Shylee's Blog

Shy Lee is an Associate Digital Marketing Manager at factoHR, an India based hr, and payroll software solution providers. A creative marketing strategist with over 8 years of experience developing digital marketing strategies and guiding business development

How to Simplify Leave Processing with Maximum Effectiveness using a Leave Management System

The businesses are facing new problems when it comes to the area of processing leaves. Many reasons can be accredited to the redundancies in the traditional approach and the modern employment scenario. All the employers are facing this situation and thus, this has paved the way for the modern Leave Management Systems. They can address the permanent and temporary staff irrespective of their base location, vertical, and seniority level. A common platform to accommodate these staff members completely without any manual correspondence is the fundamental reason to use a  Leave Management System. The core idea is to simplify all processes involved in completing the leave process and thus, the automation serves as the best tool when it comes to reducing the workload on the human supervisors. The quality of work is also increased along with the rise in productivity of the process. Nonetheless, the companies can process the leaves in a much agile and responsive manner than ever before. So dive in deeper to get some hands-on information on the use of Leave Management System. 

 

Centralise Processing and Channelize Application Submission

 

The main problem with the traditional approach is that there is a lot of decadence on manual correspondence. The employee needs to write an application containing large chunks of information and submit it to a manager who isn’t necessarily their reporting manager. The authority to grant leaves also makes the leave processing complex for the decision maker as well. The staff members have to wait for the action to be taken on their application for a long time. The LMS makes leave processing centralized as the administrator has complete authority over the authority flow. All the employees can make the request from the system portal with minimal input requirements and the application undergoes primary assessment instantly. The eligibility as per the company’s leave policy applicable to that particular employee is checked on the spot. If found ineligible, the user is notified accordingly. The user can also view their available leave balance on the system dashboard. This makes the entire process less complex as the submission becomes task-oriented and less inclined towards the documentation.

 

Rationalise Decision Making

 

The decision regarding the leave to be granted or rejected can be simplified as the system readily checks the eligibility criterion. Another aspect is the time taken in concluding the action. In normal cases, the leave request has to pass through multiple phases which don’t necessarily contribute to the process. On the other hand, they contribute to stalling the request. The effect of slow and unreliable decision making is seen in the form of absenteeism and irregularities in the attendance patterns. The employers can make use of the LMS to improve the trust of the staff members in the systematic approach to reduces uninformed leaves in the company. The applications can be processed as per urgency and company’s flexibility as the employees beyond a specific limit cannot be allowed to be absent. This causes a lot of inconveniences and ultimately results in constant labor deficits.  

 

Reporting and Statutory Compliance Management

 

The automation delivers best reporting features. The manual report generation requires HR to compile data from the physical files into the Spreadsheet tools. They have to enter multiple formulae and then validate the authenticity of the report. On the contrary, the automation-based solutions have a readily available database to generate comprehensive reports with detailed information. The statutory compliances are also looked after by the software solutions. The compliance filings are required to be submitted to the respective government bodies which are required on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. The accuracy and reliability of the computer systems make management confident in handling these issues.

 

In case you are finding it counter-productive to stick with the old school methods, using a leave management system will improve the management’s control over the employee presence. An automated system will also lower the cost of administration and leave processing as the redundancies of the entire exercise are removed. The human decision making is limited to the areas requiring empathy and rest all work is done by the computer system. Most of the businesses are struggling from leave related problems in one form or the other. Thus using LMS will prove to be necessary for the days to come.   

How can HR Software Change the Scenario of Human Resource Management?

Technology and its benefits have covered and eased every aspect of life; today, we are living in a phase where everything seems to be rapid. Using a methodology that was on the verge of extinction decade ago cannot help the organization to achieve sustainable growth. Digitization can be of good help; it will make the process paperless and will reduce the chaos that it creates. Amid the rising competition, it can cost the company a lot as they would find it difficult to compete. Human resource management is a department that involves various tedious task that consumes much time of HR that they can utilize in other more productive work. The processes can be streamlined, and the accuracy of the data is increased.

