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Ultimate guide

The ultimate guide to reviewing your HR software

If you haven’t reviewed your HR software in the last 12 months, now’s the time to start.

Using sub-standard HR software might be costing your business, but without reviewing your provider, you’ll never know. This guide gives you everything you need to confidently review your HR software, spot the signs of a good (and not-so-good) provider, and decide whether it’s time for a change.

Contents

Go straight to the topic you’re interested in by clicking on the text below.

Chapter 1

The importance of regularly reviewing your HR software provider

In this chapter you’ll learn

  • Why you should review your HR provider

We don’t need to harp on about the benefits of great HR software.

83% of HR leaders say HR tech enables them to be more flexible and responsive, while 80% believe investing in HR tech has improved their business.

But stop for a second and technology can pass you by. That’s why it’s important you take the time to regularly review your software and the service you’re receiving.

A lot can change in ten years. Think GDPR, Gender Pay Gap Reporting, the Job Retention Scheme, IR35, home working policies, and Shared Parental Leave and Pay (ShPP). Don’t forget the impact the ERA has had on HR in the last year. The list goes on.

Technology has evolved too. HR software has come a long way from clunky, frustrating systems and is now smarter, more intuitive and built around the user experience. Modern platforms feature user-friendly interfaces, are accessible anytime, and championed by employees.

Plus, a lot of the manual HR admin can be automated – which means HR departments are released from their desks and able to think strategy!

The real question is, has your current HR software moved with the times? Or is there a chance it’s lagging, which means you are too?

Chapter 2

How you can get value for your money

In this chapter you’ll learn

  • How to understand the value you're getting
  • Key factors to consider

You don’t have to be a finance manager to want bang for your buck. 

We all want more for less. Reviewing your HR software is going to provide you the peace of mind that your current provider is giving you and your business value for money.

However, before you can understand the value you’re getting, you need to look at the price you’re paying.

But it’s not just about looking at the fee your provider charges per month, year or by employee. These don’t fully represent the end-to-end cost of your HR. There are a number of other factors you need to consider.

Key factors to consider

  • Inflexible systems

    Perhaps you have a system that’s clunky, where everything requires a ‘workaround’ and you’re entering the same data two or three times over.

    But what if you could be using software that’s easy-to-use, smart, and efficient? 

    Even if the price is slightly higher, you might still see a reduction in the end-to end cost of HR, when you factor in the cost of time.

  • Hidden costs

    What are the costs of your salaried employees undertaking tasks associated with HR? Are there software and license fees? Or fees for system upgrades and maintenance?

    And how much time is spent inputting data into the system? 

    How often are mistakes made and how long does it take to correct these? How long does it take to complete all of the processes required to run basic HR functions in your business?

  • Data insight

    If you’re not getting good data insights, it’s tough to make good business decisions.

    If your competition has a slick system that tells them things like time-to-hire, hiring quality, absence trends and helps them to predict spend, all in real-time, and you can’t see that data for your business; they’ve got a solid competitive advantage.

    Making good decisions driven by data insight may not always yield an obvious cost-saving. But making bad decisions driven by guesswork, will almost certainly cost you something at some point.

Need more cost effective HR software?

If you want true value for money, book a demo today.

Book a demo

Chapter 3

The impact of HR software on employee retention and experience

In this chapter you’ll learn

  • The importance of what your people think of your HR provider
  • What may occur on the back of a bad HR provision

According to the CIPD, 61% of employers plan to recruit in the next three months, but 13% have hard-to-fill vacancies.

Another excellent reason to ensure you’re with a great HR provider – and not an average one – is your people.

If you’re looking to recruit but struggling to attract and retain top talent – you’re not alone.

The standard of your HR software can affect your ability to attract and retain the best people.

Here are three things that may occur off the back of bad HR software.

  • 1. A bad employee experience

    Completing timesheets, checking leave balances, updating personal details. People expect to be able to do this stuff anywhere, on any device.

    How your employees interact with their details and do their HR tasks should be quick and easy. If it’s archaic and slow, they will think you don’t care about this stuff, and this will absolutely affect your employer brand.

  • 2. Poor employer brand

    Not reaching the right candidates? Or maybe you aren’t showcasing the best bits of what you have to offer?

    Good candidates get snapped up quickly. A well-constructed and slick recruitment process will wow candidates. While a proper candidate portal will have them seeing your value and aligning with your company vision!

  • 3. Inflexible pay packages

    Our Engaged Employer study found that 87% of employees are looking for more than just a salary – they want flexible and financial benefits.

    Working hard to retain top talent? Offering great benefits might keep them from the temptation of joining other companies.

Next level employee engagement

Engaged and happy workforce right this way!

