Is a cloud-based HR solution right for your business?

As businesses grow, managing human resources can become complex and time-consuming. Cloud HR software offers a solution by streamlining HR processes, improving efficiency, and providing valuable insights.

Digital technology can help your business in many ways, saving you time and money. Offering a HR solution that can make your daily people management tasks easier and more cost-effective.

This article explores the benefits of cloud HR software and how it can help business owners manage their workforce more effectively.

Definition of "The Cloud"

Many business owners have believed commonly shared misconceptions about cloud computing and what it means. A lot of people hear 'the cloud' and think about data leaks or security breaches. Often tied to the belief that data is unsafe in the cloud or vulnerable to the access of third parties.

This is indeed a misconception.

Cloud computing refers to a network of remote servers hosted on the internet that store, manage, and process data instead of a local server or a personal computer. Essentially, it is just another approach to accessing technology services without having to own your own data centres and servers.

What is HR cloud software?

HR cloud software is a transformative tool designed to streamline various human resources processes by consolidating them into one place. This innovative technology automates essential functions such as recruitment, onboarding, payroll, and employee management, significantly reducing the administrative burden on HR teams.

By leveraging real-time analytics, organisations can enhance employee engagement and performance management, ensuring that workforce data is not only accessible but also secure.

Furthermore, cloud-based HR systems simplify workflows and improve data security, empowering HR professionals to focus on strategic initiatives rather than mundane tasks. In today's fast-paced work environment, adopting HR cloud software is crucial for businesses aiming to enhance efficiency and foster a more engaged workforce.

But HR cloud systems allow you to skip on expensive software, which also often requires infrastructure and regular maintenance from IT experts.

When it’s in the cloud, all you must do is pay a monthly or annual fee to gain access to new and enhanced system features.

And if you experience any trouble, you can quickly ask for help from the provider you’re registered with.

So, it’s a much more streamlined process, removing many of the hassles of yesteryear. And the result is you can focus on your business’ daily running.

Who uses cloud-based solutions?

Cloud solutions have become essential for a variety of industries, particularly in the realm of human resources. Organisations of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises, are leveraging these technologies to automated and streamline their HR workflows.

Many industries are adopting cloud-based HR software because it's secure and easy to access. Here are a few examples:

Healthcare

Healthcare organisations handle sensitive employee and patient data, so security is a top priority. Cloud HR systems offer robust security features and help manage compliance requirements.

Technology

Tech companies often have employees working remotely across different time zones. Cloud HR software allows team members to access important information and HR services from anywhere, at any time. Perfect for boosting employee engagement!

Manufacturing & Construction

Manufacturing businesses can streamline HR processes to keep their workforce organised and on track. While construction sites can be kept safe from health and safety risks with compliant safety records and more.

Education

Cloud HR helps educational institutions manage employee data, simplify leave and absence management, and automate HR workflows.

Retail & Hospitality

Both retail and hospitality industries benefit from cloud HR systems for their accessibility, which is useful for managing employees across multiple locations and varying shifts.

These industries find cloud HR solutions valuable because they offer secure data storage, ensure compliance, and provide easy access for all employees.

The benefits of cloud-based HR systems

There are many reasons to use cloud HR software such as BrightHR across your business. Here are just a few of the advantages:

Centralised management system:

Everything is in one place with cloud-based HR software. So no matter the size of your business, you can access essential data from wherever you are in the world. And because everything is in one spot, nothing gets lost. A big advance on the days of pen and paper, then.

Flexibility:

HRIS systems offer SMEs excellent agility—they’re adaptable and meet the needs of your business through tailoring and personal requests.

Cost-effectiveness:

Rather than relying on an expensive software system, you can use a budget-friendly service provider and reap the financial rewards from there.

Time-saving:

Using the software cuts down on the amount of administrative duties you need to perform. As cloud-based HR systems manage much of this for you, it’s a real time saver.

Functionality improvements:

The software has all the latest technology, which means your HRIS system functions at peak performance. It also offers the likes of access from your smartphone, so advanced features are easily accessible from a variety of devices.

Security improvements:

You have complete control over user accessibilities—and modern security features will help to keep unwanted visitors away from private information.

Data insights:

With all your information stored in one place, you can refer to it for a more detailed analysis of each employee you have.

Better compliance management:

Keeping up to date with HR and employment laws is essential. HR cloud solutions make this easier as you can adapt your procedures and features when you need to.

Scalability:

Quickly and easily adapt to workload demands and/or changes to the economy. You can scale up or down as and when you need to.

Futureproofing:

The software is easy to adapt to technological changes, so your business can stay on track with new features as and when they become available.

And remember, automation is a big part of the software.

So your business can rest easy in the knowledge that much of your HR activities are under control of real-time software.

All of this has a sweeping impact on how businesses can now run.

AI integration in cloud HR

As AI becomes plays a greater role across business operations, AI functionality is slowly creeping into HR and people management. At BrightHR we are investing into AI, integrating it into our cloud-based platform. Businesses will be able to benefit from a modern solution that is continuously evolving and adapting to the current landscape of HR and employment law. Find out more about how we are investing in AI here.

How are cloud HR systems changing the workplace?

Cloud HR systems, such as BrightHR, are allowing businesses to adapt rapidly to economic and workload changes, as well as providing new and enhanced features to manage employees and projects.

This includes all people management functions such as:

• Payroll functioning

• Recruitment and applicant tracking

• Training and development tools for staff and managers

• Onboarding processes

• Performance management

• Staff attendance and time tracking

• Data analytics and real-time reporting

And HRMS cloud allows your business to centralise this all into one piece of HR software.

And it helps to cut down on many other common problems at work, especially in office environments. So you can you enjoy more benefits such as:

• Less paperwork — you won’t need to process this anymore, freeing up time for your staff to work on important tasks

• Real-time performance assessments to understand how employees are doing on a daily basis

• Encouraging more engagement from your workforce, such as sending across questionnaires that can help you adapt your business

• Providing staff with more control, such as with access to pay and benefit information at home or work

• Enhancing security across your business—at least on a digital front. All the latest safety mechanisms will be in place to ensure your business can fend off cyber threats effectively

• Innovation! With cloud-based HR you’re really are the forefront of the industry, providing employees and your business with the best possible management

• HR compliance. With frequent updates our software stays up-to-date on the latest HR and employment law updates so your business can stay compliant.

It’s an important moment in the history of HR, as it shifts across from the traditional approach to modern technology-driven procedures.

And it’s all becoming more cost-effective and accessible for small and medium businesses.

All you need to do is take the plunge and make the change.

The best cloud-based HR solutions are cheap and offer your business impressive return on investment.

It’s there for the taking, so why not give it a whirl? Get in touch and we’ll take you through even more cloud HR features.

Implementing cloud-based HR across your business

By choosing the right cloud-based HR platform provider, you can sit back and allow a team of experts to support you in implementation, data migration, onboarding and team training.

At BrightHR our award-winning HR software provides self-service accessibility so we can onboard all your team members to access the system from both their desktop and mobile devices. Allowing them to access many features, making many HR processes seamless. This includes booking annual leave, recording a sickness, and reviewing their current performance goals and objectives.

To ensure your team get the most out of our solution, we can provide training and onboarding making sure all your staff know how to use BrightHR.

Book your free demo today to discover how a cloud-based solution can transform your people management.