How Online HR Services Can Improve Your Efficiency

HR tasks tend to be repetitive and time-consuming. Old methods, such as creating records by hand or using a patchwork of different software systems, are inefficient and can waste the limited time and resources of small and mid-sized companies.

Providers of online HR services can help you increase the efficiency of a wide range of HR functions, including payroll processing, benefits administration, recruiting and onboarding new employees, HR management, employee development and more. These services use advanced HR technology to help complete tasks quickly, simply and economically. They streamline many HR tasks, freeing up staff time for more productive endeavors.

Understanding Online HR Services

Online HR services provide a way for you to outsource some or most your company’s HR administrative functions. They are particularly useful for small and medium-sized companies that don’t have the in-house HR resources of a large company, which has the resources to fully staff an HR department, obtain the most up-to-date and feature-rich HR software system and run it in-house. A smaller company usually doesn't have a full-fledged HR department and may not have the time or budget to research and buy the best HR software for their needs, not to mention hiring the tech people necessary to install and continually troubleshoot, maintain, and update the system in-house.

Online HR services provide a great alternative for small or medium companies. Instead of running your own HR software system in-house, you can access a high-quality cloud-based system that provides a full range of online HR services and expertise at a cost-effective price.

Customize your services

You may be able to tailor the services you receive from an online HR services provider to best fit your needs. One option is to get a stand-alone human resources information system (HRIS). This is cloud-based HR software that efficiently helps handle payroll processing, benefits administration, workforce management and other HR functions.

A second option is to outsource your HR tasks to an administrative services organization (ASO), which combines an HRIS with HR consulting using teams of professionals who are experts in payroll, HR and other vital HR functions. You can choose to outsource one, several, or most of your HR functions to an ASO.

A third option is to work with a professional employer organization (PEO). Like an ASO, a PEO combines the powerful technology of an HRIS with best practice guidance of human experts. A PEO also uses its economy of scale to give small and medium-sized businesses access to benefit plans usually available to larger companies. A PEO and its client are in a co-employment relationship, and the PEO is responsible for certain responsibilities as allocated in the client agreement and generally administers payroll taxes for the payroll paid through its platform.

Key Components of Online HR Services

Let's look at some of the functions that can be addressed by online HR services.

Data management

If you are using a paper filing system or an outdated or disorganized electronic filing system, the data management features from online HR service providers will make a big difference in streamlining your HR functions. In a paper filing system, for example, you may have information on an employee’s personal data, benefits and payroll stored in different places. Retrieving all the information you need from paper files or separate software programs can be a time-consuming chore that involves looking in several locations and it’s unfortunately easy for important records to get misfiled or lost.

An online HR services platform brings your employee data together in one central and secure location. All the information you want to retrieve can be accessed easily. It’s also simple to create new records and update them. In many cases, employees can do that themselves through a mobile employee app, saving your HR staff even more time. An HRIS will also secure your data and put controls in the system for access to the data.

Talent acquisition and recruitment strategies

Online HR services streamline the steps of the recruitment process to help attract top applicants including an integrated onboarding. An HRIS can help you post your job posting and place it on relevant job boards and social media sites. Then, it can help automate the process of tracking applicants, so you can stay updated and informed of applicants.

Once you have found the right candidates, you can access a background check provider through the HR system to order background checks from the provider and send offer letters to the chosen applicants. Then, your new hires can quickly do their onboarding themselves on the HR service’s mobile app. As part of the process, they can choose their benefits and payment methods, saving your staff the time of obtaining and inputting their information. The system can also create relevant tax documents for the new hires and set up accounts for them on integrated software. All of this is done online, so there is no paperwork — all filing is electronic and stored securely in the cloud.

Performance management systems

Online HR services can help your employees become more productive and engaged. Software tools help keep your staff focused on the goals that are most important to your company. Using the HRIS to track their progress on these goals helps keep employees motivated. Customizable templates and mobile app access help to make performance reviews more efficient. Online meeting tools help managers and staff stay aligned with their expectations.

Benefits administration

If you are administering your company’s employee benefits by hand or using outdated software, it’s going to take a lot of time. That may limit the number of benefit plans you’re able to administer. With online HR services, you won’t have to do so much time-consuming paperwork and recordkeeping for each benefits plan. With the time you save, you may be able to offer your employees additional types of benefits, such as supplemental insurance or 401(k) plans, which will help you attract and retain talented employees.

Training and development platforms

When you train and develop your employees, they become more engaged with their jobs, more satisfied with their work experience and less likely to leave for another company. Training and development platforms make administering employee training easy. Depending on the platform, online HR services may offer access to tools to help:

• Create personalized learning paths for individual employees
• Provide online training materials.
• Inform employees of outside courses.
• Measure the results.

