Although consumers are indispensable to keeping a company in business, it’s the talent hired by an organization that ensures it runs efficiently. There are certain tools that are essential to properly managing this human capital, and human resource software is one of the most important. Numerous options are available for businesses seeking the best human resource software, but there are also several things to consider before making a final decision.
1. Scalability
Recent statistics show a yearly growth rate of 7.8 percent in companies with annual revenue under $5 million. This is great news for smaller businesses, but regardless of organizational size, it’s essential to consider scalability when choosing a human resource software solution.
Every entrepreneur hopes that their company will continue to grow, but if they’ve chosen an enterprise solution geared towards organizations with 50 or fewer employees, what happens when they have 75 people on staff? Since 60 percentOpens a new window of HR software purchasers have fewer than 250 employees, there’s no doubt that growth is desired and scalability required.
Eventually, they’ll have to upgrade to another vendor. This is why it’s vital to seek out a human resource software solution that is scalable with a company’s growth. This ensures business can continue as usual – regardless of growth rate – without having to roll out a brand-new program in a few years.
2. Get the Right Modules
Even if two companies were to select the same human resource software, they wouldn’t necessarily be using the same program. This is because two organizations can select different modules to fit their specific needs. Modules are essentially mini programs within a larger software suite, and they allow entrepreneurs to customize the solution that’s right for them.
Maybe a company simply needs basic HR functionality. Then again, they may want their program to handle performance management, expenses or a variety of other essential business processes. The main goal is for an organization to decide what they want in their human resource software solution and then find one that offers the appropriate modules.
3. Update Availability
Everyone has seen a popup on their computer requesting that they download new updates. When it comes to operating systems, this is typically an occasional and free process that keeps everything running smoothly. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case for human resource software.
When researching which solution they want for their organization, entrepreneurs may notice that not all vendors offer free updates. This can essentially turn into paying for a new program every time an update is available. It’s important to take note of whether updates are included with any given solution.
It’s worth noting that software as a service (SaaS) cloud solutions typically offer free updates. Since at least 50 percent of human resource budgetsOpens a new window were spent on cloud-based HR systems in 2017, free updates are a great cost-saving measure.
4. Self-Service Options
While self-service options aren’t an essential part of human resource software, most companies that utilize these tools find them invaluable. Scheduling performance reviews, handling time-off requests and reporting in sick are all unavoidable tasks in the HR world, but handling them manually can require large amounts of man hours.
Fortunately, many HR software solutions have self-service functionality built in. This will allow employees to update their own information, and managers will still have the option to review these changes before making anything permanent.
5. Mobile Functionality
Tablets and smartphones have revolutionized technology, and this is especially true in the business world. In fact, some companies are even moving towards running their whole organization via digital app. This is likely why more than half of organizationsOpens a new window replacing their HR software are doing so to access improved capabilities like mobile functionality.
The fact of the matter is that people are working outside of the office more and more. Of course, they will still need access to corporate tools. By finding a human resource software solution that allows HR professionals to utilize their mobile devices, organizations will ensure they’re always on top of what’s going on.
6. Training and Onboarding
Although organizations have their own devoted teams of HR professionals, there’s still typically a need for other employees to have limited access to human resource software. In fact, implementing self-service options essentially makes this mandatory. Unfortunately, less than 20 percent of organizationsOpens a new window allow all employees access to these HR software tools.
Additionally, training is a huge part of onboarding. Fortunately, human resource software has been shown to save over $5,000 a year for companies who only hire 30 new employees annually. These savings can rack up exponentially as additional workers are hired. This means an offering of several training modules is essential.
7. Software Compatibility
No part of an organization exists within a vacuum, and this includes the enterprise software that it utilizes. Companies will obviously need several software solutions to accomplish all of their essential functions, but it’s important to ensure that these programs will integrate with each other or at least be compatible without sacrificing functionality.
Integration isn’t always possible. After all, some programs’ functionality will have nothing to do with another’s. The important thing is to seek out compatibility and ensure two solutions won’t cause issues with each other. Whether a software suite focuses on enterprise messaging systems (EMS), customer relationship management (CRM) or enterprise resource planning (ERP), all of these tools should work efficiently together.
Pick the Right Human Resource Software
From scalability to company-oriented modules, there are a variety of considerations that organizations should take into account before selecting a human resource software provider. Choosing the right solution from the start will mean happier employees, improved workflow efficiency and the simplification of processes that are typically time-consuming (e.g. benefit enrollment). When it comes to human resource software, a bit of proactive research can go a long way.