CHECK IT OUT

Chapter 4

What a good and bad HR software looks like

In this chapter you’ll learn

  • What to review
  • What good and bad looks like for both HR modules and functionality

HR modules

Your business size, growth plans, and internal make-up will impact what HR modules you have now and what you’ll need in the future. Not all modules are needed for every business. As an example, if you’re a small business with low churn you probably aren’t going to need an all singing all dancing recruitment module.

The below table details what the good and bad looks like in each area of HR software.

AreaWhat bad looks likeWhat good looks like
Employee record management· Employee details are scattered all over the system and unlinked, which means more duplicate data entry for you!

· Employees can’t update their own details as they please, it has to come through HR.		· One employee record and one source of data truth.

· The option for employees to edit the details they need, with validation points on things like sort codes and account numbers.
Compensation and employee pay · Constantly saying ‘these systems must talk to each other, surely?’

· Scraping HR data and dumping it into another system, simply to get your people paid.

· A dull pain every time commissions and out of payroll payments need to happen!		· One system where payroll and HR data is the same thing!

· New starters and leavers reflected in payroll.

· A system where you can bank on payslip accuracy.

· Easy verification when it comes to commission payments.
Employee experience · A desktop-based system which employees can ‘sometimes’ access.

· Poor visibility of company vision, mission and updates.

· No idea how their peers rate their performance.

· “We have a company wide event? I had no clue.”		· 24/7/365 mobile and desktop access to their personal data, so they can do their HR admin wherever and whenever.

· A hub of all thing’s ‘company’ with intranet links and hosting.

· Peer reviews, recognition and feedback, fed straight into employee profiles.

· True visibility of what’s going on in the business with a company calendar.
Time tracking· A broken system that sees employees knocking off a couple of hours early when you’re not looking.

· Hoping and praying employees are paid for the hours they work.

· No way to see time spent by department, or project.

· Paper timesheets and dodgy submissions.		· Proper clocking-in devices that suit your business set-up.

· A time tracking module that works alongside payroll, so you never get employee pay wrong.

· Accurate reporting, in real-time, split the way you want.
Recruitment· Managing candidate details in Excel, risking dodgy data leaks.

· Constant back and forth with hiring managers.

· Slow requisitions hitting the HR email inbox.		· Candidate details stored safely and securely in a GDPR compliant database.

· Total hiring manager visibility of candidate status and requisition progression.

· Manager self-serve with requisitions done in a jiffy.
Performance · A sad once a year tick box exercise.

· Low accountability for goals set, with no document of what’s been achieved.

· No idea who in the business has actually done their performance review.

· Employee and manager disengagement. 		· A totally customisable performance process, to suit your business goals.

· Performance goals stored against employee records with progression check-ins across the year.

· Real-time, accurate adoption reporting.
Expenses · Crumpled receipts knocking around in laptop bags.

· No way of tracking mileage.

· Inability to see spend by department and enforce policy.		· Digital receipt handling and expense submission.

· Mileage and consumption tracking.

· Auto flags aligning to specific expense policies.
Onboarding/ offboarding · Terrible employee communication in and out of the business.

· Leavers still accessing company information, or worse, still getting paid.		· An automated onboarding and offboarding experience, tailored to your business and your checkpoints.

· A system lockdown as soon as an employee is marked as a leaver.
Training and development · What’s training again?· A complete employee skills matrix, highlighting development needs.

· A proper training record held against each employee, documenting completed training.
Workforce management · Internal promotions based on gut feelings, hopes and prayers.

· Sloppy recruitment processes that don’t attract the right talent. 		· Proper succession plans, based on employees neatly plotted out in a nine box grid.

· Comprehensive succession plans, with beautiful
skills matrix.

· A recruitment process that shows off company best bits.

HR functionality

Great HR Software goes above and beyond a shiny interface and a couple of features. Reviewing your software is about looking at all aspects of your software and the service that comes with it. Be aware, something might look great on the surface but be sure to do your digging to ensure you’re still getting value for money!

AreaWhat bad looks likeWhat good looks like
HR automation· Manually onboarding new starters and going around the houses to check everything is as it should be.

· Drowning in notes and reminders.		· One time set-up of workflows and forms that follow your processes.

· An onboarding process that makes employees feel part of the business and stay with the business.
Accessibility · Paying for server upgrades.

· Worrying about losing all your data.

· Inability to access systems when and where you want, lacking real-time information.

· Office based access only, with individual or special computers.		· 24/7/365 cloud access.

· Mobile app access for employees, so they can manage their HR data on the go.

· Free to install, with no need for upgrades to the system.

· Secure, cloud-based software that can’t be stolen from the office.
Reliability · Software you sometimes can’t access due to unknown technical issues…

· Frustration caused by slow load speeds and freezing.

· Employees regularly disgruntled because they can’t get into the system.		· Headache-free system access and use for you and your employees whenever you need it.

· Never thinking ‘this system is always letting me down when I need it the most’.
Security· Once in a blue moon software penetration testing.