The company can benefit from possible reduced turnover. It also is better able to pinpoint the skills it needs as it grows and creates new jobs and then to develop those skills in its workforce.

Employee engagement and relations

Online HR service providers can promote employees’ engagement in several ways. An HRIS can foster employee engagement right from the start of their time with your company with an efficient onboarding process that gets them off on the right foot, personalized training and development programs that help them meet their career goals, and a user-friendly mobile app that simplifies their HR interactions.

While all employees benefit from the features of an HIRS, the technology provides an especially useful way to keep your remote employees engaged. Self-service options, mobile apps, and communication tools make it simple for employees to get information, update their records, and communicate with managers and co-workers no matter where they are, so that they feel like they are a part of the company's culture even if they are not physically present.

Data analytics can also be used to help increase the satisfaction and engagement of your workforce. Using the HRIS compensation benchmarking and reporting solution can help you get visibility into compensation data for your workforce. This analysis can give you the info you need to be informed about current trends in compensation. This benchmarking can also help increase your ability to compete with other companies for top talent by offering competitive compensation, as well as make confident compensation decision for your current workforce.

HR compliance and employment-related rules and requirements

Employment-related rules and requirements are complex and often change. Rules can include those governing benefits, retirement plans, minimum wage, overtime, independent contractors versus employees, payroll tax, rest breaks, family and medical leave, discrimination, employee relations, harassment, safety requirements, collective bargaining, and wrongful termination. Businesses must comply with rules and requirements from the federal, state, and local and sometimes industry level.

Staying on top of the rules and requirements can be difficult for a small company. Online HR service providers help you mitigate risks by providing resources to include filing deadlines, governing pay in different locations, and updates to rules and requirements.

Depending on the type of HR outsourcing you choose, you may also have access to compliance professionals who provides best practice guidance when asked. Audits are another useful tool to help uncover potential concerns so you can address them.

Online HR services can also provide easy access to best practice guidance and reference material on employment-related rules and requirements to help you prevent employment-related claims. Providers may also help you manage these claims that do arise and limit your exposure through employment practices liability insurance.

Payroll services and human capital management

Outsourcing payroll services is a popular option and a vast enhancement over preparing payroll by hand. Online HR service providers can help calculate time, gross and net pay, and deductions. They can also print paychecks or pay direct deposits and provide paper or electronic pay stubs. They can help handle payroll tax administration for payroll processed in their system, and the payroll records are maintained in the system up to date. HRIS services can provide tools to help with work schedule, provide virtual time cards, and sync information on time worked with payroll data.

Human capital management is an approach that treats employees as assets. When you use an online HR service company, you are investing in your employees by providing them with efficient HR, along with all the other advantages and conveniences the HRIS platform offers.

Leveraging Online HR Services for Efficiency

Now we can review some of the attributes of online HR services that enable to business to operate more efficiently.

Integration

Online HR services can integrate with other software programs, both within the system and with other software that you may already be using, such as accounting programs. When an event affects more than one function, everything gets updated and cross-referenced. For example, when you onboard a new client, you’ll need to create a new payroll record and also schedule their onboarding activities. An integrated system syncs changes from the payroll software and the scheduling software. This helps to eliminate the need for repetitive data entry and also greatly simplifies retrieving employee information.

Mobile application

A mobile application provides user-friendly access to the HR system 24/7 from any phone, tablet, or computer anywhere there is an internet connection. This enables owners, managers, and employees to get information and update their records from home, while traveling, or almost anywhere else. Interacting with the HR system can take place at any time and no longer has to interrupt and take time away from your employees’ main priorities.

Employee self-service

Combined with the convenience of the mobile app, the employee self-service portal streamlines employees’ interaction with the system. Employees can get the information they need, sign up for benefits, track their pay, and update their records without requiring HR staff to spend time retrieving and delivering information for them or inputting their updates.

Database management system

An HR database management system from an online HR services provider lets you perform many functions with your employee records. You can easily, conveniently, and efficiently create, retrieve, change and analyze employee records. A database management system also has tools for managing the security of your data, including controlling who can access it, which is vitally important when you are dealing with sensitive employee information.

You can also easily generate reports from your database to identify trends and gain actionable insights about employee turnover, compensation, and diversity. These data analytics can help you make informed and strategic decisions about how to optimize your workforce.

Templates and customization

Templates save you time. You don’t have to start from scratch and reinvent the wheel every time you need a particular form or document. For example, online HR service providers give you access to templates for performance reviews. Not only are these time-savers, but they also help you avoid overlooking any important items that you want your performance reviews to cover.

