Human Resource Management to Empower People and Performance

HR solutions to transform your people processes

You probably find yourself constantly seeking ways to improve organisational efficiency, engagement, and employee relations. The key to achieving these business goals lies in having a strong and capable workforce, which is where HR solutions can make all the difference. From recruitment and onboarding to performance management and employee development, HR solutions offer your organisation a range of tools and strategies to manage human capital effectively.

This guide provides an overview of the benefits and features of HR solutions, business growth success stories from companies that have adopted them, and tips for choosing the right HR software for your needs.

What are HR solutions and what should they include?

HR solutions are tools, strategies, and processes designed to help you manage your human resources effectively. Traditional HR functions have been burdened by paperwork, red tape, and manual processes. But digital HR solutions have evolved to simplify these processes and make them more efficient in organisations of all sizes and industries.

Some HR solutions are designed to manage a specific task such as payroll management; others offer an all-in-one platform to handle several functions without the need to enter data into multiple systems. Here are some of the HR areas your solutions might cover:

Talent management

Talent management is the process of attracting, developing, and retaining top talent, which is the secret to your organization's success. HR solutions can support the following talent management activities:

• Recruiting and onboarding new employees
• Performance management and goal setting
• Succession planning and career development
• Employee retention and engagement strategies
• Providing data analytics to identify top performers, skill gaps in the organization, and areas for improvement.

Payroll

Paying your employees accurately and promptly is critical to your business operations. This can be simplified by automating calculations, payroll tax deductions, and bank transfer options. Look for a payroll solution that also includes compliance with local employment laws, which gives you much-needed peace of mind if your business operates in multiple locations.

Compliance

HR departments are responsible for ensuring their organisations follow labour and employment laws, which is easier said than done in an era of constant regulatory change. Effective compliance solutions keep up with new standards and streamline compliance processes to help you create future-ready policies.

Scheduling

Flexible schedules enable your people to have a healthy work-life balance. Without technology, it would be challenging to keep track of your employees' time off requests and shift changes. Scheduling solutions allow employees to manage their schedules digitally, reducing the need for paper schedules and increasing team communication. Even better, they also enable managers and supervisors to make smart staffing decisions using forecasting capabilities to ensure the right people are in the right place at the right time.

Reporting and analytics

Reporting and analytics solutions provide real-time dashboards, customisable reports, and predictive analysis to measure progress towards your goals and identify areas for improvement. Business intelligence reporting also tracks key HR metrics such as employee turnover, talent acquisition success, and productivity levels. With this data at your fingertips, you can make informed decisions to drive your organisation forward.

Time and attendance

Employers must keep records of employees' hours worked, including breaks, overtime and absences. Manual timekeeping methods can be error-prone and time-consuming, leading to inaccurate data and potentially costly compliance issues Time and attendance solutions automate these processes, making it easier for employees to record their hours worked and providing managers with accurate data for payroll processing and scheduling purposes.

What should human resource management software include?

Human resources management software provides the tools to focus on your people, making work more efficient for everyone to help your business grow. Here is what human resources management software should include:

Centralised People Data 

People data allows you to manage all your people processes in a single employee record without having to enter the same data repeatedly. Track all HR-related employee information in one convenient place, including personal details, employment history, performance reviews, benefits choices, and time and labour data. This minimises compliance risk and makes your day-to-day easier.

Flexible Workflows

Flexible, built-in workflows easily automate your business processes and guidelines, enabling you to streamline routine tasks such as approvals, policy updates, and timely changes within your workforce.

Reporting and Analytics

When there are data gaps across your organisation, it can sometimes seem as if decisions rely too heavily on gut instinct or intuition. Intelligent reporting and analytics tools can provide solution-wide transparency, giving you insights into critical business areas so you can stay ahead of potential issues.

Employee Self-Service

Employees no longer need to knock on HR’s door for every query. With HRM solutions, your people have access to modern, easy-to-use self-service tools that empower them to update personal information, check their benefits, request leave, and even enrol in training programmes, all at their fingertips.

