A recent survey by Bank of America Merrill Lynch stated that 61% of companies are spending more time on HR related tasks and processes now than they were two years ago. There are now more and more tasks that have to be completed on a daily basis, and they just keep getting piled onto one another. Here are just a few examples of when you should probably switch over to a cloud-based, automated HR platform.
It’s pretty apparent when what you’re doing simply… isn’t working anymore. Taking days to complete a single request, hours and hours of filing paperwork, or having to answer the same question day in and day out are some examples.
Everyone dreads HR audits, but they really are critical as they are effectively checking the health and efficiency of your business. If your audits are taking weeks (or worse, months!) to complete, or result in fines, it’s probably a good time to look at a better – automated – way.
Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up."
- A. A. Milne
Companies are bought, sold, and merged every day. Despite how commonplace it is, acquisitions and mergers still bring about uncertainty for all involved -- not to mention a whole heck of a lot of paperwork. Having to sort through not one, but two companies' different policies, benefits, and taxes is a significant burden.
Having an automated HR process in place will relieve some of the stresses by making it easier to provide job descriptions, benefits packages, and policies to the new company.
Coming from experience, this is a horrifically inaccurate way to keep track of attendance. There have been times where someone would “call in” via emailing their supervisor. They still wound up getting paid for a full days’ work because the word didn’t make it past the supervisor, whom didn’t forward the request to HR. The worst part? This happened more than once and nothing was ever done to correct it.
Instead of dealing with the stresses of tracking down emails, relaying information, or illegible handwriting (more on that below), imagine the simplicity of having all employees sign into a single portal where they can see the current amount of time off they’re allowed, which days in the past they’ve taken, and give them the ability to request days off. Refreshing, isn’t it?
While it may not seem like a big deal, take a moment to imagine: an employee needs to take a few days off. He pencils in his request, but as you squint through the scribbles you can’t tell if it says he needs off the 10th through the 16th or if it says the 10th though the 13th. Unable to confirm, you put him in for three days of pay. When he returns he finds he wasn’t paid for three days because of a miscommunication... or rather, his chicken scratch.
It isn’t just paid time off where this can happen, either. It can also be when filing for benefits, or even writing letters. It’s best to just have it all electronically.
In this day and age, appraisals are getting to be more and more of a requirement rather than an idea. Employees crave feedback, and if they don’t receive it, they become aloof and more likely to jump ship to someone who will appreciate their work more. Having an appraisal process is critical in maintaining employee satisfaction, and an automated one makes it easier to track, manage, and document things that employees excel (or need work) in.