Sometimes a template out of the box is just what you need. Other times, you’ll want to customize it to fit your particular situation. With HRIS software, you can configure the provided templates, or you can use the tools that are included to create your own custom document.

Communication

Online HR service providers give you access to tools that make communication within your company easy so that all your people are well-informed and connected. You can post announcements and share information with the whole company, with select groups or teams, or directly with individual employees. Real-time feeds keep discussions and answers in one place. Collaboration tools keep employees engaged. Easy access via mobile devices or desktop computers enables your employees to communicate from anywhere.

Advantages of HR Outsourcing for Small Businesses

HR outsourcing can save money and time. It also provides services that can help your small business grow and thrive:

Cost optimization and operational efficiency

By automating routine and repetitive HR functions, HR outsourcing can help save you money you would otherwise have to spend paying employees to do these time-consuming tasks. By helping you navigate employment-related rules and requirements, HR outsourcing can help mitigate the risk of penalties, fees, and lawsuits from noncompliance.

HR outsourced services are fast and efficient. Your operations will run more smoothly when HR tasks are done timely, and you don’t have to waste valuable time tracking down and potential errors.

Access to expertise and advanced HR technology

HR outsourcing providers give you the advantages enjoyed by large company HR departments without the cost of maintaining a large HR staff and in-house technology systems. Because HR outsourcers work with many client companies, they can pool resources to provide top-rate experts and technology to small businesses that would otherwise not be able to afford them on their own.

Supports compliance with employment-related rules and requirements

It takes a lot of resources and knowledge to identify, understand, and apply all the applicable rules and requirements at the federal, state, and local level relating to HR, payroll, and payroll taxes. It takes even more resources to keep up with the frequent changes. A small business with a lean staff and a tight budget usually has other priorities for the resources it has.

HR compliance, though, is not optional. Violations, even accidental ones, can result in hefty fines from government agencies or lawsuits filed by disgruntled employees. An online HR service provider helps support your HR compliance, keeping you up-to-date with the latest requirements, helping you meet filing deadlines, and providing time-tracking and payroll record-keeping.

Strategic workforce planning and development

Your HR data contains a wealth of useful information on the effectiveness of your workforce. The problem is how to retrieve that information from your raw data. The solution is to perform data analytics. While doing analytics is a sophisticated function, you don’t need a Ph.D. in math to access actionable information. An HRIS provides user-friendly tools that make it simple to discover optimal staffing solutions. With a few clicks, you can produce reports, including clear charts and graphs, that will guide you in making strategic decisions about the most effective ways to plan your workforce and develop your employees’ full potential.

Fostering diversity and inclusion in the workplace

Cultivating a diverse and inclusive workforce will help you create a positive work environment, encourage innovation, attract and retain top talent, better understand your customers, and achieve your business goals. An HRIS system can help you:

• Support the recruitment process.
• Use data analytics to track metrics to measure progress and increase accountability.
• Promote employee engagement.
• Provide the tool to help personalize onboarding that takes diverse backgrounds into account.
• Create mentorship programs.
• Enhance the performance review process.
• Identify the need for training programs.

Organizational development and change management

Organizational development uses data to increase the effectiveness of your company and help your employees reach their full potential. The user-friendly data analytics provided by an HRIS platform makes it possible for all managers, not just tech people, to access valuable data about trends in your workforce and use it for strategic decision-making.

Change is inevitable, but if not handled well, it can cause anxiety and lost productivity. The solution is to implement deliberate and effective change management. Keeping all stakeholders informed about what is going on is a key aspect of managing change. An HRIS can help you navigate successfully through times of change by making it easy for you to communicate with your entire workforce or the teams or individuals you choose. The HRIS can also help you and your employees stay on track with your goals, measure the progress you are making, and create or update HR policies to stay aligned with the changes.

How to Operate More Efficiently

Outsourcing HR functions to an online HR services provider can help small and medium-sized businesses work more efficiently. TriNet brings many or all of your HR functions together on a single advanced technology platform to save you time and create a better experience for your employees.

With its intuitive design and user-friendly tools, TriNet is easy to use. Employees appreciate the convenience of its mobile app and employee portal. The time savings are significant. Our data shows that TriNet HR customers*:

• Cut their payroll processing time by an average of 50%.
• Save up to one week per year on HR administration.
• Spent 90% less time on payroll processing and benefits administration.

To find out more about how TriNet HR can help your small or medium business, contact us today.

*Individual business results may vary, including results of TriNet clients.

This communication is for informational purposes only, is not legal, tax or accounting advice, and is not an offer to sell, buy or procure insurance.

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