Modern Human Resources departments are all very advanced and efficient. You have to handle many versatile tasks, which demand the use of many different kinds of software. Doing everything manually is always an option, but it also takes a lot of time. Plus, it also requires incidental expenses for materials, power, etc. On the whole, using software is much easier.
Now, you will be tempted to get a one-size-fits-all HR solution from a vendor simply because the software suite can do everything you need it to. On the surface, this will be a good thing. You won’t have to buy separate software for different jobs. It’s cheaper too, but is it worth it?
The one prerequisite for being a jack-of-all-trades is that you can’t be a master of one. When it comes to HR software, this means an out-of-the-box suite will not have the depth of features when compared to any specialized software. This is not desirable, as you want to have these features in order to properly and efficiently do your job. This is where custom HR solutions come into play.
This article will tell you everything you need to know about custom HR software: what it is, what it does, and how to choose the right tools for the job.
HR software refers to a group of digital solutions that allow HR managers to spend less time doing the same task manually. This means that by incorporating custom software for HR into your toolkit, you will get more time to work on other things that are important.
HR software has been around since the 1970s, but it is accessible and easy to use now. This software takes care of many tasks that can be rather annoying to complete otherwise. Some of these tasks include:
These are just a bare few of the multitude of things custom HR tools can do. In light of this, is it any wonder that workplaces worldwide aim for better and improved HR software?
Now, given the variety of tasks we have seen HR software handle, it necessitates different kinds of software specializing in different things. And that is indeed how things are. In this section, we will show you the major kinds of HR software you will see and what exactly they do:
It is probably the most important duty of all. Your employees need to be paid for everything they do, and benefits software covers this. Among other things, it also looks after payroll, compensation, leave, medical insurance, pension funds, retirement, etc. This is an absolute must-have for any HR manager.
As the name suggests, these are the tools that help you out with every sphere related to recruitment and employment. You need help to sort through the many dozens of resumes that will come your way, and this is the way to do it. Applicant tracking systems (the backbone of your department), as well as maintaining a job board, are primary functions that such software takes care of.
These are the tools that help you track the performance of each of your employees, whether it is to review or reward them. The main pillars of this kind of software suite include performance appraisal, 360-degree feedback, and employee recognition. As an HR manager, this is a truly essential thing.
A workforce that remains static throughout its lifetime is never going to evolve or improve. Training software takes care of the growth potential of the workforce, teaching them skills and tracking their growth. Learning management, course authoring, and onboarding make up the most important uses of this kind of software.
Software that has to do with talent forms a huge subset because of the variety of tasks they perform. This is the category that payroll, integration, talent management, recruiting, training, scheduling, benefits, and every other talent management-related thing falls under. As you can imagine, the one-size-fits-all software solutions also fall under this category.
This is software that helps you manage your daily activities. These include attendance tracking, time and expense management, employee scheduling and engagement tracking, as well as workforce management.
These are the broad strokes of the kinds of HR software there are. There are a whole lot more where that came from, but this should be enough to give you an idea about just how essential HR software is to the healthy functioning of the department and the company as a whole.
As an HR manager, there are innumerable benefits to using HR custom tools. We have covered the variety of tasks that this software can handle, but if you are wondering what benefits this leads to, we will tell you briefly a few ways in which they do. Let’s check it out:
By using this kind of custom HR software, your HR department will run much smoother and faster than before. Tasks will be done quicker, and you will eliminate the need for repeated data entry and typos. Resulting from that, the need to manually do everything will lessen and give you more time to focus on other equally important tasks, further boosting the output of the company as a whole.
If the HR system runs smoothly thanks to the automation and integration of custom software, it gives you more time to ensure that the rest of the workplace runs just as smoothly. If you can achieve that, your employees will be the ones to benefit. Getting paid on time, requesting leave remotely, etc., are all gifts that boost productivity and efficiency on their parts.
By automating the process, you will save yourself and others a lot of time and effort. This is time and free hands that you can invest elsewhere. By carefully sharing the load, you will be able to get more done with less and boost the efficiency of your department and company many-fold. On top of that, having good data reduces the risk of errors and time wasted dealing with those, too.
Having access to data from so many integrated systems without the hassle of maintaining them all individually will give you a lot of information to work with. If you use it right, you will be able to decide better where to put your attention and resources based on what is already being done.
You will have all your relevant data in one place, ready to be accessed at a moment’s notice. This gives you a look at the wider picture and allows you to plan accordingly to meet regulations. Whether it be payment of leave distribution, you will be in a better position to plan for every regulation thrown at you.
By now, you will have realized just how important custom HR tools are to the betterment of the HR department and the functioning of the company as a whole. You might want to invest in them in order to maximize your own output. However, please keep in mind that not all software is the same.
There are all kinds of software out there, and in order to know which is a better fit for you, you will need to do some research. There are many parameters through which you can decide whether a software solution is right for you. Some of these, the most important ones, have been listed below for you:
This is the most important thing that you need to consider. As the person who will be using this software most, you need to know whether these apps will be difficult to pick up. The easier they are to use, the less time you will have to invest in learning the ropes, and the quicker it will be to maximize its output. This also makes it easier to teach to the rest of your department.
We have been discussing the uses of custom software, not a one size fits all solution. When you get specialist software for different needs, you need to make sure that these different software solutions can work well with each other. You will have to integrate them together for better access, so it is useless to get software that will freeze if used together. Do some proper research into what software goes well with each other and base your opinions on ease of integration rather than anything else.
Stagnation is your enemy. You want your company to grow and evolve, and you should get software that allows you to do so. If you get a specific software that works when you’re small but fails to be effective when you grow after a few years, you’ll be forced to get a new one and learn it from scratch all over again. This serves absolutely nobody, and you need to be privy to this before you select a system and invest in it completely. Planning for the future is mandatory in this field.
This is a biggie. While getting specialized software for everything and then integrating them together will give you the best performance and efficiency, this method is also the most expensive. Prices vary, so do your research so as to not break your bank. On top of this is the question of return on investment. You are putting a lot of resources into this software, but is it worth it? Do you think it will be worth it? If there is not enough return on investment, then you will have accrued some losses. So, choose wisely when you’re out looking for your software.
You are literally creating a new system of administration, and it will take you some time and resources to get it up and running. The longer it takes to set up, the longer you will have to do things in an inefficient way. So, your aim should be to set these up as fast as you can and with the lowest possible amount of effort. This gives you a head start at maximizing what you get out of your new system.
At the end of the day, what you are buying is software. It will have its fair share of bugs and things that go wrong. It is in times like these that you realize that it is a blessing to have a vendor who offers support. Look up reviews before buying anything and see whether the customers are satisfied with after-sale services. If the vendor provides regular patches and updates that deal with bugs, then you know that you have a good deal.
Investing in custom HR solutions will put you in a much better place as far as success is concerned. If you end up needing some help with integration, then feel free to reach out to us at Lanteria. We are highly experienced with setting up integrated human resources solutions for a variety of companies and are always eager to help you out, wherever the need may be. Reach out today for a free demo!