       

Onboarding and Employee self-service

HR is the busiest personnel amongst all, always loaded with a lot of work and responsibilities. Starting from talent acquisition, the acquired talent will contribute to the growth of the organization. Further, the process of onboarding is tedious. HR has to enter the employee data into the system; the manual process is prone to human errors. Why not let the employee feed the data which is best at their knowledge? The software allows the employee to attach the documents for the HR to tally the information’s authenticity. The employee can correct the mistake in the information.

 

Evolution of technology has made it all more accessible, it has empowers the individuals to get instant insight into their information whenever they need. The conventional system does not build transparency in the organization; it even encourages favoritism, which can affect the employee’s morale. The employee cannot have instant and accurate information about the current status of the applications they have placed. Advanced ESS functionalities also enable the employee to punch their attendance from home, including viewing their attendance data, leave balance, deduction reports, IT statement, salary slip, and much more. They can also check for the current status of their application from the ESS. The employee can also view the shift and various schedules; also, the manager can quickly notify the change in any of it through ESS.     

    

Performance and Training Management

The contribution of the employee is of much importance when the growth and development of the company. Their performance a direct impact on the development of the company. Increasing employees performance and engagement is the buss of town. Lately, the employer is getting more and more conscious about employee engagement. The performance of the employee can be increased by keeping them motivated and boosting their morale. Training is the best when the employees’ knowledge of the process is to be increased. The performance management system keeps a log of the employees’ activates done on the respective tasks assigned to them. The team lead and manager can analyze the performance of the employees based on the amount and quality of the work done. Performance management module enables the employee and manager to set various goals that are to be achieved within the given deadlines. It not only will help in defining the variable pay factor of the employee’s salary compound but also motivate the employees to achieve those goals. An employer can also give away incentive or ensure them appraisal by analyzing the logs of their performance.  

 

Payroll Processing  

Being one of the most complex and sensitive processes of all, it requires much attendance every month to complete the process without any errors. Many components are included in the salary calculation, including attendance, statutory compliance, deductions, KRA/KPI, and more. The data in all these individual modules need to be accurate; an error in any of these individual modules will induce an error in the calculated salary. Correcting these errors becomes inevitable; much time is consumed in correcting the error. Instead of using the conventional method where the modules’ data are linked manually, the employer can switch to software that is facilitated with integration. Data of all the modules that are to be included in the payroll processing will be directly fetched from those modules without the HR intervention. The data that is in these modules is accurate and also not tampered; the processing of the payroll can automate. The software will invoke the process automatically every month without HR’s intervention. Saving them a lot of time that they can use in strategy making for the development of the company.        

Why your Organization needs an HR Software in 2019?

The global trend of migrating to SaaS-based Payroll Software has been gaining momentum and a lot of top Indian corporates have already implemented them. But the benefits availed by using them are equally beneficial to the SME sector in the Indian subcontinent. It won’t be an overstatement if we say that Payroll Software may become a deciding factor for the future progress of the SME businesses. Dive in deeper to understand why Indian SMEs shall migrate to over-the-cloud Payroll Software.

 

The fundamental basis of an individual to work for an organization is monetary compensation. Thus paying employees timely and accurately is an important parameter to employee satisfaction. But most of the companies still rely on the traditional method of using spreadsheets to store the data and make the calculations. After the whole cumbersome process of verifying data and calculating, disbursing is another hefty task that SMEs struggle with which is followed by reporting and filing compliances, and it is next to a nightmare for any person in the absence of proper resources as in most of the organizations of India, a cross-functional Manager looks after all the HR activities while few hire a single HR executive to look after the chores. In such cases, an HR and Payroll Software provides unprecedented ease of working by streamlining all the HR core functions allowing them to concentrate more on employee development and strategic management. For any organization, it may seem that running a Payroll is a very simple task of releasing salaries at the end of the month but most of them figure out the hidden complexities as the number of employees in the organization grows. If any organization crosses 50 employees, spreadsheet payroll may cause more harm than benefit. Thus standalone/in-premise software gained popularity but cloud-based Payroll Software is the most recent trend which every software vendor has accepted.

