Help or hinder: how your HRMS solution affects you & your company in ‘the new normal’

Since its outbreak, Covid-19 has and continues to impact business in different ways, propelling companies to make big changes in order to continue functioning in what is known as the new normal.

Companies have had to shift to remote work environments in light of self-isolation strategies and community quarantines, causing a fundamental shift in how businesses operate and manage their teams. Not only does this affect regional operations and logistics, but it also transforms the role of HR leaders.

Now more than ever, HR managers play a critical role in ensuring the safety, satisfaction and productivity of employees amidst sweeping changes brought about by Covid-19. For some companies, there are additional challenges that arise in the form of new shift types, allowance types, as well as leave policies.

Over 70% of HR leaders are facing a crisis management, as well as difficulties in business continuity plans caused by Covid-19. Is there a comprehensive HRMS solution that can adapt to these changes and streamline workflows?

To assess whether your current HRMS solution is working for you or against you, here are five questions you should ask yourself.

1. Can your HRMS solution adapt to the new normal?

While operations generally evolve over time, Covid-19 is accelerating the speed at which changes—from salary adjustments for employees, to tax subsidies provided by the government—occur.

For example, the Singapore Government announced a second Covid-19 stimulus package that supports local businesses through the deferment of taxes, tax rebates, and loan schemes. These measures, albeit beneficial, affect how your business is run and has a direct impact on your human resource procedures.

Your HRMS solution should be able to reflect these developments through software updates to ensure accurate, up-to-date tracking. Is your current solution agile enough to meet the demands of a constantly changing climate of business practices, regulations, and resource availability, especially during this pandemic?

As working from home becomes the norm, your HRMS solution should include new options that allow you to track employee productivity and update SOPs for the abovementioned remote work, as well as new leave and absence policies in light of mental health issues caused by the pandemic.

Payroll calculation can be extremely tedious if your payroll software lacks the flexibility to meet these new demands as they crop up. Since payroll is carried out monthly, and employees must be paid within seven days at the end of the working period, it is only efficient that you automate the process through your HRMS solution. With this in place, you and your team can free up time for more value-added work.

2. Is your HRMS solution centralized across the globe?

HR functions within multinational corporations (MNCs) must have a strategy for central coordination, while factoring in local control through shared platforms based on strategies and values.

Having a central database that adeptly covers all HR functions is more useful than having multiple solutions across different teams and countries because it offers a single version of truth with real-time updates of information, leaving no room for errors or disputes.

When working across countries, entities, or companies, real-time updates to data that take place simultaneously regardless of time zones or locations is key. A competent and comprehensive data infrastructure will enable sustained efficiency and productivity, even as your employees work from home.

Implementing a centralized HRMS solution allows for continuity planning if and when ‘Black Swan’ events (case in point, Covid-19) hit. It safeguards your business and reduces downtime while the leadership team, including HR, come together to pull a working plan.

3. Is your HRMS solution capable of providing you with in-depth reports and real-time data?

According to a Gartner survey, two-thirds of business leaders believe that if their companies do not further digitalize by 2020, they will no longer remain competitive. This is especially true in HR.

When choosing a centralized system, your payroll solution should be able to process and present the data in a way that is easy to understand and digest. This reduces the amount of time and work needed to interpret data you are provided with, such as workload and shift management, and gives you a big picture idea to work from.

This data can provide valuable insights into the current state of your business and help inform decision-making.

For example, in-depth reports and real-time data can tell you where budget or benefit cuts are possible, and also areas where these resources can be better utilized. Real-time data features are beginning to be featured in many HR softwares and HRMS systems, but the main focus is often still on workforce and workflow planning functions, as well as in addressing the daily needs through cross-reference with learning and development records and data.

Digitalization not only increases efficiency, it also improves cost-efficiency through automation of tasks.

4. Is your HRMS solution safe and secure?

Cybersecurity has been a growing concern for years, but the issue has been brought to the forefront with more teams working remotely.

HR functions often involve sensitive and confidential corporate data floating back-and-forth through the interweb, making it imperative for your HRMS solution to provide high-level security both for your business and employees.

To determine whether your HRMS solution is safe and secure, find out if your vendor has achieved a certification in ISO 27001 on Information Security  Management, an internationally recognised standard that ensures the security of information assets.

Your vendor should also have a certification in ISO 9001 on Quality Management Systems, a standard which demonstrates the organization's quality assurance and control.

Threats to look out for include:

1. Data Breach

2. Denial of Service (DoS)

3. Crypto-jacking

4. Insecure APIs

5. Account Hijacking

6. BYOD Factor

7. Mobile Applications

8. Legislation Compliance

9. Litigation Exposure

10.  Human Error

These could lead to dire consequences like regulation costs, litigation costs, and costs associated with malware attacks, all of which can be detrimental to your business’ reputation.

Selecting the right HRMS solution for your company is of utmost importance, so be sure to utilise available automated vulnerability assessment solutions to ensure the security of your data.

5. Can your HRMS solution drive higher engagement scores among employees?

An important function of HR is to boost employee engagement, which is linked to organizational effectiveness.

Now that your employees are working from home, engagement is more important than ever in letting them feel appreciated and cherished as an essential part of your company. Your HRMS solution must enable your team to continue functioning easily and effectively when the need arises, thus guaranteeing the continuity of your business.

According to the Employee Engagement Trends report by Intuo, regular conversations with employees and alignment with managers are the main drivers of employee engagement. Productivity, retention, motivation and general wellbeing both at work and at home are impacted by the level of engagement. Employees who feel supported by their managers tend to thrive in their environment and produce better results.

It is undoubtedly easier to engage employees in a face-to-face setting. In this new normal of working remotely, however, how are you doing to actively engage your team?

HR executives have described about building “priority” teams that meet daily, as well as global councils that meet constantly. Many HR professionals have shifted from “project work” to “crisis work” due to the pandemic. The issue with this is that some employees fall off the radar and responsibilities get neglected due to the crisis response.

In essence, a comprehensive HRMS solution can help keep you on top of your employee engagement responsibilities.

Cloud-based HRMS solution can make the transition into the new normal faster, better, and more efficient

Covid-19 has sent many organizations scrambling to change and update their processes in order to meet the demands of the new normal. With the pandemic pushing HR teams to the limit when it comes to employee safety and compliance, the way employees engage with each other and the organization has also transformed.

Is your HRMS solution centralized, secure, and adaptable enough to meet these needs? Is it capable of engaging action among teams?

In the last 4 months, has your HRMS solution helped or hindered you? If your HRMS solution is not secure, centralized, capable of providing you with real-time data and in-depth reports, as well as driving employee engagement, perhaps it is time to explore other options.

A cloud-based HRMS solution can help you and your business ease into ‘the new normal’ and enjoy the benefits that come with a comprehensive, single database.  Contact us today to find out more.