HR Solutions To Transform Your People Processes
Modern businesses are constantly seeking edges in efficiency, engagement, and employee relations. The key to achieving these business goals lies in having a strong and capable workforce, which is where HR solutions can be a game-changer. From recruitment and onboarding to performance management and employee development, HR solutions offer businesses a range of tools and strategies to manage their human capital effectively.
This guide provides an overview of the benefits and features of HR solutions, business-growth success stories from companies that have adopted them, and tips for choosing the right HR software in the current business landscape.
What are HR solutions and what do they include?
HR solutions are tools, strategies, and processes designed to help businesses manage their human resources effectively. Traditional Human Resources functions have been laden with paperwork, red tape, and manual processes. But digital HR solutions have evolved to streamline these processes and make them more efficient in businesses of all sizes and from a wide range of industries.
Some HR solutions are designed to manage a specific people process such as payroll management; others offer an all-in-one platform to handle several HR functions without the need to enter data into multiple systems. Here are some of the HR areas your solutions may cover:
Talent management is the process of attracting, developing, and retaining top talent, which is the secret to your organization's success. HR solutions can support the following talent management activities:
- Recruiting and onboarding new employees
- Performance management and goal-setting
- Succession planning and career development
- Employee retention and engagement strategies
- Providing data analytics to identify top performers, skill gaps in the organization, and areas for improvement.
Payroll
Paying your employees accurately and on time every pay cycle is critical to your business operations. HR solutions can simplify this process by automating calculations, deductions for payroll taxes, and direct deposit options. Some payroll solutions also include compliance with local labor laws, which gives you much-needed peace of mind if your business operates in multiple locations.
Compliance
HR departments are responsible for ensuring their organizations follow all the relevant labor and employment laws, which is easier said than done in an era of constant regulatory change. Effective compliance solutions keep pace with new standards, streamline compliance processes, and help you create future-ready policies.
Scheduling
Flexible schedules enable your people to balance work around their home lives. Without technology, it would be undeniably challenging to keep track of your employees' plans, time off requests, and shift changes. Scheduling solutions allow employees to manage their schedules digitally, reducing the need for paper-based schedules and increasing team communication. Even better, they also enable managers and supervisors to make intelligent staffing decisions, using forecasting capabilities to ensure the right people are in the right place at the right time.
Reporting and analytics
Reporting and analytics solutions provide real-time dashboards, customizable reports, and predictive analysis to measure progress toward your goals and identify areas for improvement. Business intelligence reporting also tracks key HR metrics such as employee turnover, talent acquisition success, and productivity levels. With this data at your fingertips, you can make informed decisions to drive your organization forward.
Time and attendance
Employers must keep records of employee hours worked, including breaks, overtime, and absences. Manual timekeeping methods can be error-prone and time-consuming, leading to inaccurate data and potentially costly compliance issues. Time and attendance solutions automate these processes, making it easier for employees to record their hours worked and providing managers with accurate data for payroll processes and scheduling purposes.
HR service delivery
HR service delivery solutions provide employee self-service options for common HR tasks such as requesting time off, updating personal information, and accessing important documents. Access to a contextualized knowledge base empowers employees to control their HR needs.
What are the benefits of using HR solutions?
HR solutions are an investment, so you’ll want to understand whether they’re worth your budget. Here are some of the top benefits you can expect when you adopt a quality HR solution:
Streamlined processes
HR solutions offer speed, efficiency, and accuracy by automating manual processes. This frees up valuable time for your experienced professionals to focus on more strategic initiatives and improves the overall employee experience.
Case study: Orthopedic practice, EmergeOrtho switched to the UKG Ready® HCM suite to ease the strain of employee onboarding. With new, automated processes to welcome and acclimate new hires to the team, the company has saved one full day each week and estimated annual cost savings of $26,000.
Simplified payroll
HR solutions automate complex payroll calculations and tax deductions, ensuring accuracy and legal compliance. Instead of keying manual data into multiple systems, data is entered once and shared across departments. This automation reduces the risk of errors and saves time for HR teams to focus on other tasks.
Case study: United Staffing Associates has employees across 17 California and Nevada locations. Before switching to UKG Ready®, the company had relied on various paper timesheets and a recruiting and staffing solution to track employees working at different client sites. One senior payroll employee spent 12 to 16 hours per week just on calculations related to incentive pay and overtime hours. After moving to our automated payroll system, United Staffing Associates has noticed the incredible amount of time saved and runs payroll in just 30 minutes.
Faster onboarding
Employee onboarding can be jaw-droppingly slow, with the average new hire expected to complete 54 separate tasks during this crucial period. HR solutions streamline the process by automating paperwork, document signing, and new hire training tasks. This upgraded approach allows employees to hit the ground running and reduces the burden on HR teams.
Enhanced employee experience
Technology gives your team members the transparency they need to manage their employee journeys. HR solutions empower entire workforces to access their individual information on demand and complete tasks without chasing HR for support. The result is reduced employee frustration, improved communication, and strengthened employer-employee relationships enabled by a culture of trust.
Case study: Leslie’s Pool and Spa Services deployed UKG Pro with the goal of empowering employees throughout their work journey so they can focus on delivering exceptional customer care. Using our HR Service Delivery, employees now access a library of self-service content at any time, including recruiting and onboarding information, real-time pay data, benefits administration, scheduling, learning tools, and performance reviews.
Greater company culture
Seamless communication channels bridge gaps between departments and levels of hierarchy. All team members are on the same page, significantly enhancing operational efficiency and fostering a collaborative company culture where everyone feels free to express their ideas and opinions.
