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How to Choose the Best HR Tech for Your Business

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Human resource management, by definition, is a people-focused business. But the right human resource management (HRM) software can pick up where people leave off, helping your department streamline operations by automating certain tasks. Whether you work for a large firm or a small business HR tech can help you in many aspects of your job, from employee recruiting and retention to powerful business insights that can help increase productivity and profits.

These exercises will help you choose the best HR software for your company—whatever its size or requirements.

Determine Your HR Technology Needs

Choosing HR software is a little like selecting the right vehicle: A home contractor wouldn’t purchase a luxury minivan to haul lumber, and the mom of tweens doesn’t need a pick-up truck to taxi kids to and from sports.

Likewise, your HRM software should meet your organization’s unique needs. You may be seeking multiple platforms to fulfill all your requirements, but if you can find software that integrates across silos, that could mean reduced costs and streamlined operations. Additionally, if your software systems have the capability to link analytics to business insights and outcomes that have real-world relevance, you’ll be more likely to get a buy-in from the c-suite and enact positive change in your organization based on the data.

How Will You Use HR Technology?

Here are some of the more common tasks HR software can accomplish, freeing up your team to focus on the strategic aspects of HR.

Employee scheduling. Even the smallest of companies will find a benefit to using HR software for employee scheduling.

Identifying qualified candidates. Today’s HR software, including programs sporting recent developments in pattern recognition and AI, can streamline much of the recruiting process. Today’s HRM software uses algorithms to find candidates across geographic borders and sift through resumes to determine which candidates might be the best fit for certain positions.

Collaboration and communication. Robust videoconferencing and unified communications software makes it easy to reach out to team members and candidates across the world.

Measure employee engagement and track performance. HRM software helps organize and analyze statistics so the HR team can see where employee engagement is falling short—and to see how engagement (or lack thereof) is affecting performance.

Capture analytics and business intelligence. It’s one thing to use HR technology to track employee engagement, but HRM software becomes really useful when HR directors use this information to create actionable insights. That’s where business intelligence (BI) software comes in. Once you go beyond embedded analytics and start tracking data across silos, you can determine how employee retention is affecting profits. You can actually put a price—and more importantly—calculate the return on investment of retention techniques.

What to Look for in HRM Software

Your choice in HRM software will be driven by the size of your companies, the number of employees you need to manage, and your budget.

Once you determine your organization’s specific needs, you’ll discover that the best HR software shares some similar characteristics. In most cases you’ll want to look for HR tech that includes:

  • Access from the cloud
  • Training or tutorials and user support
  • Security features, including encryption
  • An intuitive user experience
  • Scalability (does the software accommodate the number of users in your company now, and can it grow if needed?)

Your IT team may be able to help you find software with these specific features. But it’s important that the HR department can use the software independently without relying on the IT staff for day-to-day operations.

Indeed, the right HR software can help your team operate more efficiently. In order to accomplish that, it’s important to choose an intuitive, adaptable platform that HR staff can access from any Internet-enabled device at any time. The options are out there for organizations with any size budget. Once you hone in on your specific needs, making the choice doesn’t have to be difficult.

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HR Software: 10 Must-Have Modules and Features You Need

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The HR software an organization uses should not just be beneficial for the employer but should have added features so that employees can also benefit from it. It must be chosen with such intent that the company grows as its employees grow with it. Many organizations find themselves stuck in a limited functionality software which consumes valuable time because they do not know which modules and features the software they use should include. Here are some of the most essential and must-have modules you should be certain your HR Software includes.

  1. Recruitment Module: – Statistics say about 22 percent of employees hired leave their jobs in the first 45 days. The statistics say it all, the hiring process tops the list in the field of human resources. Include a strong Recruitment Module in your HR Software, which provides support for creating a database of the talent who will add to the company’s progress. The recruitment Module helps in creating advertisements, manages applications, administers documents, etc. The module saves time, ensures that there is no repetition of the same process and also provides following features:
  • Application Sorting System
  • Easy entry of the details with different kinds of forms
  • Configurable user access to various areas of the Application Tracking System
  • Integrated workflow management system
  1. Onboarding: Most new hires find it intimidating to interact with the management, which can leave a new employee in confusion about the new organization. This module helps familiarize staff and new hires with all onboarding requirements and allows new employees to find all the relevant employer and organization information on one platform. Here are some of the features that Onboarding module provides:
  • Automated delivery of Important details to new hires
  • Immediately sends Team-Based Tasks regarding new employees
  • Real-time paperwork tracker
  1. Performance Management: Monitoring the performance of each worker when it comes to overall efficiency is vital. Organizations should have a system that carries the detailed performance data of every employee. The Performance Management Module provides monitoring functionality and also contains the following features:
  • Manages all the reviews and feedback to the system
  • Guides for creating and filling forms
  • Provides necessary notifications to employees
  • Delivers a selective review system for individual
  1. Administration: The Administration Module manages all the details of a company’s employee benefits including healthcare, welfare, tax benefits, and other finance related options.
  2. Workforce Management: This pretty much affects the schedules within the organization. This module cannot operate alone and should be linked to another system. It makes more sense when the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and ERP(Enterprise Resource Planning) are linked to the module. The employee’s attendance records and leave schedules also make an important aspect here as they should be lined too so that the workforce management can be run efficiently with this human resource software.

