Technology makes our lives easier.
Whether we’re talking about the internet, self service checkouts or contactless payments, technology is revolutionising the way we live our lives. It can also help us in our professional lives too.
A few years ago many businesses would have described themselves as tech-sceptics, but successive lockdowns and remote working has shown industry leaders the power of Zoom calls, Slack and project management tools like Asana and Monday.com.
HR and Payroll teams are no strangers to tech innovations either. Lots of people-focused teams use HR and Payroll software to make their jobs easier. Whether that’s by harnessing automation, streamlining hiring processes or reducing costly compliance mistakes. HR executives and Payroll experts have relied on software to help them to do their jobs long before the pandemic changed the working landscape.
But when is a good time to update your HR or Payroll software? Your HR and payroll tools must grow and evolve to meet the changing challenges your organisation throws at them.
In this article we’ll share the tell-tale signs you need to look out for that will let you know it’s probably time to start reviewing your HR and Payroll software options.
Onboarding new team members is a long process. There’s a lot of paperwork to fill out and things to set up. When you’re working in a smaller business this level of complexity is manageable for a switched on HR executive. But once you start to grow beyond 20 employees the sheer amount of processes that need to be done to onboard a new starter efficiently can become overwhelming.
Plus once the hire has been onboarded successfully you still have training and development to think about. So, if this process is becoming a chore it’s probably the right time to start looking at upgrading your HR and payroll tech stack.
Finding a tool that can automate a lot of the documentation you need to send out to a new hire would be a good place to start. Also a platform that brings all the things you need to do into one place so you’re not managing an onboarding process across multiple tools is a must if you want to streamline your new hires onboarding journey.
Running payroll effectively is one of those jobs that gets more difficult the more employees you have. As your business grows you’ll bring on more workers who aren’t necessarily working the traditional 9 to 5. Freelancers, part-time workers and 0 hour contractors all add to the complexity you need to account for when running payroll for a larger company.
With this added complexity comes increased room for error and one mistake when inputting data to your payroll software can lead to a costly fine for your business. Add to this the penalties you can face if you misplace some official documentation and you can begin to see how poor payroll management can start costing your business a small fortune.
If you start noticing monthly errors in your payroll processes like employees not getting paid correctly (or not at all), or monthly fines appearing due to compliance mistakes it’d be worth exploring some new payroll software solutions.
Payroll software will keep your employees data safe as well as keep all your records and official documentation in order which makes them easy to find at a moment’s notice. Digital HR and payroll systems also help ensure you collect and store compliance information and produce the reports and filings you need to stay compliant with wage and labour laws.
Employees don’t want to spend time talking to HR and Payroll about holiday requests and updating their personal information. That’s time out of their day where they could be doing work. For HR and Payroll teams dealing with manual requests like these can be a drag too.
Nobody wants to be swamped with holiday request emails when they’re trying to run payroll or organise training for new starters. If you’re finding your employees are clamouring for a HR platform they have access to then that’s probably a sign you should look at some new HR software.
Onboarding a HR tool that has a self-service option means employees can update their information and request holidays without bothering HR. This means they can get back to their jobs faster and HR teams can review holiday requests at a time that suits them.
Employees will only suffer poor processes for so long. If a job is causing them undue stress because software tools are creating more work than is necessary for them there’s a high chance they’ll leave.
This goes for all departments in a business including HR and Payroll. Sometimes we all need to muck in and get things done, but when staff feel like they’re constantly fighting fires in their department that’s usually a signal for them to move on.
If you’re seeing a high turnover of staff in your HR and Payroll departments stepping in to fix the issue is a must. If your current HR and Payroll software is the reason for the turnover then there’s no better time to look for a new digital solution for your teams.
If you feel like you need some new HR or payroll software in 2022 Phase 3 is here to help. We are experts in all things HR and payroll and help teams both big and small overcome challenges related to HR and payroll technology. If you’d like to hear how we can help you contact us here.
This blog has been written by Mike Westwood, Head of Consulting at Phase 3.
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Laura’s role as Head of Marketing sees her continually looking for new opportunities to tell the world how great Phase 3 is.