Compliance

Compliance promotes trust, employee well-being, and organisational success. Built-in rules engines can help you follow all relevant employment laws and alert you when you’re not. This is supported with access to a single source of truth that provides reliable and accurate data, the latest government forms, and automated absence management tools from anywhere at any time.

Learning and Development

HRM solutions can offer learning and development content and notify employees of available courses they can take on any device at any time. It is designed to meet your people wherever they are on their learning journeys. You can also track their progress, identify training gaps, and tailor development plans to keep everyone developing.

What are the benefits of using HR solutions?

A modern human resource management software streamlines HR processes by automating tasks, leading to increased efficiency and time savings. It ensures you stay compliant with labour laws and regulations, creating a fair workplace. Plus, it boosts employee engagementthrough personalised learning and development opportunities, empowering employees to be self-sufficient, strengthening communication, and creating a strong company culture. Here are some of the top benefits you can expect when you adopt a quality HR solution:

Streamlined processes

HR solutions offer speed, efficiency and accuracy by automating manual processes. This frees up valuable time for your experienced professionals to focus on more strategic initiatives and improves the overall employee experience.

Case study: Marley Spoon, a global meal kit service, turned to UKG Ready to streamline workforce management and automate complex payroll processes. The solution cut errors, ensured compliance, and simplified operations across multiple sites.

"With UKG, we found a workforce management partner that can support our growth, not just now, but well into our future. We chose UKG Ready as the solution was comprehensive enough to meet our complex requirements and streamline our processes — allowing us to sustain our growth without disruption."

Simplified payroll

HR solutions automate complex payroll calculations and tax deductions, ensuring accuracy and legal compliance. Instead of entering data into multiple systems, data is entered once and shared across departments. This automation reduces the risk of errors and saves time, allowing HR teams to focus on other tasks.

Faster onboarding

Employee onboarding can be slow, with the average new hire expected to complete 54 separate tasks during this crucial period. HR solutions streamline the process by automating paperwork, document signing, and new recruit training tasks. This upgraded approach enables employees to hit the ground running and reduces the burden on HR teams.

Enhanced employee experience

Technology gives your team members the transparency they need to manage their employee journeys. HR solutions empower entire workforces to access their own information on demand and complete tasks without needing HR support. The result is reduced employee frustration, improved communication, and strengthened employer-employee relationships enabled by a culture of trust.

Case study: Winning Group, a leading Australian retail and logistics company, sought to simplify workforce management and ease HR/Payroll burdens. UKG Ready simplified complex rules, standardised processes, and delivered real-time visibility. It has improved compliance, productivity, and engagement—while scaling successfully across six other businesses.

"The results are more consistent, the reporting is now quite significant. Being able to manually manipulate the system to what we have as well has been really beneficial."

Stronger company culture 

Seamless communication channels bridge gaps between departments. With all team members on the same page, you can enhance operational efficiency and foster a collaborative company culture where everyone feels free to express their ideas and opinions.

Case study: TravelBrands adopted a UKG Solution after going through a merger and acquisition. Chief Human Resources Officer Diana Valler told us,

“We wanted to partner with an organization that aligned with our core values of harmony, integrity, and success. UKG’s purpose is people and that is exactly what TravelBrands believes in, so it was a perfect fit. We know we cannot achieve our goals alone. It takes a village and UKG works collaboratively with us, so we are constantly innovating together.”

Limited turnover

Smooth internal processes remove friction for employees, which reduces staff turnover by improving recruitment cycles, creating opportunities for development, and boosting staff satisfaction.

Case study: Portillo’s Restaurant Chain serves customers across 70 separate locations in nine states. The hospitality sector is well-known for experiencing high turnover, which can impact business operations. Additionally, attracting people to work in the sector has been challenging since the pandemic. Portillo’s gives employees access to crucial data via the UKG Pro mobile app, where they can view pay statements, shift information, or access benefits information. With detailed analytics, managers can quickly access reports to make informed staffing decisions that are key to retaining staff.