HR Module

6.  Absence and Leave: This module works in alignment with the company policy. The leave schedules can be automated using the module. Booking, tracking and approving any form of time off work becomes easy. Some other features this module provides are listed below:

  • Information on leave balance for any kind of time off
  • Online application with easy access
  • Granting rights to HoD and HR department.
  • Allowing all employees to view their leave history
  1. Time and Attendance: The timings regularities, biometric information, and attendance, etc., are the parts of this module. It keeps track of the employee attendance and keeps the data secured for the future reference. Some of the most important features this module provides are mentioned below.
  • Integration with various kinds of attendance readers like biometric readers etc.
  • Calendar appearance for better visualization of employee attendance
  • Shift management platform for flexible scheduling
  • Application facilities for holidays and Short leaves
  • Management for overtime
  1. Learning and Development: Working closely with the performance management module, this module works as a base where individual training, bookings, requirement, and feedback are operated. The module also automates the process of allocated budget and the actual training expenditures. Here are some of the important features this module provides.
  • Centralization of all learning data
  • Easy to set up training sessions, schedule exams and assignments
  • Lowers the training cost
  • full visibility into the training process
  1. Talent Management: With an eye on attracting and retaining fresh talent and skilled employees, this module provides support to the HR during recruitment and succession planning. This module helps streamline the learning and development and performance management as well. This module contains details of fresh talent and their details like types of training taken, work experience, and institution from which they graduated.
  2. HR Analytics: – HR Analytics integrates with other modules of the HR Software and Other Systems to generate reports. These reports give a larger view on the overall performance so that relevant strategies can be designed to improvise the performance. This module also provides the most suitable steps to be taken and favorable predictions so that the organization can take the most suitable decision.

In addition to these important modules in the HRMS  described above, there are some crucial features you must ensure are included in your HR Software. Here are the top ten features you must have in your HR Software.

Top Ten Must-have Features in HR Software:

  1. Data Management: The Data Management feature includes employee’s complete data like medical history, leave management, PPF and EPF forms, Grievance history, and other payroll related information. The Data Management feature ensures that the HR has full employee record of anything that is relevant to the organization or the employee.
  2. Job Opening Management: This feature includes all the information for current vacancies. This feature includes Job descriptions, skills requirements for the job, and the status and number of vacancies. The Jobs are linked to various departments and followed by print media which displays the information regarding the opening.
  3. Application Management: This feature includes records and contact information of applicants related to a job opening, progress in the interview process, the line up of the interview process, Audit records and finally, employment form which may include acceptance letter and details required before joining.
  4. Company Documents Management: The human resource software also ensures that all relevant company’s information is well managed. The legal documents, Holiday lists, business documents, policies, benefits and insurance related information are the features covered under the software.
  5. HR Related Documents: The main feature of any HR software is to ensure consistency and compatibility. This feature manages employees and applicant information in PDF format under the employee’s name and number, and ensures data transfer in secure and easily convertible format.
  6. Project Management: Every project requires attention and separate tracking for Project sheets, Task management, Team management, progress analysis, etc. The Project Tracking feature allows a business to analyze a project’s effectiveness at a later stage—allowing a company to make relevant decisions about the project with access to the data.
  7. Employee Termination Process: Employees that leave the organization should be send-off with a process to ensure that no problem is faced at a later stage. All companies follow a code of conduct and a distinct process as far as employee termination is concerned. The management of employee process checklist, generation of the start of the process, tracking the whole process, status change, etc., are undertaken by the HR software and executed properly.
  8. HR Checklist: The HR software helps the HR managers to execute their daily activities efficiently. The daily tasks may include certain reminders, updates on events, training scheduling, and integration amongst department, resource sharing and many more. The software allows a checklist with some inbuilt activities along with an option to add to this list so that the daily activities and emails or reminders send out in time. Amidst the bigger activities, the small and medium sized business sometimes overlooks the importance of these daily tasks which is ensured using a great software.
  9. Shared Database: HR Software features of integration makes the database complete. The employees can fill their own information related to the leaves taken, working schedules and any other using a login designed especially for them. This allows the accuracy of data, and also cut down on dependency, adding to the HR checklist a daily reminder for such activity can be made so that the efficiency and effectiveness can be maintained.
  10. Safety Management: Cloud-based services undertake safety as a profoundly serious activity. The management of these databases on a virtual and shared platform raises doubts in the minds of the users. The software works under high protection, there is a security process that is followed, and the codes and passwords are created with great precision. The data that is transmitted or received is done in encrypted form, and there is a continuous update that ensures that there is no threat to the system.