Case study: TravelBrands adopted a UKG Solution after going through a merger and acquisition. Chief Human Resources Officer Diana Valler told us,
“We wanted to partner with an organization that aligned with our core values of harmony, integrity, and success. UKG’s purpose is people and that is exactly what TravelBrands believes in, so it was a perfect fit. We know we cannot achieve our goals alone. It takes a village and UKG works collaboratively with us, so we are constantly innovating together.”
Limited turnover
Sleek internal processes remove friction for employees, which significantly reduces employee turnover by improving hiring cycles, offering development opportunities, and enhancing employee satisfaction.
Case study: Portillo’s Restaurant Chain serves customers across 70 different locations in nine states. The hospitality space is well-known for experiencing high turnover, which can impact business operations. Additionally, attracting people to work in the sector has been challenging since the pandemic. Portillo's gives employees access to crucial data via the UKG Pro mobile app, where they can view pay statements, shift information, or access benefits information. With detailed analytics, managers can quickly access reports to make informed staffing decisions that are key to retaining employees.
Stricter compliance standards
Federal compliance responsibility becomes less of a hassle with HR solutions that are designed to stay updated with federal government or state-specific legal requirements, using automated updates and reminders. This reduces the risk of non-compliance penalties and ensures that the organization's policies align with the latest legal requirements, including those related to payroll.
Case study: Major League Baseball team Miami Marlins has a dynamic workforce which doubles in size during baseball season. This changeable headcount requires payroll teams to be on the ball, managing varying work schedules, pay rates, and bonuses. Chief Operating Officer Caroline O'Connor explains the value of using UKG Pro to handle its complex compliance requirements.
"Pro's out-of-the-box features for managing compliance enable us to save internal efforts. This enables our payroll team to work independently."
Diversity goals
To create a more inclusive workplace culture, HR solutions support diversity and inclusion efforts by providing tools for unbiased recruiting, promoting pay equity, and tracking progress toward diversity goals.
Case study: Law firm Mike Morse had struggled to attract a diverse workforce using automated hiring practices. But in its first year with UKG, the company experienced a 24% increase in diversity while achieving a 40% reduction in manual processes.
How to develop an HR solution strategy
Selecting and implementing an appropriate HR tool for your organization isn’t something that happens overnight. Follow the steps below to create a robust people strategy that enables you to research, test, and roll out the right solution for your business:
Understand organizational goals and objectives
Top of the list is identifying what your organization needs to achieve by adopting an HR solution, which will vary from one company to another.
Start by examining your broader business strategy and how HR supports your goals. For example, if you're expanding into a new market and need employees with a particular skill set, you might focus on talent acquisition systems.
To zone in on your key goals and objectives, engage with stakeholders across the organization to gather insights and identify pain points in your current HR processes.
Analyze your current HR capabilities
Unless you're a brand-new business, you'll already have some HR functions in place, such as performance management, talent acquisition, and payroll. Review your current practices, systems, and technologies to identify any areas needing improvement. For example, you might discover that open enrollment season is always a major headache for your teams and decide to find a better way of managing your employee benefit communication.
- Define HR system requirements
- Determine the technical requirements for your HR solutions based on what you already have in place and your future goals:
- How many HR users will need to access your HR solution?
- How many employees will it serve?
- Do you expect your business to scale in the near future?
- Do you require employee service capabilities?
- What other technologies will your HR solution integrate with, such as accounting or ERP systems?
- Will the end-users of your HR solution require training?
- Do you require mobile access?
- What data security requirements must you comply with?
Research compatible HR solutions
The next step is to thoroughly research relevant vendors in the market and compare their range of solutions. Budget will be a huge consideration at this stage, so you must understand your preferred solution's pricing model. Consider:
- Does the vendor charge per user or a set fee?
- Are discounts available if you pay an annual subscription?
- Are there any hidden costs, such as setup, training, or maintenance fees?
- Is it easy to change your plan if you need to?
Another consideration will be how quickly your users feel comfortable using the new system. Review third-party software platforms like G2 or TrustRadius to learn how other customers have experienced a specific product. You’ll gain detailed insights about ease of navigation or what features are missing from a platform. Best of all? User reviews reveal how quickly or extensively companies deal with customer-service issues.
Develop an implementation plan
Now it’s time to develop a detailed project plan outlining how you’ll integrate your new HR solution into your organization and the steps needed to get there.
- Which teams will be involved in the implementation process?
- How much time do you need to migrate existing data into the HR system?
- Will you run a pilot program before full deployment?
- Who is in charge of change management and communication to ensure a smooth transition?
Roll out your HR software
Once you've carefully chosen your HR solution and completed all the necessary preparation and testing, it's time to deploy it across your organization. Remember that change management is critical at this stage, as employees must adapt to a new way of working. Ensure proper training is provided to HR staff and end-users and communicate the new system's benefits to boost adoption rates.
Monitor and adjust
Once your HR solution is live, keep a close eye on how it’s performing. This can be achieved by:
- Creating mechanisms to collect regular feedback from your users, from which you can identify any employee issues.
- Establish metrics and KPIs to monitor the performance of the human resource software against the expected outcomes.
- Regularly review and update the HR solution’s strategy to adapt to changing organizational needs and technological advancements.
Select UKG’s comprehensive HR solutions for your organization
Is your business eager to streamline processes, enhance efficiency, and foster a supportive workplace environment? UKG offers two dynamic HR solutions with intuitive technology to choose from:
- UKG Pro is the ultimate end-to-end HR solution designed for larger businesses with sophisticated needs. It offers a global workforce management platform that's both powerful and user-friendly, helping to handle the complexity of HR, payroll, and talent management.
- UKG Ready provides a flexible, seamless HR solution that adapts to your needs. The platform combines HR, talent, payroll, and employee time-management features for growing to mid-sized businesses to deliver a personalized, people-centered experience.
See the difference both HR solutions could make to your organization by booking a free product tour today.