 

The SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) based Payroll Software have the integration capabilities which allow them to be directly linked to the Attendance and Leave Management System, Performance Management System, and Travel and Expense Management System. The data acquired by all these systems are synchronized to a central database in order to be processed conveniently. The accessibility offered is one of the major benefits of over-the-cloud software as they allow multiple users to access the system through multiple locations at any time. This directly transfers to lower cost of gathering payroll inputs which is a major cost that has been widely neglected by the aspiring businesses for decades. While office automation may save money, it also reduces the redundant data feeding to various musters and spreadsheets so that businesses can concentrate more on making money instead of trying to pay money properly. While statutory compliances are to be adhered timely, they have been haunting every organization. The attendance management system is very effective in this matter as they are capable of making error-free calculations and generating proper statutory compliance reports as per the employees’ earnings, liabilities and taxation as applicable to them along with Payroll Taxes meant for the organization. ESS (Employee Self Service) Portal is another blue ribbon feature which has evolved as a game-changer for many. When an organization undergoes phase changes in terms of the number of employees, communicating individually is next to impossible. An ESS Portal provides a medium for communication between employees and employer as the employees can make applications, know their status and get their payslips etc. while employers can send revisions in policies and other official documents with discretion. Self-onboarding which was a fantasy for many has now been materialized as a full-fledged Payroll Software allows HR to provide user credentials to the new joiner and he can view necessary documents, presentations and submit all the required proofs by themselves. The whole employee recruitment process can also be customized as per the requirements. FNF processing another area where it does wonders for HR professionals.



Whether you are an aspiring company or a company ready to be the next big thing in the market, you need a Payroll Software to take better care of your employees’ salaries and statutory compliances while ensuring not to overspend. A SaaS-based software works on the monthly subscription model and thus gives you financial freedom too!

What To Expect From Cloud-Based HR And Payroll Software In 2019?

A hundred years ago we used to travel on horses but today we fly in jets, we used to communicate through letters but today we use social media and literally the world has changed so dramatically that if we manage to bring an individual from the last century, he will find black magic everywhere. But astonishingly one thing hasn’t changed yet - Payroll Processing! The paper-pen and calculator may have been replaced by spreadsheets but the amount of manual work remains unchanged but we are going to witness something great in 2019 and the years to come. Let’s have a look at how the HR world will be impacted by the cloud-based Payroll Software and other cognitive technologies.

 

Robotic Process Automation

 

The RPA technology has been gaining momentum and here’s what it will do to your Payroll: when you will receive a mail containing an invoice, it will automatically download the attachment and process the information along with creating a JV entry in your accounting software. Thus, it will not only assist but do the job for you! RPA can be used to process reimbursement claims and travel expenses. This can considerably lower the human intervention and increase their productivity. The fundamental reason behind using RPA is the amount of time utilized in the counterproductive workload so as to relieve HR of their redundant and cumbersome manual data entry. RPA is certainly one of the blue ribbon offerings any software offers as it dynamically learns the user’s interaction with the system and imitates the same.   

 

AI Chat Bot Integration

 

Call Centres are one of the most expensive clients servicing infrastructures and often big corporates hire dedicated employees to solve other employees’ grievances. The AI Chat Bot can be used to replace humans by providing a suitable database of queries and their solutions. This may potentially reduce the employee to employee retaliation and help employees feel confident about their queries being handled fairly and transparently. The problem of approaching the concerned personnel within the working hours is eliminated and thus the employees can access the system through Chat Bots from the convenience of their device and at their time. This results in lesser duplication of query answering and prompt grievance solving.

 

 

Customized User Experience

 

No company operates the same way as another company though they may be in the same field. The set of requirements for each firm changes case to case, and thus there is no panacea when it comes to Payroll Processing. Perhaps, the SaaS-based Payroll Software provides versatile customization options to contain any requirement that may arise. Thus they simplify the process and reduce bottlenecks by streamlining all the tasks. Various Payroll Policies can be configured and optimized as per the requirement of the organization.  Everything right from the format of data being acquired and displayed to the detailing of processing can be controlled. All the fields can be configured to decide their accessibility to various employees to help reduce complexity.

 

The decision making is now being treated with the utmost caution, and it is a subject of scientific research. Thus BI tools are employed to help assist in the decision making process. The better reporting functionalities can be used at any instance as the software can generate subject-specific reports in real-time, which can ease the impulsive decision-making requirements. HR and senior management can utilize multiple reporting formats for various strategic and non-strategic purposes. The rising awareness among the business houses regarding the criticality of facts and figures while making a decision has escalated the demand for such advanced tools.

