If there’s one thing HR managers dread, it’s manually tracking and verifying employee data. It’s time-consuming and inefficient, not to mention prone to error.
Luckily, there are ways to streamline the process with payroll software. These five features will help you improve workplace efficiency in 5 ways:
Automated Timesheet Approval
Timesheet approval is a necessary part of any business. But if your timesheet approval process is not automated, it can be a major hassle. This can result in delayed payroll processing, ultimately harming employee morale and productivity.
An online time-tracking system is the best way to streamline your approval process. This ensures that your employees submit their time cards accurately and on time, and managers can quickly review and approve them. This saves valuable time for both parties and reduces errors that occur with manual submission and processing.
Employees fill out timesheets to record the dates and hours they work on different projects, tasks, or with clients. They then submit these timesheets to their supervisor or manager for approval before sending them on to HR for payroll processing. This may be done via email or with paper employee timesheets that must be scanned and manually inputted into the system. Either way, it can be a messy and inefficient procedure for the employees and the company.
Employee Self-Service
HR and payroll teams have a lot on their plate. Between processing payroll, running open enrollment, and launching performance review cycles, they are constantly fielding questions from their workforce. Employee self-service (ESS) technology allows employees to access their personal information independently, freeing time for your team to focus on innovative people strategies. In addition, you can visit sites like Finch to explore their financial planning services and resources.
For hourly workers, ESS allows them to see their schedules in advance quickly, file leave requests, pick up available shifts, and view their own timesheets and benefits information. This saves managers the back-and-forth communication with employees and frees up their day to complete other duties.
24/7 access to crucial company information also helps streamline the new hire onboarding process. By reducing manual paperwork, HR can focus more on developing recruitment strategies, organizational compliance, and employee training programs. Staffers are happier when they don’t have to jump through hoops to update their PTO balance or track their pay stubs. HRMS software’s automated attendance tracking and management features also help reduce unexplained absences and short shifts, improving team performance.
Automated Performance Reviews
Employee performance reviews are a critical part of employee management. They help managers identify training needs, take corrective action, and facilitate promotion opportunities. However, they can be time-consuming and tedious, especially for large annual review companies.
Using an automated system helps streamline the evaluation process. Instead of having managers fill out each employee’s name and position on evaluation forms by hand, the software automatically enters information from employees’ HR records. This saves several minutes per review form and hours of paperwork each review cycle.
Additionally, an automated system allows managers to select from various evaluation methodologies. These include self-assessments, team assessments, and 360-degree feedback. This helps managers avoid human biases that creep into the review process and ensures accurate ratings for each employee.
In addition to increasing productivity, automating the performance review process allows HR specialists to focus on other HR-related tasks, such as onboarding new hires and processing overtime requests. This can help alleviate staffing issues during the worker shortage that has plagued businesses worldwide.
Boost Employee Morale
When employee morale is high, it can directly impact workplace efficiency. When employees are happy with their jobs, they are more likely to come in every day and do their best work. They are also less likely to need “mental health days” or call in sick as often, which can help keep absenteeism and turnover rates low.
A big part of this is having effective communication. Whether through two-way feedback or company-wide meetings, employees need to know that their opinions are heard and appreciated by the management team. They also need to know that they can rely on their management teams to provide support and guidance when required.
Additionally, providing employees with monetary performance-based incentives is important when possible. These can be employee bonuses or raises and are a great way to show that you care about your employees’ careers and job satisfaction. Also, remember to give praise and recognition to employees whenever it is warranted. This can go a long way in boosting employee morale and is an easy way to improve workplace efficiency.
HIPAA Compliance
HIPAA compliance has many benefits, including boosting employee morale, as healthcare professionals feel more job satisfaction when they know that patient data is being protected. However, HIPAA violations can also have costly ramifications. Developing and implementing rigorous training programs can help workers understand the significance of protecting patient privacy and data security while improving workplace efficiency.
One of the most common reasons for HIPAA violations is a lack of compliance-related policies and procedures. This includes the inability to limit access to facilities that house, which is a violation of HIPAA regulations.
It also includes failing to train remote employees on security policies and procedures adequately. The latter can result in a significant breach. For example, in a respiratory care group case, an employee left 300 patient records in her car when she left the office to attend a wedding.
While it might seem inconvenient to lose those files, it was a severe breach that cost the company in fines. It was not the first time that the company suffered from a security breach.