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#TChat Preview: Three Steps to Selecting the Right HR Technology

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The TalentCulture #TChat Show is back live on Wednesday, October 14th, 2015, from 1-2 pm ET (10-11 am PT).

Last week we talked about why sourcing referrals can improve retention and this week we’re going to discuss the three steps to selecting the right HR technology with this week’s guest: Mary Delaney, President, Recruitment Software Solutions at CareerBuilder.

Selecting the right HR technology can be a daunting task, whether it’s a new solution or a replacement system. So many things have to be considered in this complex ecosystem relationship — cloud computing, best of breed and integrated HR and talent acquisition and management systems, and more.

Sneak Peek:

#TChat Events: Three Steps to Selecting the Right HR Technology

TChatRadio_logo_020813#TChat Radio — Wed, Oct 14th — 1 pm ET / 10 am PT

Join TalentCulture #TChat Show co-founders and co-hosts Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman as they talk about the three steps to selecting the right HR technology with this week’s guest: Mary Delaney, President, Recruitment Software Solutions at CareerBuilder.

 

 

Tune in LIVE online Wednesday, Oct 14th

#TChat Twitter Chat — Wednesday, October 14th — 1:30 pm ET /10:30 am PT Immediately following the radio show, Meghan, Kevin, Joe and Ivan will move to the #TChat Twitter stream, where we’ll continue the discussion with the entire TalentCulture community. Everyone with a Twitter account is invited to participate, as we gather for a dynamic live chat, focused on these related questions:

Q1: What’s trending in HR tech this year and what should HR buyers consider? #TChat (Tweet this Question)

Q2: Before buying or replacing HR technology, what should companies do first? #TChat (Tweet this Question)

Q3: What should HR buyers include in an HR technology business case? #TChat (Tweet this Question)

Until then, we’ll keep the discussion going on the #TChat Twitter feed, our TalentCulture World of Work Community LinkedIn group, and in our TalentCulture G+ community. So feel free to drop by anytime and share your questions, ideas and opinions. See you there!!!

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Be An HR Technology Software Myth-Buster

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It’s amazing sometimes that we actually ever progress beyond wishful thinking and myths perpetuated by us. I’ve been in the HR technology space for almost 16 years now, and we never fail to fail. Meaning, we never fail to hypothesize and perpetuate that most HR and talent acquisition practitioners hate their tools and technologies are always looking for something better.

And that us, the HR technology vendors, are unethical and difficult to trust – i.e., it was the worst mistake every that we signed on with that vendor.

And yet, according to enlightening new research shared on the TalentCulture #TChat Show by KeyInterval Research co-founders William Tincup and John Sumser, almost 80 percent of HR buyers and nearly 90 percent of CEOs don’t think their software is lousy. And less than 10 percent of practitioners believe that more than half their software is lousy. Plus, the same research revealed that 87 percent of practitioners say that they enjoy their relationships with HR Tech Vendors. (This being from a survey size of well over 1K.)

The research also revealed that over 70 percent of respondents from larger organizations “Often” or “Always” felt that their HR software delivered what the vendor promised. And because in larger organizations software complexity is greatest, this is yet another positive sign that we’re (the vendors) are getting it right, no matter how much we want to say our competitors are getting it wrong.

