Digitization of HR repetitive processes: from staff administration to human resources management

15 July 2019

The last years have brought a new approach as regards employee management by the Human Resources Department.

More companies start to grasp the need to consider the employee as a valuable resource for the organization, and that it is worth investing in his development, whereas human capital is considered one of the catalysts of company progress.

We are talking, in this case, about a modern and more comprehensive approach, envisaging human resources or talent management, as compared to the more restrictive scope of staff administration activities, also called staff, personnel or employee management. The latter manages the administrative aspects pertaining to the employees’ presence in the company – which is important and necessary, but which represents only part of what we understand today by human resources management.


Staff administration or human resources (talent) management?

In the type of company using human resources management, employees and candidates are perceived as valuable resources that you need to attract to the company – in case of candidates, and afterwards you need to grow, develop, stimulate their interest and motivate them – in case of employees. Thus, processes such as recruitment, onboarding, performance assessment or professional development play important roles in this complex puzzle of employment management in the modern world.

Employees are more frequently seen as people whose life has multiple dimensions, among which the professional one; balance between all such aspects is necessary. They are encouraged to develop all their abilities, and ideally, the company’s plans should be built starting from the available and/or necessary human resources. The company is interested in their individual progress, but also in the state of mind or the way they are integrated in the team and how they work with the other colleagues. They benefit from personal development opportunities, being provided with training programs tailored according to individual needs. Employees are not regarded only as valuable individuals, but also as members of groups encouraging each other to complete the various missions they have to fulfill. Thus, we talk about “talent management” which is a significant part of human resources management, seen as a sum of the processes and activities related to people management in the company.

On the other hand, there is the traditional approach of the employee regarded as part of the company staff, more like an asset than a resource. Work division is many times present, the employee having less means of communicating with the colleagues from other departments or even cities. In the traditional variant, decisions are usually made by top management, and employees have less personal development opportunities. The focus is placed, in this case, on employee productivity and satisfaction, whereas on the other hand, there is more focus on efficiency, culture and the participation of every talent in the company development.

In the traditional company, the HR is more likely to manage the administrative details related to the employee’s presence in the organization: employment process, employment contract, payroll, various aspects related to employment laws, etc.

Irrespective of whether we can talk specifically of staff management or generally about human resources managementdigitization, by automating repetitive processes, will be a decision with a deep impact on the entire organization, with significant benefits: saving time, increased reaction and decision speed and significant cost reduction.

The company structured around the human resources management approach will benefit to the fullest from a comprehensive human resources software, whereas staff management software, with modules for staff administration, payroll and timekeeping is the first step towards the modernization of traditional companies.

A complete human resources platform, the integrated solution for HR processes digitization

Via an all-in-one human resources software, the repetitive processes in the HR department will be automated and will become easier to manage by integrating them in a single platform.

The entire trajectory of the employee in the company – starting from the beginning of the recruitment process and until the employee is given the document attesting to his/her time spent in the company upon departure – is thus monitored, and the existing data can be accessed whenever needed.

When all these stages are managed in various separate forms, the extraction, processing and correlation of various data will be difficult and time consuming, but all this can be avoided when an all-in-one platform stores all this information.


What repetitive tasks will the human resources software automate?

Let’s see which processes can be automated via the all-in-one human resources software platform.


Organization Management


An application dealing with the company structure management, with a focus on the organizational chart, allows you to define roles, positions and job descriptions in the organization, but also the matrix of competences. Once the organization chart is created, it will be accessible to all those entitled to use it, automating flows in any HR process.


Recruitment Process


A good HR system will facilitate the entire recruitment process. From recruitment sources management to quick communication, to managing posts on the social media or job boards and up to filtering the database according to pre-determined criteria or assessing candidates, the automation of the recruitment process will be beneficial for all organization members involved in the recruitment process – HR department members or managers benefiting from the recruitment.

