What is HR software?

What HR software helps you manage

When you’re selecting the right HR software for your business needs, keep in mind that not all HR software providers offer comprehensive suites of services for modern business operations.

Employee clocking in/out

HR tools should let your employees clock in and out of work, track their breaks and submit timesheets. Systems should offer this functionality remotely to reduce HR management burdens. As a bonus, the best HR software provider should also offer a system for shift scheduling that allows you to create schedules, track attendance and fill open shifts. You’ll be able to identify habitual lateness as well as your most consistent and reliable employees.

Vacations & absence management

HR tools should give your employees the power to request time off from work remotely (including from home) and managers should be able to sign them off. This means that the best HR software provider should offer some form of absence management tool that provides tracking to see how much time employees are taking off. Plus, the software should come with vacation planning tools to prevent scheduling conflicts.

Performance Management

As well as covering the day-to-day basics, your HR efforts will span beyond making sure employees clock in—you want to build them up to be at their very best. Advanced HR software solutions will also incorporate a way to set clear goals for employee development, noting and managing skillsets, setting time-bound goals and tracking these goals in a non-intrusive manner. Access ready-to-go review documents, get high level overviews of employee performance metrics and align their development to your business objectives.

Benefits of HR Software

So, you're able to optimize your HR workload, manage all essential functions and focus on building your business, but how else can your business benefit?

Employee self-service

Your staff should be able to access their personal information and edit pre-authorized fields (such as their contact information). Workers should also have access to basic employment information, such as vacation time, employee handbook, and workplace policies, with tools to request HR changes if details are incorrect. Employees book their own time, with an overview of how many days entitlement they have left. This will be ready for approval from managers, who get a snapshot view of any schedule conflicts and can approve or deny leave requests with a single click.

Suitable for businesses of all sizes

One of the biggest advantages of HR software is that it can be useful to businesses of any size. Did you know that even if you have just 1 employee, you're required to be provincially compliant? While software can be leveraged to manage large teams at a high level, it can be especially useful to small businesses; no need to hire a dedicated HR manager, with full control over all aspects of your HR.