How HR Software can help Scale Your Business
HR technology plays a crucial role in enabling business growth as it can save organisations time, improve workforce management, track key data, and boost the employee experience.
So, if your organisation is in growth mode, here are five ways that HR software can help your business to scale efficiently and successfully.
- Improves people management processes
Keeping track of all your people data can be a complex task – something that is even more challenging to manage when a business is scaling. HR software plays a vital role in improving your workforce management processes as all key information is in one place, enabling you to collate, measure and analyse data quickly and effectively.
“A scaling business will need to know they are scaling in the right way,” comments Helen Armstrong, CEO and founder of Silver Cloud HR. “How can you measure this if you cannot measure employee productivity? HR system data alone will not help with this but combined with business performance data you can be left with something very powerful. Managers will need to keep a check on the performance of their teams and need tools to do this.”
HR systems also enable HR teams to ensure all reporting on employee data is accurate. “In a business that is scaling, the working environment is fast-moving and always changing but having access to accurate data on the team is essential to be able to manage how the team is performing and to ensure that value is being added,” says Philippa Barnes, director at ReThink HR Ltd.
- Enhances employee experience
Companies that are scaling need to be super-focused on the employee experience; and the digital experience of your employees will impact the way they feel about your organisation, so it’s crucial that HR software is central to any employee experience strategy.
“Employees are expecting more than ever from their employers, especially since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and the advancements in technology,” comments Catherine Witts, head of HR programmes at StaySharp. “A more user-friendly HR software can help to transform the working lives of employees by allowing them to experience a more automated and forward-thinking HR department that clearly puts employees first. From learning management systems, expense management systems, to employee recognition software, they will all help take employee experience to the next level.”
- Reduces admin burden
A key benefit of HR software is improving the efficiency of the HR team, enabling them to spend less time on routine tasks such as admin and more on supporting the business.
Automating processes is the holy grail for allowing the HR team to spend their time on higher-value-add activities, says Philippa Barnes. “Many tasks that fall to the HR team are simple but essential. If these can be automated, it can reduce the time required to be spent by the HR team. Some systems allow for tasks to be “ticked off” by whoever has completed them, so that all users can keep an eye on progress. The time that would have been spent on these checklists and follow-ups can then be spent on improving off-line processes, face-to-face activities or analysing data to make recommendations for future improvements.”
Scaling businesses need HR support and guidance, not admin, adds Helen Armstrong. “HR systems can take care of the mundane tasks to allow HR to focus on the future growth.”
- Increases success of mergers and acquisitions
HR technology plays a vital role in maximising the success of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), as it enables HR teams to deliver personalised, relevant, and timely communication, to all employees, which will ensure they have access to all the information they need at a potentially uncertain time. HR software can also support collaboration across different teams and locations, which will in turn help to ensure staff remain productive and engaged throughout the process.
There is also a great deal of decision-making to be done throughout M&As, and effective HR systems will put robust people data and analytics at your fingertips, enabling you to make informed decisions about your talent quickly and accurately.
- Supports high-volume recruitment and employee onboarding
A single platform and source of truth is key when recruiting and onboarding high volumes of new employees into the business.
“In a fast-moving business which is scaling fast, high-volume recruitment and regular HR-related changes are a given,” remarks Philippa Barnes. “By having one central place to manage data and automate processes, the HR team can be confident that things will not be missed, and activities can be undertaken in an efficient way.”
Scaling businesses will need slick processes in place to help manage the rapid onboarding of new employees and to ensure their data is safe and secure, adds Helen Armstrong. XCD’s recruitment and onboarding solution provides a single software to helps streamline and automate various processes including applicant tracking, reminders and checklists, easy creation of new employee records and more.
“HR systems allow for onboarding tasks to be automated, which is essential to ensure that the experience is a good one, and that steps are not missed. It also helps the manager to know what to do and when – if the business is scaling, they will be busy, and do not need the frustration of poor spreadsheet-based processes to get their team up to speed quickly. On the flip side, the exec team will need data and quickly. Management dashboards can be set up so that data is available at the touch of a button. HR won’t have time to spend a week in spreadsheets when they are supporting a growing business.”
For more information on how you can use HR software to support your scaling business, request a demo with one of our specialists today.
