The modern era is defined by technology and technological innovation. There are currently very few, if any, areas of business that don’t benefit from the use of technology. Embracing technology has become the key for business survival and it has definitely levelled the playing field for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). But one area of business where SMEs are still underutilising the benefits of technology is human resources (HR).
HR is often not the key focus for SMEs. This is a mistake because the HR department can actually make or break a business. HR processes can have a huge impact on the company’s productivity and bottom line. But many SMEs make the mistake of thinking that HR technology is expensive, useless and difficult to implement. This leads them to using old strategies and missing out on the benefits that modern human resource management system can provide for a company.
So what are these specific benefits that human resource solutions can provide to SMEs?
Enhancing the recruitment process – leading to better talent
A business is its employees and if you want a business to succeed, then you need to make sure it has the best talent working. For SMEs, fighting for talent can be difficult because companies don’t necessarily have the same resources to offer as employment perks. The good news is that employees are not just looking for money anymore – job satisfaction is more tied to the quality of work-life balance, the work environment, flexibility of work and so on.
Nonetheless, the process of recruiting the right talent is not easy nor cheap. However, with the right technology, SMEs can automate and streamline these processes and attract the right talent. The modern human resource management system can create, track and monitor applications without the need for human interaction. The modern systems can look at candidates and figure out the right positions automatically. This leads to situations where the HR personnel can focus on the final part of the recruitment process – interviewing the candidates and picking the right person. This is especially true because HR software can automate the after-processes as well. Employee onboarding will be a lot easier with the help of software. What’s more, these applications can enhance the onboarding process as well. The more detailed and personalised the introduction to a new business is, the better it will be for the new employee.
Improving employee experience and development – resulting in increased satisfaction
HR software is not only useful in terms of finding the right talent and reducing the workload off HR personnel. It can also improve the overall employee satisfaction and employee development. For SMEs, this part is critical because it leads to better employee retention. If your business can maintain the workforce and keep employees satisfied, it won’t have to engage in the costly process of hiring new talent as often.
There are numerous ways that HR software can boost the employee experience. First of all, the software can be used to monitor employee performance. The ability to measure productivity and performance can help in terms of employee development. The development process can become more personalised because you are able to focus on those areas that the person in question is having difficulties in. This means that the development is more focused – leading in much better end-results.
But it’s not just about boosting productivity through improvement and development. Human resource software can also boost job satisfaction. In countries like United Arab Emirates, companies are often using the human resource management system to create better employee benefit systems in terms of health insurance, payroll and other perks. These systems can improve job satisfaction by creating more transparent benefit systems and introducing the employee into the decision-making process. For example, payroll management won’t be a thing that happens behind closed doors away from the employee’s control. Instead, the employee can have control over the management and the ability to ensure things happen the right way.
Focusing on HR KPIs – resulting in the ability to meet goals
If a business wants to grow and fight off competition, it has to measure its performance and set clear objectives that it wants to achieve. For SMEs, the ability to monitor and analyse KPIs can seem like a pipedream. But with the right HR software this process can be automated. Drilling into the core data won’t be time-consuming or difficult because the software does most of the job automatically and without the need of human interaction. The business will be able to gather major performance indicators, such as turnover, recruitment cost and so on, instantly.
The software solutions aren’t just good for gathering data. Of course, having large amounts of data would be meaningless anyway – datasets always require analysis to be useful. The good news is that the modern software solutions are able to provide analysis and thus deepen the experience and use of the data for many SMEs.
Achieving the benefits with a lower cost
Many business owners might be looking at these clear benefits and finding it difficult to believe it comes cheap. However, the beauty of modern HR software is the cost-effectiveness. The above functionalities don’t have to break the bank. The reality is that there are hundreds of options available for SMEs, each with different benefits. Companies are truly in a position to pick and choose the right product. With the help of technological innovation and cloud technologies, these software solutions can be easily scaled as well to ensure and an even better experience.