Ending Spreadsheetchaos

Ending SpreadsheetChaos

HowanHRISwillSaveMoneyandTransform HR into a StrategicPowerhouse

Thechallengesoftoday’svolatilebusinessworldleaveHRprofessionals scramblingtofindenoughtimeintheirdaystorespondtotheneedsof employees,managersandtheever-growingHRworkload.Thenthere’s theissueoftakingaseatatthestrategictable.Thatdemandsaccurate data at your fingertips and the ability to demonstrate how talent-related informationtranslatesintobusinessresults.Innovativeweb-basedHR information systems make it both possible and affordable for even small and mid-sized HR functions to eliminate the chaos of paper or spreadsheets and flex their strategic-partnermuscles.

Intheaftermathoftherecession,few would argue that we’re facing a new business world. One that demands newandmoreefficientwaysofwork- ing.Andwhoismoreaboutefficiency thantheHRprofessionalworkingina small or medium-sized business? You havetobeifyou’regoingtojuggleall the duties and challenges that come yourwayeveryday.Factis,whenthe economytankeditsignaledthebegin- ningofawholeneweraforHR.

Therecessionclaimedmillionsofjobs, forcingcompaniestodomorewithless

–fewerpeopleandfewerfinancialre- sources. Pick up a business magazine today and you’ll read that organiza- tionsaredeclaringtheiremployeesto bethenewfoundationofcompetitive advantage.YouareanHRprofession- al—you’vealwaysknownthattalent

drivesacompany’sabilitytodifferenti- ateitselfandcompeteeffectively.Now thewholebusinessworld’sjumpedon- board. That new spotlight on workers meansgreateremphasisonHRandits talentmanagementcapabilities.

A recent survey by Human Resource Executivefoundawhopping80%ofHR leadersreporting“dramatically”higher levelsofstress.Whetheryou’releading HR in a large company or a small one, it’smuchthesame.Downsizing–com- pany-wideandinHRitself—forcesHR to do even more with less. Especially because companies increasingly look to HR not only for the people-related processes and transactions they’ve always handled, but also to step up to thetableandcontributeonastrategic level.Howdoyoufindthetime?!

Are You Tired of Spreadsheet Chaos?

Thinkaboutwhatyourjobrequiresinaday’stime.Anewhirestartswork; there’sorientationtodo.Ifyou’reusingapaper-basedsystem—andmany companiesstilldo—thatmeansformstollout,andinformationtobelogged andled(oeninmultipleplaces).Payrollrecordstocreate,documentationfor compliance…thelistcanbeendless.Evenifyou’veprogressedtoaspread- sheetprogram,dataentryisawkwardandtime-consuming.Itisn’teasyto share,ortoupdatequicklyandaccurately.Indeed,researchersreporterrors inasmanyas91%ofspreadsheets(Panko,2006).Nowonderthere’sspread- sheetchaos!

Alongwithnewhiresinyourworkday,youhaveexistingemployeestoserve. Brian in production wants to know how much vacation time he has. Julie in marketinghasachangeofaddress.Theheadofaccountingneedsanupdate ontrainingcompletedbyhisreports.enthere’stheyearlybudgetmeeting— you’vebeenaskedtoprovidefiguresonturnover.AndtheCEOwantstoknow aboutperformanceratingsforlinesupervisors.

Ifitseemsyouspendyourdaysputtingoutresandhandlingtransactionsin- steadofcontributingstrategically,you’renotalone.Surveyresultstellusthat “fewHRleadersspendmorethan10percentoftheirtimeatthestrategiclev- el,”andthatsomeinvestnearlytwo-thirdsoftheirtimeontransactionalwork (GartsideCutshall,2010).Howfrustratingisitwhenyoucan’tgetaroundto theworkyoureallywanttodo?

There’s an Answer for HR

If you’re among those eight out of 10 HR professionals whoarefeelingthepressure,youneedtoknowthere’san answer to help you juggle your growing responsibilities. That answer is an HR information system, or HRIS. In fact,fewactionsyoucouldtaketodayholdthepromiseof freeingyoufasterfromthetediumanderrorpotentialof handlingroutinetransactions,sloggingthroughspread-

sheets, responding to employees’ and managers’ requests,

andthemyriadotherdutiesyouhandle.HRIScanbeyour ticketoutofHRchaos.

Imagine how differently you could manage those same daily demands if you had an HRIS system in place. The new employee’s information is entered one place, one time. Often, the employee can enter much of it, so your time can be better used. When you need to access data aboutaworker,youcandosoinstantlyandwithoutleav- ingyourdesktosearchthroughclutteredfilecabinets.

Managers and employees can enjoy the convenience of self-service access to online records. Information is pro- tectedandsecure,preventingunauthorizedintrusion,but readilyavailabletoappropriateusers.ThatmeansBrianin productioncanloginandcheckhisaccruedtimeoff.With a few keystrokes, Julie can report her new address. And theaccountingdirectorcanseeforhimselfwhichreports havecompletedtraining.

WhatabouttheCEO’srequest?AnHRIScanstoreinforma- tionaboutemployeeperformance,makingadvancement decisions easier and more objective. When you choose a system that’s easy to use, managers (even the CEO!) can generate reports themselves, viewing results by the vari- ablestheyspecify.