 

Ending Note

 

There are great chances of changes in the HR world in the nearby future. Even Indian markets will experience a huge change in the HR management system in the upcoming years. Even a lot of changes have turned into reality, like the use of OCR technology or Geo-Fencing.

 

The concurrent trends have made a substantial amount of curiosity amongst Indian businesses and especially among the ones growing in size. They mainly struggle with employee management, compensation, and benefits administration that can be streamlined using a hrms software india, even it will turn all the functionalities out to be the blue-eyed hacks and help in easing all the HR activities by making the task smoother and efficient.

 

7 Reasons: Why To Use Cloud Payroll Software?

If you’re planning to invest in an HR and Payroll Software, you’re among a large number of smart businesses switching to SaaS solutions. Stand-alone software is becoming irrelevant with each passing day due to the benefits provided by Cloud-based Software. As a matter of fact, a majority of organizations are switching to cloud solutions and Indian companies to seem to have accepted this trend. If your company is still wondering why to use an HR and Payroll Software, here are the top 7 reasons for you shouldn’t waste your time:

 

 

Agility and Accuracy

 

As a genuine employer, you may always lay emphasis on paying your employees on time and paying them fairly. But for most of the HR and Payroll departments, the rush hour just can’t be avoided. The SaaS-based Payroll solutions offer user-friendly and intuitive interfaces. Perhaps the automation eliminates the need for calculating manually completely which helps save time. And you can be confident about running an error-free Payroll without worrying about stereotyped and redundant processing. 

 

 

Better Mobility

 

Today, work isn’t limited to the office premises and with more and more companies allowing their staff to work from their home, the cloud-based solutions empower HR executives and Reporting Managers to approve Payroll inputs from their devices around the clock. This is truly a wish come true for with organizations operating from multiple locations and in multiple shifts. Another advantage is that you can also configure your attendance inputs as per the varying time-zones.

 

Fortify your data better

 

Many fancy about the security of their data stored on the cloud. But before arriving at a conclusion, consider the fact that IT companies invest heavily in providing security and are always reinventing security measures. The data is encrypted and a back up is always stored on the servers to avoid any unexpected or urgent situations. So when making a choice, apart from the use of encryption protocols seek clarity regarding the type of cloud where data is stored, the amount of server downtime (which shall be always minimal) and the servers’ security information.

 

Dynamic and Scalable

 

If you’ve ever worked with on-premise software, you are already aware of the pain of making any modifications. Like any other organization with a growing number of employees, you are committed to boosting your business and there are seasonal changes in employment along with fluctuations, so you can always pay exactly for the number of resources you use without worrying about the estimating future demands and dealing with capacity-shortage or overpaying.

 

ESS Portals

 

The ESS (Employee Self Service) Portals help extensively in reducing redundant workload off the shoulders for everyone right from employees to staff members to approving managers to HR executives. The ESS Portals ensure that employees have proper access to their Payroll Information through their personal devices and they need not rely on the HR department to get their payslips or past remuneration data and can make requests for updating their data. This also eases approving requests on time as managers get remainder notifications apart from accessing information with convenience.

 

 

Higher ROI

 

Avail higher ROI by opting SaaS solutions over stand-alone software as you don’t have to buy in-house servers, pay for the electricity bills and refrigeration or worry about purchasing and re-purchasing modification set-ups. This means that there is no need to engage a large IT team just to look after them and you can still have virtually zero downtimes. Apparently, you also don’t need to worry about the latest security measures to keep your data safe.

 

 

Get faster updates

 

This the biggest advantage when it comes to choosing a Cloud Payroll Software over its traditional in-house counterpart - your Payroll Software is always up to date. You don’t need to buy any hardware or work on new functionalities for your vendor shall take care of each and everything. And apart from scalability, all the updates from tax slabs to labor laws, your Payroll Software will precisely take care of your legal safety which indeed improves the working experience.

 

In a nutshell, a cloud-based Payroll Software helps you improve profitability, productivity and help reduce errors while standing out to be not just environment-friendly but pocket-friendly too!