· A lack of security documentation.

· No accreditations, or badges that mean nothing to anyone.		· Continuous BitSight monitoring to ensure security 24/7.

· A full team of security experts backed by a well documented security protocol.

· Proper accreditations like Cyber Essential, ISO 2001 and 9001.
Integration· Wasting time entering the same data multiple times into different systems.

· Exporting data from one system, fiddling with it in Excel, then uploading it into another system.

· Data that’s out of sync and out-dated in both or either system.

· Asking yourself ‘surely these systems should be able to talk to each other?!’		· Seamless and accurate data flowing between Time & Attendance, HR, ERP, and Finance systems.

· APIs with real-time connections.

· Reduction in mistakes associated with inputting the same data twice.

· Integration of other software e.g. an Employee Benefits platform
Scalability · Your software doesn’t bend and flex to meet your process, it’s one-size-fits-all.

· There’s a lot of hoops (and costs) to get new users added to the platform.		· You can implement your software how you like. The software is flexible enough to process any performance review or recruitment process.

· Adding users is easy and doesn’t mean you need to jump pricing band.
Interface · Software that looks old fashioned and out-dated.

· Difficult to navigate the parts of the system you don’t frequently use.

· Regularly referring to notes and step-by-step system guides.

· Constant influx of employee queries, requesting information they could be accessing for themselves. 		· Software with a simple, clean look.

· Intuitive navigation that makes it easy to find new, unfamiliar things.

· Helpful prompts explaining things, or showing you what to do next.

· New people in your team can pick up and learn how to use the software quickly.

· Employees access their information with no help or input needed.
Customer service · Raising support tickets that go left unread.

· Waiting hours, days, weeks to get answers – your query passed from one team to the next.

· Dealing with unqualified individuals who don’t have the knowledge required to deal with your question.

· Frustration and empty cries for help!		· A team you can contact directly when you need help.

· Local support from a qualified team.

· Fast response times, over the phone, via email or through a support desk – however you like to communicate.

· Sense of relief that support is always available to you.

Chapter 5

When you should review and who should do it

In this chapter you’ll learn

  • When to conduct your review
  • Who should conduct the review

We recommend reviewing your HR Software provider every 12 months.

Why? Because technology changes quickly, and waiting too long can leave you behind your competitors.

Plus, economic and political circumstances may impact the provider that serves you. Keeping an eye on what’s changing and how that might have affected the software and service you’re getting is best conducted on a regular basis.

You want to be proactive not reactive if you do need to switch providers.

Key considerations

  • When would you need to move over to a new provider?

  • When does switching your provider need to happen? When does your contract expire?

  • How comprehensive and time-consuming is your procurement process?

  • How many potential providers would you want to review and consider?

 

Who should review?

There are three key stakeholders when it comes to your HR provision: firstly, the person (or people) responsible for HR. If you’re opting for an all-in-one HR & payroll platform, then you’ll need to involve those in charge of payroll too. 

  • Head of HR

    The person responsible for the HR in the business should lead the review, as they’re the person who will know the most when it comes to the ‘what’ needs reviewing.

  • Your employees

    The people who use the system the most, your employees, should provide input too, as they are best-placed to comment on employee experience.

  • Head of Finance

    The person in charge of the money should get involved early. If budget constraints arise when switching providers, they’ll better understand and support your business case.

Chapter 6

Conclusion

In this chapter you’ll learn

  • A summary of the guide
  • What our customers love

We encourage you to undertake a review of your HR provider on an annual basis.

It’s all about making sure you’re getting a good deal, and the latest functionality in the market!

And that doesn’t mean paying the lowest price. It means doing things quickly and efficiently, reducing wasted time and making sure employees are using and engaged with the system.

If you need another good reason to review your provider on a regular basis; remember how good it feels to be proactive – and how stressful it feels being reactive. 

Let’s say your software fails, there’s a data security breach or your provider goes out of business. These things are all worst-case scenario, but they’re all possible.

If you find yourself in a tough situation with your provider, having a bank of information on what’s available in the market, will be massively helpful.

Reviewing your HR provider doesn’t need to be hard work. It’s like window shopping, just take a look and ask: 

  1. What’s out there? 

  2. How does it compare to what I’ve got?

If you haven’t reviewed your HR software in the last 12 months, we recommend you get started. You’ll either prove your current provider to be fantastic or you’ll realise you could be benefiting from someone better.

Either way, you need to know where you and your business stand.

Good luck with your review!

By the way, have you considered Moorepay?

From HR professionals looking for software to keep up with them, users looking for a fully managed service, or additional services that support HR, we’ve got something for every business. We’re dedicated to providing easy to use, easy to access and easy to trust software and services, and this brochure breaks it down for you. But don’t take our word for it – see what our customers have to say.

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By the way, have you considered Moorepay?

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