Have you ever thought about implementing HR technology for your business, only to find that doing so keeps slipping to the bottom of your to-do list? If you spot any of these seven red flags in your business, it’s time to prioritise the move from manual HR processes to the modern age. And the best way to do this is by rolling out a Human Resources Information Software (HRIS).

1. HR paperwork and leave requests are slowing you down

If small, transactional HR tasks overload you, you’re not getting everything done that needs to get done. This leads to prioritising, which means leaving things unfinished and stress to whoever manages your HR. The ultimate result of ‘HR overload’ is that you spend all your time on basic admin and reacting to issues – the things of lowest value to your business – rather than on the stuff that matters. And, importantly, you start taking risks with compliance.

HR software gives you a tool that lets you do more with fewer resources. Good HR software introduces automation, efficient checklists and processes that keep you compliant and ensure you never get overloaded. You can also shift some of the admin load onto your staff, allowing them to update personal details or view messages and documents through an employee self-service portal. The result: you flip your HR model from reaction to action.

2. You’re managing many people across many locations

Suppose you employ multiple workers in different places, especially if the workers regularly move between locations – in this case, you face a unique set of challenges: ensuring compliance is consistent across locations, consistency and accessibility of employee information and company policies, decentralised records, or centralised records that location managers aren’t able to access and update.

If you operate in more than one location, HR software gives you accessibility and consistency across your business – a central repository or ‘source of truth’ for your records and HR systems. Staff can easily move between different sites, and it won’t make any difference to the way you manage them. If the software has a self-service portal, employees can log in and view documents, company policies and update their details. Managers can view and update records from anywhere. To achieve this, you’ll want a cloud-based HRIS, as it’ll synchronise information entered by users in different locations. Whatever you enter into the system, every user in every location sees the same thing. It’s Consistency with a capital ‘C’.

3. You have no time to focus on strategic HR

Having a good HR strategy is an important part of building a business and getting the right people to work for you. Once again, it all comes down to time: how much you currently have vs how much more of it you’ll have with a good HRIS. If you’re spending your time putting out HR fires or dealing with the day to day, that’s time where you’re not thinking big, planning and growing your business.

4. You’re capturing HR data and reporting manually

Good reporting helps you make those smart decisions that fuel business growth. Manually crunching numbers and inputting them into spreadsheets is a slow process. And that’s assuming you know what data to capture and why, that you’re even able to capture the data, and that you know what to do with the data after you’ve got it. Manual processes also bring in the possibility of human error.

An HRIS removes the human error from the equation. Automated reporting means you can quickly get a snapshot of your workforce and can analyse and monitor the health of your whole business, your HR department or a specific branch using key data points. Instead of hours gathering data, you can get one-click answers to important questions like how many employees you’ve onboarded in the last month, or how many employees you’ve terminated (and why). It all feeds into your ability to make better business decisions because you’ll have insightful, real-time information available.

5. One-on-one meetings and performance reviews are informal and irregular

If you’re not having regular check-ins or conducting performance reviews with your staff, you need to ask yourself, “why?” Check-ins and reviews are a vital part of improving your employees’ experience, happiness and productivity.

If the reason you’re skipping check-ins is either lack of time or lack of process, an HRIS can be a huge help. HR software lets you schedule regular reviews, record what was discussed, set goals and monitor them, and track training and personal development. It makes for a better employee experience when it’s obvious you care about helping your people develop, learn new skills and grow as individuals.

6. Your employees’ information, including their training records, are filed on paper in — wait, which filing cabinet did you store that file again?

Paper files are not where you want to be in 2020. Keeping the years of records required by law can take up a lot of space, and the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) can hand you a costly fine if you’re audited and your records are incomplete. Paper records are slower to access search, and update; inaccessible unless you’re at the location where they’re stored; and they’re vulnerable to disasters like fire or flood. With most of us now walking around with a smartphone in our pocket, if you’re still using paper files for your employee records it’s a giant, flappy red flag warning you that it might be time to start thinking digital…

A good HRIS, like enableHR, uses cloud-based record-keeping, meaning your information is securely backed up to multiple locations. You’re able to view and update records from anywhere, using any internet-connected device. An HRIS also lets you easily control access, takes up no physical storage space, and makes your records easy to search. If your HRIS has an employee self-service portal, employees can update personal details and qualifications, even down to uploading pictures or documents. And if you’re using a system like enableHR, your data is kept safe and anonymous in the cloud, with layers of industry-leading encryption, role-based access permissions, and two-factor authentication.

7. You always run out of time for projects dedicated to employee experience, workplace culture and retaining or hiring top talent

Getting the best people to work for you, and stay working for you, is critical to success. Staff turnover hurts your bottom line. The preventable loss of an employee in which you’ve invested time and resources costs your business: in morale, as a well-liked employee walks out the door, as well as in the financial cost of recruiting and training a replacement. You’re literally throwing away time, money and productivity.

The key to retaining employees is more than just how much you’re paying them. The experience they have of your company, and the culture in the workplace, play a vital role. Unfortunately, for many HR departments or business owners, routine admin consumes most (or all) of the time they have available, leaving little time for things like culture and employee experience – the areas that add the most value to the business. HR software, however, lets you automate many of your HR processes, allowing you to take care of your routine HR admin in a fraction of the time. You’re then able to focus on improving employee experience and building a great workplace culture that will attract and keep people working for you.

At enableHR, we believe in the power of an HRIS to fundamentally improve your business, and we’d love to show you what’s possible. You can jump right in and  book a demo or call us and chat about your business and what you’re looking for when it comes to software.