HRIS Is A Nice Idea,But …

Oh, sure, you may be thinking. Automated HR is fine for bigcompanieswiththefinancialresourcesandITdepart- mentsthatmakeitpossible.I’maone-personHRfunction (ortwoorthree)inasmalloperation.Nobigbudgetor

IT geniuses to buy and maintain expensive hardware and soware.AndIcertainlydon’thavetimetolearnsomecom- plicatedapplication—that’llslowmedownevenmore.

ThenIreallyWILLbestressed!Couldn’twejustoutsource some HR functions? Many companies do, but a leading study(i4cp,2010)reportedthatonly57%aresatisedwith that solution — and that was only for administration of 401(k) programs. Satisfaction with other outsourced HR functionswassignificantlylower.Also,outsourcingcanbe costly…andposesquestionsaboutflexibility,customiza- tion,branding,andsecurity.

If those concerns and the idea of a hard-to-learn-and affordHRinformationsystemarekeepingyouchainedto anoutdatedpaperorspreadsheetapproach,you’reready forthenewgenerationofHRIS.Noexpensivehardwareor sowaretobuy.Noneedforin-houseITtosetupequip- ment,loadapplicationsandbattlethesowaregoblinsthat inevitablycropup.Bestofall,nolengthy,complicatedand mind-numbingtrainingneeded.Theneweasy-to-useand readily affordable online HR management systems can moveeventhemostskepticalHRprofessionalfrom“HRIS isaniceidea,but…”to“Finally…thepracticalproduct I’vebeenwaitingfor!”

What Can HRIS Do forYou?

•TopreasonswhycompanieschoosethepowerandconvenienceofHRIS:

•FreesHR’stimeformorevaluableuse

•Enablesgreateraccuracyincapturingandusingtalent-relateddata

•MakesHRtransactionsfasterandeasiertomanage

•Generatesreportsquickly

•Supportscompliance

•Providestrackingfortraining,retention,andotherfunctions

•Enablesdata-sharingandcollaborationacrossorganizationalfunctions

•Fuelscompanygrowthbyprovidingaccurateinformationonworkforceutilization

•Offerssecuredocumentanddatastorageandaccess

Making HRIS An Easy Choice

Unlike a traditional soware-based, in-house HRIS, thenewweb-basedsystemsenableHRprofessionals toenjoythebenefitsofarobustonlinemanagement system with no costly investments in hardware, soware, IT support and training. e system resides online,combiningtheconvenienceandversatilityof anemployee-datatoolwithfilestorage,documenta- tionmanagement,reportcapabilitiesandmore.You

accessthesecuresystemfromyourcomputer—PCor Mac—anytimeandanywhere.AllyouneedisanIn- ternetconnection.There’snothingtoinstall,andyour dataisprotectedandbackedupautomatically.

A functional and effective HRIS should make life easier, not harder, for HR professionals. Freedom fromanavalancheofpaperworkandtheerror-prone tedium of spreadsheets means HR can focus on the kinds of activities and contributions that bring real bottom-linevaluetotheirorganizations.

AkeyfactorinHR’stakingitswell-deservedseatatthe strategictableliesinthefunction’sabilitytospeakthe samelanguageasbusinessleaders.Anonline

HRIS enables HR professionals to instantly access

data and cut it by a variety of factors. Reports can becustom-designedandgeneratedatthepushofa

button. Those capabilities enable an HR professional to speak to company leaders in the language of the

C-suitenumbers.Theresult?PerceptionsofHRcan changebecauseyou’reabletodemonstrateitsreal value.

Innovative web-based HRIS packs many capabilities into one easily-implemented system: creation/main- tenance/storageofemployeerecords;trackingofpaid time off, benefits and training; document storage; report-generating capabilities; data export; self-ser- vice access for employees and managers; and more. Tomaketheapproachevenmorepracticalforsmaller companies,someprovidersrequirenolong-termcon- tract — organizations pay monthly and choose plans tailoredtothesizeoftheirworkforces.

Whenyou’rereadytohandleHRdatamoreeefficient- ly,ensuregreateraccuracyandbecomethestrategic partneryourorganizationneeds,thetimeisrightfor theconvenienceofweb-basedHRIS.

References

Flander, S. (2010, September 2). What’s keeping you up? Retrieved from

Gartside, D. & Cutshall, J. (2010, April 24). Make HR happy. Retrieved from

InstituteforCorporateProductivity.(2010).HRoutsourcing2010:Pulsesurveyresults. Retrieved from

Panko,R.(2006,June).SpreadsheetsandSarbanes-Oxley:Regulations,risks,andcontrolframe- works.UniversityofHawaii.

AboutBambooHR

Forsmalltomid-sizedbusinesses,BambooHRofferscloud-basedHRsoftware thatprovidessimpleandaccessibletoolsformanagingemployeedata.Unlike expensive and complicated enterprise HRIS solutions, BambooHR offers an affordable, easy-to-use, customized system for the specific needs of today’s companies.

To learn more visit bamboohr.com or call us today at 801-724-6600.

3210 North Canyon Road Suite 200

Provo, UT 84604

801-724-6600

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