is no longer focused only on providing applications designed to provide relevant information in real time.  It is increasingly being used as a powerful tool for empowering employees and managers to assume greater responsibility towards their jobs as well as professional development. Career planning and growth, skills profiling, learning metrics, goal setting, performance appraisals and a host of analytics are getting added to the ESS applications. Technological advancements, particularly in web technologies, and an improved understanding of human resources, conceptualized and led by HR, but driven by the workforce have triggered this evolution in the ESS application.

A well structured and implemented Employee Self-Service system can take away a sizeable chunk of all HR transactions out of your HR department, freeing up valuable time and resources for more strategic business value adding responsibilities.

Employee Self Service is now an established Business application developed and implemented with the aim of empowering employees and reducing paperwork errors and cost. By reducing paper waste, ESS also lends itself to being an extremely popular Eco friendly initiative as more companies increasingly look for ways to 'go green'. Read more.