“The purpose of an employee management system is to help improve workforce productivity, identify ways to engage and retain talent and alleviate administrative burdens for HR professionals. Achieving greater efficiency through the use of technology can also help control costs and minimize compliance risks,” according to payroll services provider ADP.
Accurate Time and Attendance Tracking
One of the most significant benefits of using employee management software is the ability to track time and attendance accurately. For wage and hour compliance, keeping accurate time records is important for businesses of all sizes. Traditional manual methods of tracking time, such as paper timesheets or punch clocks, can be time-consuming and error-prone. With employee management software, team members clock in and out electronically, eliminating the need for manual calculations and reducing the risk of errors. This saves time and helps prevent time theft and inaccuracies in payroll calculations, ultimately leading to cost savings for the business.
Many small retail businesses have seen a reduction in payroll disputes and errors after switching from time clocks to employee management software. As a result, productivity and morale improve when team members are less worried about being paid what they’re owed.
Conflict-free Work Scheduling
Scheduling is another tedious HR task that employee management software can easily automate. Creating and managing team schedules can be time-consuming and challenging, especially for businesses with multiple shifts or changing schedules. Employee management software simplifies this process by providing an easy-to-use scheduling tool that allows businesses to create and update schedules in real time while considering staff availability, time-off requests, and other factors. This helps small businesses always ensure adequate staffing levels and prevents scheduling conflicts or over-staffing situations.
For small restaurants and other service-oriented businesses, deploying a digital scheduling tool results in improved communication and better shift coverage with few scheduling conflicts, leading to increased customer satisfaction and repeat business.
Performance Management
Small businesses often struggle with evaluating performance and providing feedback in a consistent and timely manner. Employee management software provides a platform for setting performance goals, tracking progress, and conducting performance reviews. This enables small businesses to manage performance effectively, identify areas of improvement, and recognize top performers.
Regular feedback and performance evaluations can help motivate team members, increase engagement, and drive better results for the business. The popularity of annual performance reviews for providing feedback has fallen in recent years, with 55 percent of team members believing annual reviews are not helpful, according to a 2019 Workhuman Analytics & Research study. Employee management software provides real-time performance data to support continuous feedback.
Managing a Growing Workforce
Most small businesses start with just a handful of people. Managing HR for a small team may seem like a part-time job, but as the team grows, workforce management becomes more complex quickly. Employee management software platforms offer other features besides those mentioned above to reduce HR-related administrative overhead:
Leave management features allow team members to request time off electronically. Managers can review and approve requests, ensuring they’ve adequately staffed their teams and are complying with all labor laws.
- Document management features allow businesses to store and access important employment documents, including contracts, tax forms, and certifications, in a centralized and secure location, reducing the need for physical file storage and simplifying record-keeping.
- Communication tools, such as messaging and notifications, ease communication between team members and managers. This enables quick and effective communication about schedule changes, time-off requests, and other HR-related matters.
- Implementing employee management software can provide significant benefits for small businesses. By automating time tracking, streamlining scheduling, simplifying performance management, and performing other useful functions, employee management software can save time and money, improve workforce satisfaction, and enhance overall HR processes.
Real-world examples have shown how small businesses have successfully implemented these tools, resulting in improved morale, increased productivity, and reduced HR-related errors and disputes.
If you have a small business and want to simplify your HR processes, an workforce management system like coAmplifi could be the answer. With tools to manage workforce attendance, scheduling, performance, and other important HR operations, coAmplifi is the best all-in-one solution for small business management.