Most businesses today are stuck in the siloed data when it comes to HR management. As a result, they face an array of technical, financial, and operational barriers when they try to move their HR processes to the cloud.
However, there are also a substantial amount of benefits to be had once all HR processes are automated with appropriate technology. But, depending solely on generic and rigged HR software comparisons listed on the web is a recipe for disaster.
In order to pick the right HR software, businesses need to verify whether or not the solution includes the set of desirable HR software features that can manifest desirable benefits that align with an organization’s business objectives.
1. Centralized storage
Most HR processes involve an array of stakeholders ranging from employees to managers and the HR team. When handled using disparate tools, it will lead to siloed data which eventually impacts the accuracy rate, process time, and data quality. As a result, it causes long drawn out HR process cycles, missed deadlines, and even compliance issues.
A cloud-based HR solution allows organizations to create, manage, and maintain a centralized database that could be accessed at any time from anywhere. Cloud solutions are scalable, cost-effective, and free from software updates and installation hassles. It will not only simplify data accessibility but also streamline and speed up all HR management processes.
| Features to look for | Cloud database, auto backup, omni-channel access, and workforce scheduler |
| How it adds value | No data silos, empowered employees, managed backups, and improved accessibility |
2. Streamlined processes
Chaos and confusion reign when organizations depend on outdated or disparate tools to manage their HR processes. Without visibility into aspects like employee leave data and approval status, functional managers and HR teams lack the information required to effectively forecast workforce availability.
An effective HR management system will resolve process bottlenecks with enforced accountability and role-based accessibility. This will ensure that confidential HR data stays protected while relevant stakeholders have the visibility of the progress to keep HR processes moving forward.
| Features to look for | Role-based access, progress tracking, configurable notifications, audit trails, and deadline monitoring |
| How it adds value | Engaged employees, process transparency, and deadline adherence |
3. Customizable interface
Every organization works a bit differently and has a unique set of processes. Packaged HR solutions aren’t capable of offering unique solutions that cater to specific problems and needs of an HR process. This leads to a growing need for cloud-based HR solutions that can be customized to tweaked to workaround unique HR needs.
A customizable HR tool will make it easy for HR professionals to modify builtin processes and workflows to meet their organization’s unique HR requirements. However, choosing a complex HR solution that needs a trained IT professional to customize is counterproductive. An effective HR tool must come with a user-centric design that enables business users to modify its facets as and when required.
| Features to look for | Visual workflow builder, drag and drop tools, customizable form fields, builtin custom reports |
| How it adds value | Empowered HR team, lower implementation time, high user experience, no learning curve |
4. Employee self-service
Managing employee data manually has become a thing of the past. When employees have to go to their managers or the HR team department for every small clarification, it is a waste of time for both managers and employees.
An automated HR management tool that comes with an employee portal, however, proves how much you value them because it makes their lives easy by offering them more visibility into the status of their leave request or timesheets while giving functional managers greater control over the communication itself.
What’s more, with an employee interface, HR leaders can forego the tedious process of manual data reconciliation. Automatic data import/export minimizes data redundancy and human errors in the organization. A flexible HR management tool that seamlessly syncs data by scanning data history, deduplicating, and updating without intervention is the need of the hour.
| Features to look for | Employee profile, leave requests, timesheets, employee help desk, benefits, and compliance management. |
| How it adds value | Eliminate data redundancy, reduce manual intervention, streamline data reconciliation |
5. Performance management
As team size becomes large, procurement managers don’t have the time to track the performance of each employee manually. Infrequent feedback and manual performance reviews demand a considerable amount of data maintenance leaving a huge burden on the HR team. Failing to identify and resolve subpar performance can lead to a number of complications.
