7 Ways to Improve your HR Department with the Best Software and Online Integrations

Last updated on October 31st, 2022 at 04:04 pm

Technology is at the core of everything we do today. From financial consultancy firms to branding agencies, technology has a vital role to play no matter the industry.

One of the ways that businesses are embracing technology is with the use of software and different types of online integrations. In fact, it is predicted that there will be 45 million software developers by 2030, so this shows you the important role that this plays in businesses today.

Considering that, we are going to take a look at some of the different ways you can use software and online integrations to boost your HR department.

1. Support the well-being of your employees with a benefit scheme

There is only one place to begin when it comes to the use of software in HR departments, and this is with your employee benefits scheme! 

Employee benefit schemes are critical in terms of making sure your employees are appreciated and get great value out of working for your business. This can have a massive impact on employee morale, retention rates, and your ability to attract the best talent. 

Perkbox is a great solution when it comes to software for employee benefit schemes. This is an all-in-one solution that gives businesses access to some of the biggest brands in the UK so that they can support the wellbeing of their employees, be it emotional, financial, or physical support. 

Treating your employees to more of the things they love will increase their loyalty to your business. You can provide discounted gym memberships, for example, as well as discounts and perks at different restaurants and stores.

You also have the ability to provide your staff members with free day and night access to online GP services, as well as workout videos from qualified instructors. This will help to boost the health and fitness of your staff so that you can reduce employee absenteeism. 

2. Manage employee absenteeism

While we are on the subject of absenteeism, this is another area that software can help you with. 

You can use sick, leave, and lateness software to easily arrange cover for staff members and record absences, as well as scanning self-certification forms, sick notes, and hospital notes. 

Those working in the HR department will also be able to receive notifications to their phone, reminding them to check up on their employees to see how they are doing. This will help you to keep on top of things while also letting your employees know that you care about them, which can make a bigger difference than you realise. 

You should also be able to create reports so that you can get a better understanding of absence patterns at your business.

3. Manage rotas and shifts

One of the more traditional ways that you can use software to aid your HR department is in terms of managing shifts and rotas. 

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, you do not have to worry about the endless paper filling that was once associated with this task. Instead, by using shift management software, you can manage timetables for all of your workers in real time from within the app.

Effective software will enable you to build rotas within minutes, ensuring you have the right staff scheduled at the right times across different locations or roles. It is easy to fill shifts based on the availability of your employees, cost, and training. 

Once you have created a work rota, you can send it straight to your team via mobile or desktop. A lot of the solutions out there will give employees the ability to request a change in the rota, which you can then either confirm or deny. Either way, it makes the process a lot more efficient. 

4. Make sure you are not left short 

Aside from the benefits that we have mentioned above, another way that you can improve your HR department with software is by using an automated holiday planner.

Your hardworking staff cannot turn up to work every day of the year. Everyone needs a break! However, this can provide logistical issues, and if holidays are not managed effectively, they can leave you short of staff. This is why you need to manage employee holidays properly.

You can use staff holiday planner software to make sure that your business is never left short. Your employees will be able to request time off, and when this happens, you will be able to check the calendar and update it in real-time so that you can make sure there are not too many employee clashes in terms of pre-booked days off. 

With holiday planning software for your staff, you won’t need to worry about spreadsheets or paperwork again. Music to the ears!

5. Stay compliant and adhere to employment law 

Aside from the benefits that we have mentioned above, another benefit that software can bring your HR department is the ability to stay compliant by making the most of instant employment law advice. After all, employment law can be a complicated topic for any business owner.

With effective employment law software, this complex topic becomes simplified. It is also accessible, which means you are going to be able to get access to the professional advice you need within just a few minutes.

The likes of HS Direct is a great example of HR and Employment Law software that businesses can make the most of today. Solutions like this give you the ability to create staff handbooks and share them electronically, as well as issuing and signing contracts online.

Such software also gives you a platform for managing disciplinaries, training, and other types of employment records with ease. 

When it comes to matters like employment law, it is a good idea to look for software that comes with a dedicated account manager so that you always have someone to rely on should you need help and assistance. 

6. Store documents securely and effectively 

You don’t have to worry bout dusty old filing cabinets anymore. Document storage has moved on, with a lot of different cloud solutions available today.

HR document storage software will give you all of the storage space you can to manage expenses, billing, invoices, and other documents in a secure digital environment. 

Software like this can easily be accessed from any device, at any time, which means you are not going to waste time looking through a mass of files. Instead, with easy search features, the documents and data you need can be found within a matter of seconds.

Of course, one of the main benefits of going down this route is that it helps your business to use less paper and ink, which is important for the environment and for your bank balance as well!

You can also streamline your business so that you can operate at much higher levels of efficiency. You will be able to generate tasks and email reminders automatically to keep everything on track, as well as streamlining reports so that you can spot trends that can form the basis of intelligent decision-making at your company.

7. Boost morale amongst your team

In addition to the points that we have mentioned so far, software and online integrations can play a huge role when it comes to employee morale. 

It was revealed that only 36 per cent of workers were engaged in 2020, according to a poll from Gallup. This is a worryingly low figure. We saw that the biggest reduction in engagement levels occurred in those in leadership and management positions. Interestingly, engagement was also reduced amongst those working on-site, opposed to those working from home. 

You can help to push these figures back in your favour by enhancing the employee experience with great HR software. 

Some of the different ways you can do this include offering discounts and benefits through gamification, connecting people with applications that enable peer recognition, and using pulse surveys to measure sentiment on a regular basis.

Another reason why a lot of employees feel disengaged today is that they feel like they are stuck in dead-end careers and do not have opportunities for career development. Again, this is something else that can be resolved with the use of the software. You can provide workers with training and development opportunities so that they feel like they are able to develop and progress at your business.

Final words on using software and online integrations to improve your HR department 

So there you have it: everything you need to know about the different approaches that you can use to boost your HR department with software and online integrations.

From implementing employee benefit schemes to managing absences, there is a lot that you can achieve with software in place, helping you to manage your tasks more efficiently. 

It is important to remember that it is not about using technology for the sake of using technology. You need to consider what gaps you have in your business at the moment so you can make thoughtful and effective improvements.