At the same time, candidates will be offered a positive experience, contributing to strengthening the employer brand and the company’s competitive advantage. All this while making sure that all GDPR requirements are fully met.


Onboarding, the first experience as an employee in the company


The employee’s beginning period in the company is essential for shaping up a positive first image, which could contribute to a longer retention period. An HR software including an onboarding program, such as Sincron HR Software, will minimize the administrative procedure, involving automatically all persons entitled and responsible. This translates into clarity and transparence, more trust and enthusiasm!


Employee Management


The human resources application for employee management, called also staff administration app, offers, through the employee’s electronic file, a useful tool to organize all information related to employees: employment agreements, personal data and other elements from the employee’s file. You will have the possibility to access information in various formats, according to your needs. You save a lot of time by automation, in case of updating various information applicable for all employees, and it’s easier to keep track of all legal aspects that you need to handle within tight deadlines.


Time-tracking and Attendance


A time and attendance application, dealing with time-tracking and the overall employee attendance, will be useful both for the observance of the laws in force, and for easier planning of the activities in the company. The data related to every employee’s working hours and the overtime or days off will be readily available, and they are essential in calculating the wages.


Payroll


The calculation and payment of wages is one of the most time and resources consuming activities of the HR department. The payroll software will considerably reduce the time and effort meant for the process, and when purchased as an all-in-one program, it would be correlated to the other interdependent modules: time-tracking and attendance or employee management.

Furthermore, an application including self-service options for the employees facilitates the communication between the management, the HR department members and the employees.

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You will find all these processes, with the related functionalities, to release you from the repetitive tasks in the HR department, in the integrated human resources solution Sincron HR Software.

To the above, we can add the HR software solution part focused on talent management:

  • Performance management, allowing the setting of individual goals, carrying out performance assessments effectively, and devising a development plan for each employee separately. Correlating the individual goals with the company goals and the transparence brought by using a performance management system shall be beneficial for the company and for individuals. Every employee’s professional development can be channeled in the right direction, and the employees can better grasp the way in which they contribute to the company development.

  • Training management. From the initial training, through the various programs that every employee takes part in, and up to devising a training program compliant with individual evolution goals, a training management software will be a useful tool for every company seeking to capitalize its employees’ potential. A few of the benefits include the possibility to optimize investments in the HR area, by keeping a clear record of the projects, costs and feedback from multiple sources, together with updated statuses for all projects.

  • Internal communication – an internal communication tool, such as an employee portal, is beneficial for the various official communication flows but also for the informal communication. The result is that employees lose less time to find out various information, they integrate easier and they can efficiently collaborate with their colleagues from various departments.

  • The possibility to perform the most diverse analyses and reviews, along with presenting them in attractive HR reports, based on a modern, up-to-date HR Analytics tool.


Automation generates major benefits for staff administration as well

Digitization allows the automation of repetitive processes, regardless of the scale at which they occur and facilitate the use of data and statistics with a business intelligence tool (HR Analytics) to sense trends in human resource management.

As such, it should be an added value for the companies where human resources management is still equivalent, to a large extent, with staff administration or employee management, i.e. that side of HR activities envisaging mostly the administrative details of every employee.

An integrated employee management, time-tracking and payroll software will supply the specialized department with the required time and energy to solve complex problems, reducing at the same time costs and human error. Thus, the HR team can gradually take over a part adapted to the digital age, more strategic than functional, and it can increase its contribution in the “soft’ area of human resources processes.


Conclusions

The automation of repetitive processes in the HR department brings uncontested benefits as regards saving time and money, by digitizing data and automating workflows. Choosing the appropriate human resources software is an important decision for the entire organization and a long-term commitment – this is why it is important to understand as well as possible the company needs.

Current trends lean towards full and integrated solutions for the various HR verticals, but significant benefits are also obtained when the processes requiring the most time, attention and energy are automated: staff administration, payroll and timekeeping.


© 2019 Sincron HR Technologies Inc.