Huge advances are being made in technology every year, and smart firms are keeping pace. Well thought-out schemes with careful rollouts can give your businesses huge returns. Research suggests that employee satisfaction is also strongly influenced by the availability of useful ‘tech’.
However, it is important that you are leveraging this technology in beneficial ways. Here’s some thoughts.
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Not Just Hardware
It is easy to assume that ‘tech’ is just the physical gadgets – smart phones or new computers – but in fact there are a lot of things that fall under the software umbrella. For example, web-based Human Resources technology can make a big difference to many employees. Self-service systems empower individuals and provide them with information at their fingertips and also free up HR personnel to work on other things without being bogged down in paper-heavy administrative tasks.
What is Self-Service?
Put simply, a self-service system is a web-based program that allows employees to access and update information about themselves and their employment. It also allows them to find important information regarding their employment, such as benefits information, perks, and other useful information. Instead of having to rely on a HR employee to help, an employee can simply find the information themselves.
Personal Information
Employers need to store information such as address and contact details, next of kin, emergency contacts and various other data. Addresses, in particular, need to be updated regularly, and if an employee can update their own information, it saves unnecessary paperwork coming into the HR department. It is also quicker, as the ‘middle man’ is removed.
Some program even include salary and tax information, so an employee can check these are as expected. Pay slips can be uploaded and stored online so a person has instant access to them at work if necessary, and they can see their salary history, too. CIPHR employee self service packages offer great flexibility when it comes to what is included, so you get a package that suits your needs.
A Cost Effective Solution
So much paperwork can be saved by giving employees the ability to request holidays, change personal information, or even apply for internal job postings and this can significantly lower the administrative costs of a business, depending on its size.
On the downside, it also cuts down on the amount of interaction between the HR department and other parts of the business, so there are things to consider before your company invests in a self-service program.
Training
In the long term admin will be reduced, but initially there will be a lot of time taken up training everyone to use the program to a level where they are confident to access their information. Some will take to it easier than others, and some may be very resistant to change, preferring to come into the HR department anyway. Once current employees are up to speed, it can form part of the orientation for new-hires.
You will also need to ensure that all employees have access to a computer in order to access their information, privately, even if their job does not require a computer.
Take a look at the various programs available, and assess what will work best in your business. Choose the right one and you’ll find yourself asking what took you so long.
Have you considered automating the HR functions of your start-up?
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