By Dakota Murphey
There is little doubt that an empowered workforce is the key to innovation and business success.
Employee engagement and business culture are hot topics right now for exactly that reason. It sounds simple, but there is no single right model for business culture and employee engagement.
Firstly, effective employee engagement sits within a framework of strategic business priorities which differs between organisations. Secondly, business culture, of which employee engagement is a part, isn’t an off-the-peg business solution. It is much more complex than that.
A flourishing culture in one business may not necessarily have all of the right ingredients for another. Business culture incorporates the company vision, values, norms, systems, language, assumptions, habits and beliefs. It is the DNA of any business and just like real DNA will be coded differently for every single business, even in those that appear similar.
Having said all of that, there are heaps of tools, guides and systems that can help to support a better culture in business. One of these is HR software.
In this article we’ll be looking at how the right HR software can improve employee engagement.
What is HR software?
HR software is a computerised system that combines all of the necessary HR functions required for employee management in one place. It assists with managing people, automating HR tasks and keeping employee information in order.
Software ranges from the most basic to scalable options and programmes designed for large corporates managing thousands of staff. Traditional HR software is installed on individual computers, while cloud-based software is accessible from any device that has internet access. SaaS HR software (software as a service) is now the most popular type of HR programme because of its low set-up costs and easily scalable options.
HR software in any form provides a platform for manging everything related to HR, which includes all or some of the many features available such as a database of employee information and management of sickness absence, holiday planning, payroll, benefits, expenses, timesheets, recruitment, employee training and development, legal responsibilities and more.
While HR functions in start-ups and micro businesses can be run on spreadsheets, paper files and e-mail at the outset, as soon as a business has more than a handful of employees, the switch from manual methods to dedicated software is crucial to support effective employee engagement.
The key elements of HR software supporting employee engagement
General time saving
One of the key wins HR professionals gain from a comprehensive HR software package is time saved from mundane administrative tasks, freeing up more time to spend improving the employee experience, job satisfaction and subsequently productivity.
Better communication
Effective communication is essential for improving the employee experience. HR software makes it easier to ensure everyone in the business is kept in the loop. Using a good HR system, miscommunication can be avoided as all HR functions are being dealt with from a central place.
The self-service functionality available in many HR software packages offers benefits by improving communication in the business and encouraging greater autonomy. Many HR systems include a recognition feature enabling employees to give kudos. Recognising achievements makes employees feel good and can motivate others to strive for the same recognition.
Businesses operating from multiple locations and those with a working from home policy also benefit hugely from HR software with strong communication features, which can help to bridge gaps between teams and contribute to greater collaboration, all of which are important essentials for employee engagement. HR software provides a unified platform for sharing ideas.
Streamlined recruitment and on-boarding
Employee engagement starts at the beginning of the employee experience and that includes the recruitment process. From the first interaction a potential employee has with your business they will be gathering information about the necessary skills and behaviours required to become effective engaged members of the team.
Effective onboarding has been shown to have a positive effect on the time it takes for a new employee to settle into a role and multiple studies reveal that effective onboarding increases performance and engagement.
Reporting function: collecting and collating feedback
Analytics and reporting are essential components of HR and should therefore be an important consideration when it comes to the selection of HR software. An always-on feedback system allows problems to surface in real time. Feedback is often achieved through the performance review aspect of HR software and ensures timely responses to any problems, thus contributing to increased employee engagement.
Learning and development
One of the most important aspects of employee engagement revolves around the opportunity to learn new skills and progress. Most HR software programs come with a learning management system to ensure every employee has a work development plan.
Employees who are given the opportunity to improve existing skills and learn new ones outperform those who aren’t. Poorly trained employees are much more likely to be disengaged with their work.
How does HR software help? Firstly, HR software helps to facilitate performance evaluation and training needs. It also offers a formalised process for employee improvement, enabling the structured development of individual training goals. Implementing and monitoring individualised training schedules is also much easier with HR software, which ensures employees can play an active part in the process.
Summary
HR software provides the framework for everything to do with people management and importantly enables appropriate professionals to identify employee engagement problems, provide solutions and implement plans to fix them. Regular staff and line manager check-ins and individual performance reviews are an essential part of the employee engagement process and easily managed through most comprehensive HR software programs.
The Telegraph recently reported that the economic impact of employees’ engagement levels is enormous, citing a 2016 Gallup meta-analysis in which it concluded that business units with highly engaged employees are 21% more profitable.
So much goes into employee engagement from the values and vision of the business to the management style, the business culture and the day-to-day experience of employees. HR is all about people management and while all departments in an organisation should be contributing to employee engagement, the HR function is vital for supporting and developing employees and driving employee satisfaction. HR software helps to standardise and improve engagement at every level of an organisation.
Dakota Murphey has a wealth of experience in business management and has previously worked as a business growth consultant for over 10 years. She now enjoys sharing her knowledge through her writing and connecting with other like-minded professionals. Find out what else she's been up to on Twitter: @Dakota_Murphey