With an automated performance management module that collects, stores, and displays up-to-date, consistent information about employee performance, functional managers can finally break up with spreadsheets. Businesses can analyze enriched employee performance data to retrieve deeper insights, identify turnover risks, and spot improvement opportunities.
| Features to look for | Goal management, 360-degree reviews, check-ins, qualitative reviews, employee self-appraisals |
| How it adds value | Reduce ambiguity, collect 360-degree reviews, eliminate favoritism and bias, create a performance-driven culture |
6. Automated calculations
An HR solution that depends on too many manual interventions and spreadsheets and emails is subject to human errors and associated risks. In a people-based system, where calculations are handled using complicated formulas, processes are exposed to the risk of inaccurate calculations, payroll errors, and more.
An effective HR tool, on the other hand, will reduce the workload of the HR team by automating administrative tasks such as field-level arithmetic calculations, approval routing, and deadline adherence.
| Features to look for | Tax calculator, powerful rule engine, functions, and formula, transformation builders |
| How it adds value | Reduce manual errors, improve process accuracy, reduce administrative overhead |
7. Interoperability
Most traditional HR solutions are stand-alone software with poor integration capabilities. Connecting it with other third-party tools is challenging and it demands a lot of time, effort, and money.
An HRMS must not only keep HR processes in line, but it must also create alignment and streamline communication within the organization. Seamless integration of an HR Management software with other important modules will improve the efficiency of an HR department multifold. Interoperability allows all other business software to use the data keyed into an HR Management solution effectively.
| Features to look for | Built-in connectors, process, and step-level triggers, activity dashboard for integrations, ongoing sync between modules |
| How it adds value | Boost the efficiency of HR processes, increased productivity, better management, and analysis, low cost, improved staff satisfaction |
8. Dynamic reports
Siloed tools like emails, spreadsheets, and chat threads dismantle data and don’t offer complete visibility into any HR process. As a result, HR managers and other decision-makers aren’t privy to information like employee performance, turnover trends, and other things that offer actionable insights into their workforce.
HR management tools need to come with a builtin reporting tool that will empower organizations to turn data into compelling stories, motivate action, and encourage data-driven changes. Merely creating and retrieving insights isn’t enough, an ideal tool will deliver critical operational insights and trends to respective stakeholders with the right level of detail and the right time.
By gathering key metrics like cost per hire, job satisfaction metrics, people analytics, employee exit ratio, businesses can identify key employee retention techniques, analyze patterns, and gain actionable insights to improve the efficiency of HR processes.
| Features to look for | Pivot tables, Ad-hoc reports, geospatial mapping, executive dashboards, interactive reports |
| How it adds value | Improve smart decision making, increase employee retention, measure the effectiveness of campaigns |
9. Parallel branches
HR processes are inherently complex in nature. A specific workflow might need the authorization or approval of more than one person to complete a specific request. But it is not prudent to let one person approve it before the other stakeholder sees the request.
To solve this pain-point and dispatch the requests simultaneously, it is essential to notify them both at the same time. An all-in-one HR automation tool will eliminate this complexity with the help of parallel branches. Parallel branches enable the continuous delivery of workflow and make sure that no one bypasses a workflow step to speed up the process.
| Features to look for | Process nodes, parallel branches, add actions or stakeholders or steps, customize workflows in meta level |
| How it adds value | Empower employees, ensure stakeholder accountability, enforce process guidelines |
Kissflow HR Cloud: The perfect partner to your HR management software
There are chances that your prospective HR management software misses one or more of these essential solutions. In such cases, rather than stubbornly waiting for the perfect tool to be made, or opting for expensive IT customizations, it is wise to look for a simple workaround: a customizable HR Cloud.
If your desired HR management software lacks dismissable capabilities, like employee engagement tools, then there is no need to bother much. But, if it is a simple yet essential option like an employee self-service tool, then you need to find a powerful yet customizable solution like Kissflow HR Cloud that integrates with your desired third-party tools to bridge important process gaps.
Why do HR departments around the world love Kissflow? Sign up today to see how Kissflow HR Cloud can empower your HR team.
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