HR Software For Small Business. Part II - IntexSoft
November 27, 2018 • by Alexandra

HR Software For Small Business. Part II

Business
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To continue our discussion of the benefits of HR management systems started in Part 1 of this article, we cannot omit the current trends of HR software development. With a major shift from simplified employee assessment to advanced performance management tools and platforms, HR is entering the world of high data-driven technologies.

 

As if things were not promising enough, the Society of Human Resource Management published an article, based oCB Insights, stating, “Investors, seeking the next big thing in breakthrough technology, plunged more than $2 billion into HR tech systems and platforms in 2016.”

 

Today, HR management systems come stuffed with new, uncommon features and tools making the choice of a proper system even harder. The modern trends below will give you some insight on what you can expect from the latest HRMSs.

 

 

Current Trends in HR software

 

Gamification of HR management

 

In simple words, gamification is the implementation of game-thinking and game mechanics in real-life scenarios, like recruitment practices, employee training, motivation, assessment, and incentives policy to increase staff involvement and engagement to fulfill a company’s goals.

 

Many established and globally known organizations use gamification to build strong relationships between their employees, improve staff qualifications or solve chronic business issues; they include Marriott, Deloitte, Cognizant, Aetna, and many others. The common game techniques involve setting objectives, increasing fair competition between employees, supporting real-time feedback and implementing rewards systems.

 

The Deloitte Leadership Academy is now bringing learning practices to a new level by applying gamification via Badgeville to raise knowledge interchange and brand awareness. TCS has gone further by introducing game engines enabling the creation of real-life ecosystems with integrated networking functions, inducing the development of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs). Its application in real businesses’ training programs and simulations potentially leads to deeper collaboration and teamwork as well as reduces the bore of solo-training.

 

 

Visual communication channels

 

Video conferencing (VC) allows for a higher quality and accuracy of applicants review yet provides the atmosphere of interpersonal connection. It is perfect for setting effective communication channels with the home-based staff, ensuring the solid employees’ involvement in company’s affairs. With 87% of remote respondents affirming they feel more attached to their teams and work processes using video-calls. Moreover, video conferencing offers a number of ‘comfort’ advantages, like flexibility, reduced travel costs, and time-saving.

 

According to OWLlabs stats, 93% of respondents confirm VC effectively improves the involvement of remote employees. 81% of interviewed people agree VC boosts the productiveness of individual employees, 71% point to it strengthening relationships with customers, and 59% mention better sales results.

 

In 2017, 64% of companies had established video conferencing kits in small office spaces for up to 5 employees on each side of the screen. The available stats from Stanford University show doubled numbers of video conferencing over one year, from 31,403 participants in 2016 to 64,448 participants in 2017. The number of university meetings held using the VD tools increased from 9,872 in 2016 to 13,626 in the same period of 2017.

 

With the market share of enterprise video conferencing predicted to reach $4.48 billion by 2023, experts claim 50% of the workforce is switching to telecommunication within a decade.

 

 

Mobile HR management

 

It is not so much a trend as a contemporary must for our mobile-dependent times. With the majority of HRMSs hosted in clouds these days, they are available on practically all devices supporting different operating systems. Managers can now easily control large and decentralized departments using a smart task assignment and collaboration system from any device at hand.

 

 

One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Four… Are you Buying or Developing?

 

While selecting the proper system, fitting your company’s needs best, there is an inevitable question: buy or develop? Probably the list of possible pros and cons of each option would be helpful in making the right decision.

 

 

Customized solution

 

Considering the customized solution, you need to be aware of its cons and pros.

 

 

Cons of the customized solution

 

  • The development of software to meet the business requirements your company imposes takes time and money, and sometimes you need to be patient while you get an uncompromised and efficient solution.

 

  • Developing your own HRMS demands significant involvement in the process, including the creation of detailed technical specifications, the product roadmap based upon the profound analysis of your company’s needs. You have to dedicate a separate team to the creation of the software, including developers, testers and a product manager at a minimum.

 

  • Apart from dedicating the team to the development of the software, you need to have certain people assigned on a regular basis to ensure technical support and roll out updates and add-ons as needed.

 

 

Pros of the customized solution

 

  • Developing your own system gives you control over the technical parameters and usability of the created software. Your product should have only the features and tools necessary for your business working exactly as you and your employees want them to.

 

  • Building your own software reinforces your corporate culture and improves staff engagement in the work process. Branded and labeled software serves as a mark of quality, promoting your company’s image across the minds of people working within the corporate environment.

 

  • Developing your own system enables flexible adjustment for the growing company’s needs. Your own solutions should always have blanks for easy integration of required add-ons.

 

 

Ready solution

 

When selecting the ready solution, you should consider all possible cons and pros.

 

 

Cons of the ready solution

 

  • Inevitably, there are features useless for your company, and many other features might work in a slightly different way than you wish them to.

 

  • Purchased systems don’t positively affect your corporate culture, and in some cases, with a wrongfully chosen solution, they can cause employee dissatisfaction and irritation with system flaws or imperfections.

 

  • Buying a solid HRMS, you are fit into the frames of its existing features and capacities. Certain HRMSs might lack important tools you are likely to need at some point in the future or as your company scales. The limited capacities of the ready system aren’t able to deal with the growing needs of your business.

 

 

Pros of the ready solution

 

  • Buying the off-the-shelf system takes less time and probably saves some money in the long term.

 

  • The ready solutions usually require only one employee to learn the system tools and features and to share the knowledge with the rest of the team; no personal input is needed.

 

  • The purchased software generally comes with a pleasant bonus like a support team able to deal with any sort of emergency.

 

 

Conclusion

 

The only thing to add is while choosing the best option for your company, you need to do a lot of thinking. Quick decisions are not good in this case.

 

  • Consider the size of your team and its dislocation, the number of critical features and tools you need, how urgent the HRM system is for you, how much time and money you’re willing to spend and what your expansion plans are.

 

  • Test the available options on the market to be sure their features meet your requirements and imagine how many things you’d make differently.

 

  • Take into account the current workload of your technical team and make some estimates on its availability for a separate project of this scale.

 

  • Do not forget to exploit current HR systems trends to make the most out of your chosen system.

 

  • List all pros and cons on your way and make an informed and wise decision.

 

Good luck!

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Alexandra

Marketing Manager

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