What’s interesting to me is that John and William point out we (the vendors) are in constant improvement mode for customers – what’s the roadmap look like and what new features and functionality are coming, that we have to keep innovating or die. Forget the fact that, at least from KeyInterval’s data, HR buyers are pretty satisfied with their products and relationships, and why user data, adoption and satisfaction are so much more valuable than major software releases three times per year and other such updates.

There’s so much more counterintuitive and myth-busting data in the KeyInterval Research that I can’t wait for what’s coming the rest of 2015; this first report was only for January.

Of course there are those customers who wish they’d made a different software purchasing decision other than the train wreck they just invested in and deployed painfully. But if the KeyInterval Research is any indication, those are fewer than we’ve been led to believe. It doesn’t mean that my software company can’t beat up out your software company, because they can and will (of course, right?).

But we also should also continue to do what we do well, serve our customers’ needs while not only reinvesting in future innovative features with potential high adoption rates, but also reinvesting in our creative and collaborative relationships that will always deliver a higher return for all (and why we have customer advisory boards).

Because as I’ve written before, business thrives when customer communication and education are constant and engagement and retention are high. Your customers are a very special group of investors who count on some kind of return in short order – streamline their processes, save them time, money and more.

In the HR technology marketplace, customers want better hires, a smarter workforce, strong leadership, diversity of thought, agile innovation and so much more.

Deliver on that and you’re an HR technology software myth-buster.

About the Author: Kevin W. Grossman co-founded and co-hosts the highly popular weekly TalentCulture #TChat Show with Meghan M. Biro. He’s also currently the Product Marketing Director for Total Talent Acquisition products at PeopleFluent.

photo credit: A modern hacker #1 via photopin (license)

 

#TChat Recap: Realities Of HR-Vendor Relationships

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A new reality is upon us.

According to new KeyInterval Research, HR departments are looking more like a purchasing departments and becoming quite skilled at managing vendor relationships.

But only a small fraction of those vendor-practitioner relationships produce high levels of excellence and return on investment.

This week’s #TChat guests: William Tincup and John Sumser, long-time HR and recruiting industry luminaries, friends and the founders of KeyInternal Research, shared the realities of the ideal HR-vendor relationship with our community.

Our attention must turn from the vendor landscape to the practitioner reality at the intersection between HR and technology. That reality is all about relationships.

But is HR getting better at managing their vendor relationships?

Connecting and building these essential HR-vendor relationships are facilitated by access to cloud, social, and mobile technologies.

Not everyone agrees that relationship management is getting better. HR must still battle bad practices and resistance to innovation.

Leadership can start relationship-building by prioritizing end-user satisfaction: satisfaction means quality adoption. Invest in the right technology and implement an application that works.

The most successful HR implementations are when they align with business outcomes.

The right HR software aligned with business outcomes, prioritizing end-user satisfaction, and leading with an open and positive mindset, are the essential components for creating lasting and meaningful HR-vendor relationships.

See What The #TChat Community Said About HR Vendor Relationships:

What’s Up Next? #TChat Returns Wednesday, March 25th!

#TChat Radio Kicks Off at 7pm ET / 4pm PT — Our weekly radio show runs 30 minutes. Usually, our social community joins us on Twitter as well. The topic: The Predictive Power HR Can Bring

#TChat Twitter Kicks Off at 7:30pm ET / 4:30pm PT — Our halfway point begins with our highly engaging Twitter discussion. We take a social inside look at our weekly topic. Everyone is welcome to share their social insights #TChat.

Join Our Social Community & Stay Up-to-Date!

The TalentCulture conversation continues daily on Twitter, in our LinkedIn group, and on our Google+ community. Engage with us anytime on our social networks or stay current with trending World of Work topics through our weekly email newsletter. Signing up is just a click away!

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5 Tips To Selecting The Right HR Technology

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The challenges and opportunities for HR and Leadership teams have never been greater.  Potential hires have more job screening tools and work choices than ever before.  Meanwhile, organizations must contend with an employment pool that is global in scope.  If things weren’t daunting enough, technology is evolving faster than our ability to process and adapt to it.  Well, almost.  So, how does someone in HR select the right technology for their organization?  Here are five things to consider:

1)    Find the Best Talent Regardless of Geography:  Companies that select top talent will have the brainpower to adapt, innovate and manage technological change.  Today, professional social networks are fast becoming the go-to source for quality candidates.  As a result, companies need global recruiting software systems that can share job openings with multiple social networks, screen candidates and streamline the interview process.  In the old days, job seekers came to you.  Today, you must market your company’s brand to potential hires.  This is the new landscape.  Get used to it.

