The best HR tools for employee management

Published by Andrea Day on

The best HR tools for employee management

Table of contents

HR has one of the most impactful roles in any company, when operating effectively. They manage the relationship between an employee and the business. A positive relationship improves productivity, and trust in the workplace. The role of HR is critical, especially in the most challenging employment situations. 

As a result, HR departments need to be operating as efficiently as possible. HR tools are a key component in the HR workday, and can help the department to manage their ever-increasing workload. The work of human resources is never finished, so it’s key to ensure they receive the support they need to aid your employees. 

Industry-leading HR tools can take the pressure away from common tasks, and allow your HR department to focus on your workforce.

man at laptop HR management

Benefits of HR tools

One of the primary benefits of the latest HR tools and software is improved time management. The automation of tasks can significantly reduce the time it takes to complete them. Therefore, HR teams can focus on more challenging tasks. 

For example, there are many repetitive tasks during the onboarding of a new team member. These might include creating and sending contracts, setting up new log-ins and more. These tasks are likely to be the same each time, and can be automated. Ultimately, this frees up time to address more serious concerns. 

Similarly, the automation of onboarding tasks can improve the onboarding experience for new employees. The process should demonstrate that your company is efficient, and can run smoothly. Not only do these tools make onboarding easy for the employee, but they improve the process for the company, too.

Improved efficiency of HR allows the department to focus on the priority of their role; the people. The human element of human resources can be the most challenging. Task automation and improved time management benefits the company culture, and ensures HR has the time to listen to employees.

happy team at desks collaborating at laptops

Collaboration and documentation tools

HR tools that facilitate collaboration on documentation are useful throughout the entire business. However, they are particularly important for HR. The department handles an immense amount of paperwork and documentation every day. It’s important to make the transfer, storage, and completion of this documentation as easy as possible. 

Tools like Google Workspace offer real-time collaboration on documents throughout the workforce. The cloud-based system allows you to track documents, and any changes made, throughout their lifecycle. 

This helps to manage and keep on top of the heaps of documentation that are a regular fixture in an HR workday. For example, the HR department might be dealing with employment contracts, reimbursement requests, application forms and more. Managing these on a cloud-based server is much more efficient than transferring physical copies.

Employee portals

Online portals are perhaps more helpful for the employee, but take the pressure away from the HR department. 

Company-wide portals should be a resource for the entire workforce. They might contain resources such as FAQ’s for certain departments or job roles, or facilitate the submission of requests. 

For example, ordinarily, an employee would make their expenses request to an HR employee. However, an employee portal can automate this process, so the request can be accepted or rejected quickly. 

Employees should be able to reach all the resources they need within the portal. Therefore, the HR department can focus on their role, rather than answering repetitive questions, printing off forms, and filling out request documents.

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Recruitment can be one of the most time-consuming elements of the HR job role. Unfortunately, there will always be a human element to recruitment. Time will need to be spent conducting interviews, and reading application forms, to assess the right candidates. 

However, not all of the recruitment process needs to be conducted manually. HR tools can automate the more monotonous tasks required within recruitment. 

Tools like Workable and FreshTeam help to manage the recruitment process. They can automate job postings, manage the storage of applicant data for compliance, manage offer letters, and schedule interviews.

Many of these tools also extend beyond the recruitment process. They can assist with onboarding and new hire tools once a decision has been made.

Digital and Online Training

Managing employees also means helping them to progress, and managing their journey through the company. HR has to facilitate growth, in order to maximise employee engagement and retention. Employees that aren’t motivated to move forward are far more likely to leave. 

Custom onboarding solutions can allow your business teams to manage their onboarding processes in  a collaborative way, ensuring consistency of practice while at the same time letting business teams highlight the things that are unique to them. That’s why we develop custom HR applications for a wide variety of topics like onboarding, personal development planning and processes as well as digital training. We can help you to leverage your existing technology stack to create new digital experiences.

An effective training and development programme is also a critical HR tool. In today’s world, training is more likely to be digitized. More employees are working remotely than ever before, and the majority of workplaces operate using digital technologies. Learning should take advantage of these technologies, too.

Digital experiences are a valuable tool in the HR arsenal. They can provide scenario-based learning, on digital platforms, as well as add functionality to your existing HR planning and workforce management tools. They can adapt to the user, and the relevant job role. Therefore, each user has a different experience, resulting in more effective outcomes. 

Gamification elements keep employees engaged, and allow you to monitor their progress throughout the training modules. 

Providing a positive training experience demonstrates the companies commitment to employee progression. Often overlooked, an effective HR department will make use of effective learning tools. 

At BAD, we create digital learning experiences for a range of industries. We understand the importance of progression within your organization, and are keen to provide your workforce with the best training possible. Get in touch to discuss your next training programme.

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The best HR tools for employee management

HR has one of the most impactful roles in any company, when operating effectively. They manage the relationship between an employee and the business. A positive relationship improves productivity, and trust in the workplace. The role of HR is critical, especially in the most challenging employment situations.

As a result, HR departments need to be operating as efficiently as possible. HR tools are a key component in the HR workday, and can help the department to manage their ever-increasing workload. The work of human resources is never finished, so it’s key to ensure they receive the support they need to aid your employees.