Stricter compliance standards

National compliance responsibility becomes less of a hassle with HR solutions that are designed to stay updated with national government or region-specific legal requirements, through automated updates and reminders. This reduces the risk of non-compliance penalties and ensures that the organisation's policies align with the latest legal requirements, including those related to payroll.

Case study: Major League Baseball team Miami Marlins has a dynamic workforce which doubles in size during baseball season. This variable headcount requires payroll teams to be vigilant, managing varying work schedules, pay rates, and bonuses. Chief Operating Officer Caroline O'Connor explains the value of using UKG Pro to manage its complex compliance requirements.

"Pro's out-of-the-box features for managing compliance enable us to save internal efforts. This enables our payroll team to work independently."

7 Steps to develop an HR solution strategy

Selecting and implementing an appropriate HR tool for your organisation isn’t something that happens overnight. Follow the steps below to create a robust people strategy that enables you to research, test, and roll out the right solution for your organisation:

1. Understand organisational goals and objectives

Identify what your organisation needs to achieve by adopting an HR solution, which will vary from one company to another.

Examine your wider business strategy and how HR supports your objectives. For example, if you're expanding into a new market and need employees with a particular skill set, you might focus on talent acquisition systems.

To zone in on your key goals and objectives, engage with stakeholders across the organisation to gather insights and identify pain points in your current HR processes.

2. Analyse your current HR capabilities

Unless you're a new business, you'll already have some HR functions in place, such as performance management, talent acquisition, and payroll. Review your current practices, systems, and technologies to identify any areas needing improvement. For example, you might discover that open enrollment season is always a major headache for your teams and decide to find a better way of managing your employee benefit communication.

3. Define HR system requirements 

Determine the technical requirements for your HR solutions based on what you already have in place and your future goals:

• How many HR users will need to access your HR solution?
• How many employees will it serve?
• Do you expect your business to scale in the near future?
• Do you require employee service capabilities?
• What other technologies will your HR solution integrate with, such as accounting or ERP systems?
• Will the end-users of your HR solution require training?
• Do you require mobile access?
• What data security requirements must you comply with?

4. Research compatible HR solutions 

Research relevant suppliers in the market and compare their solutions. Budget will be a huge consideration at this stage, so you must understand your preferred solution's pricing model. Consider:

• Does the vendor charge per user or a set fee?
• Are discounts available if you pay for an annual subscription?
• Are there any hidden costs, such as set-up, training or maintenance fees?
• Is it easy to change your plan if you need to?

Another consideration will be how quickly your users feel comfortable using the new system. Review third-party software platforms like G2 or TrustRadius to learn how other customers have experienced a specific product. You’ll gain detailed insights about ease of navigation or what features are missing from a platform. Best of all? User reviews reveal how quickly or thoroughly companies deal with customer service issues.

5. Develop an implementation plan

Outline how you’ll integrate your new HR solution into your organisation and the steps needed to get there.

• Which teams will be involved in the implementation process?
• How much time do you need to migrate existing data into the HR system?
• Will you run a pilot programme before full deployment?
• Who is responsible for change management and communication to ensure a smooth transition?

6. Roll out your HR software

Install your new HR solution across your organisation. Remember that change management is critical at this stage, as employees must adapt to a new way of working. Ensure proper training is provided to HR staff and end users and communicate the new system's benefits to boost adoption rates.

7. Monitor and adjust

Once your HR solution is live, keep a close eye on how it’s performing. This can be achieved by:

• Creating mechanisms to collect regular feedback from your users, from which you can identify any issues affecting employees.
• Establish metrics and KPIs to monitor the performance of the human resources software against the expected outcomes.
• Regularly review and update the HR solution’s strategy to adapt to changing organisational needs and technological advancements.

FAQs about HR solutions