2)    Employee Engagement and Talent Analytics:  Smart workforce systems can help organize workflow, enhance internal communication and evaluate performance.  Put simply, software that can analyze employee profiles (including skills, interest, and performance metrics) will help organizations better forecast employee potential, build more cohesive teams and provide more timely feedback. Companies need to measure and track employee performance.  Too many employees fail to appreciate how their performance directly aligns with their company’s goals.  HR technology can make the connection between employee accomplishment and corporate success more explicit.  In short, talent analytics helps improve employee engagement, which is directly tied to a company’s performance.

3)    Collaboration:  Today, the workplace is anywhere the connected worker is.  Organizations need to accommodate mobile devices and enable collaborative platforms.  In this regard, Cloud technology is indispensable.  Employees need an interface that is intuitive, a great experience and seamless with all the devices they use on the job.  Whether it is communicating internally with management or remotely with peers across the globe via video, workers need tools that foster collaboration.

4)    Maximize Flexibility:  Value flextime, telecommuting and tools that allow your employees to collaborate across distances.  Technologies that enhance flexibility will motivate employees and attract the right talent.

5)    Going Global: The workplace of today is global.  Geography is no longer a barrier to working at the company of your choice.  Working remotely is becoming routine.  Consequently, HR departments need to cope with a variety of regulatory requirements governing payrolls, hiring practices, and the like.  Systems that can safeguard and automate these functions will help HR departments do their jobs more effectively and efficiently.

Technology is disruptive, but it is also essential to solving the challenges businesses face today.  HR departments need to harness the most promising technologies in order to identify and attract the brightest talent, to improve workflow, foster collaboration and manage change in a global environment.  Getting technology to work for your company is essential; otherwise it will be working against you.

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#TChat Preview: Realities Of HR-Vendor Relationships

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The TalentCulture #TChat Show is back live on Wednesday, March 25, 2015, from 7-8 pm ET (4-5 pm PT). The #TChat radio portion runs the first 30 minutes from 7-7:30 pm ET, followed by the #TChat Twitter chat from 7:30-8 pm ET.

HR departments and leaders deal with a new reality today. A reality that consists of complex relationship ecosystems that use a combination of insourcing and outsourcing as the only way to get their actual work done.

According to new KeyInterval Research, a practitioner centric market research firm founded by William Tincup and John Sumser, HR Department increasingly looks like a purchasing department with a specific set of subject matter expertise. So, HR is getting increasingly good at managing vendors and other relationships that cause work to be done by people who are not direct members of the HR Team (employees).

Join TalentCulture #TChat Show co-founders and co-hosts Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman as we learn about the realities of the Ideal HR-vendor relationship with this week’s guests: William Tincup and John Sumser, long-time HR and recruiting industry luminaries and the founders of KeyInternal Research, a practitioner centric market research firm.

William is a Principal Analyst with KeyIntervalR building maps of the intersection of HR and technology.

John is also a Principal Analyst at KeyInterval Research and digs into the realities of HR Practitioner experience with technology. He is also the Editor of  HRExaminer.

Sneak Peek:

We hope you’ll join the #TChat conversation this week and share your questions, opinions and ideas with our guests and the TalentCulture Community.

#TChat Events: The Realities Of Ideal HR-Vendor Relationships

TChatRadio_logo_020813#TChat Radio — Wed, March 25th — 7 pm ET / 4 pm PT Tune in to the #TChat Radio show with our hosts, Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman, as they talk with our guests: William Tincup and John Sumser.

Tune in LIVE online Wednesday, March 25th!

#TChat Twitter Chat — Wed, March 25th — 7:30 pm ET / 4:30 pm PT Immediately following the radio show, Meghan, Kevin, William, and John will move to the #TChat Twitter stream, where we’ll continue the discussion with the entire TalentCulture community. Everyone with a Twitter account is invited to participate, as we gather for a dynamic live chat, focused on these related questions:

Q1: Is HR getting better at managing their vendor relationships? Why or why not? #TChat (Tweet this Question)

Q2: How should companies prioritize software cost, implementation speed and end-user adoption? #TChat (Tweet this Question)

Q3: How can companies better understand how HR software drives business outcomes? #TChat (Tweet this Question)

Until the show, we’ll keep the discussion going on the #TChat Twitter feed, our TalentCulture World of Work Community LinkedIn group, and in our new TalentCulture G+ community. So feel free to drop by anytime and share your questions, ideas and opinions. See you there!!