Building a Business Case to Purchase an HRIS, Part 4

Building a Business Case, Part 4

While attendance management may seem like the most basic and simple of HR tasks, it presents more problems than are initially obvious. Ask yourself, “Can I rely on all my managers to consistently log my employees’ sick or vacation days?” If the answer is “no,” you are unnecessarily accruing liabilities that affect your company’s bottom line.

The main areas that can benefit from automation are time clock management, and vacation, sick, and other time off policies. Many employees don’t keep track of how many vacation days and sick days they are entitled to or have taken. If you ask any HR manager for the most frequently asked question they receive, they’ll most likely repeat, “How much time do I have available for my vacation today and how much will I have in one month’s time?” It’s one of the most common inquiries an HR department has to deal with and one which frequently equates to time and effort wasted on a mundane tasks executed by highly-paid HR professionals.

What if an employee could log onto a secure HR system and simply look up the information they need? Easier still, what if that system could easily show the employee the amount of leave taken and allow the employee to make online leave requests? From a departmental manager’s standpoint, imagine theses processes:

An employee makes a request for vacation.

The employee’s manager receives an email from the employee requesting time off. If the manager happens to be out of the office or unable to acknowledge the request, the email will automatically be forwarded to another decision maker. Once the request is received, the manager can use a calendar view to check whether the request will clash with other department members’ absence. The manager can also verify at this time that the employee is titled to the time off.

Then the manager can simply accept/reject the time off request accordingly. If the vacation or medical leave request is approved, every system from HR, to payroll, to benefits, will automatically be updated. Calculation of vacation time is frequently a contentious issue. If it is sloppily managed, employees can frequently take more paid vacation time than they are entitled to, because no one can prove they haven’t taken it. Online leave request ensures that leave is taken and that leave requests are accounted for.

And take for example a terminated employee. You would typically pay a salary for leftover vacation. If proof of what has been taken is clearly available, it can make the whole termination process run much more smoothly.

If absenteeism is becoming a problem, automating the reporting, management and logging of sick days is a good way to track and control whether there is an issue. A good attendance management system should be largely self-managing. Once you have defined your unique business rules, the HR department should have to expend little or no effort in ensuring that it is running smoothly. Having a single, electronic access point, directly integrated to the payroll system offers a very easy solution to these issues.

This four part series covered four of some of the most important justifying factors to make your case for purchasing an HRIS. Cost savings and productivity gains occur through the automation of routine day-to-day tasks Compliance, integration to Payroll and benefits carriers, and easy to use interface and powerful reporting capabilities.

Want to know how much you can save by automating HR tasks, compliance, integration with HR, and implementation of benefits management tools? Try our savings calculator – a simple and easy to use web application. Just answer a few simple questions, enter your name and email address, and we’ll tell you how much your company can save annually by automating this task.

You can also read some of these case studies to hear how our customers have improved work flow, saved time and money, reduced labor costs within HR and Payroll departments, and increased employee satisfaction.

We’re happy to answer any questions you may have about purchasing an HRIS, or about any products within our integrated human capital management suite. It’s easy. Just fill out this this form or call Ascentis at 800.229.2713.

Building a Business Case to Purchase an HRIS, Part 3

Building a Business Case, Part 3

Integration saves both time and money.

One of the biggest reasons to push for an HRIS at any organization is the reduction or complete removal of double entry. Not only does double entry of data result in major errors (covered in Part 1 of this series) which costs companies money in payroll processing errors, but it can also create benefits and paycheck problems for employees, and can complicate compliance issues (covered in Part 2). In addition, it will also increase labor costs for the entry of data multiple times into multiple systems.

However, while an interface between an HRIS and a completely separate payroll vendor is works well, it doesn’t truly offer the same benefits as a FULLY integrated system. A FULLY integrated system offers the transfer of data in real time – meaning data is always up to date – for both the HR and Payroll departments.

Ascentis HR is fully integrated with Ascentis Payroll, offers integration to benefits carriers for enrollment data, as well as document management capabilities so that there is a single source of all HR data. This increases data accuracy and validity, while reducing the time spent on day-to-day data maintenance tasks. Accurate data can result in avoiding compliance lawsuits, overbilling from a benefits carrier, and better management of leave policies. In addition, accurate data enables managers and other staff to make more informed personnel decisions resulting in higher productivity from employees.

Want more information about integration with Ascentis HR? It’s easy. Just fill out this this form or call Ascentis at 800.229.2713.

Going to the APA Congress? Visit the Ascentis booth and register to win an Apple iPad and other great prizes.

Ascentis will be attending the APA Congress as an exhibitor in 2010. This will be our first year at the Congress, and we’re excited to be a part of a great organization that has been working with payroll professionals for more than 28 years.

To celebrate our first exhibition with the APA, Ascentis will be holding drawings for Apple iPads (two will be given away at the show), as well as Ghirardelli Chocolate, Bare Escentuals gift cards and some great wine selections (all these gifts are products made by some of our most prestigious customers).

Ascentis Payroll is the ideal payroll solution to save companies both time and money. You get the control of in-house payroll with all the benefits of a SaaS solution. Other great Ascentis Payroll benefits include:

Ascentis Payroll processes in real-time, ensuring 100% accuracy and control.
Pay periods can be scheduled in advance, and off-cycle payrolls can be run anytime.
On-demand checks can be quickly created.
With Ascentis Employee Self-Service, employees can access direct deposit information, tax withholdings and paycheck history.
Used in conjunction with Ascentis HRIS, redundancy is eliminated and accuracy enhanced.

Watch an 8-minute tour of Ascentis Payroll.

So join us at booth #214, May 26-28, in Washington D.C. We look forward to making many new friends, showing product demos, giving away great prizes, and enjoying the networking opportunities with the APA.

Why Automate Your HR Processes?

Automating workforce management using integrated HR and payroll technology is imperative for companies that want to control costs by increasing efficiency, reducing the risk associated with errors, and securing their place in a competitive talent market.

Reducing paper-based processes is another factor that drives the need for automation. More companies are moving toward paperless workflow as a way to support “green” business practices. While helping the environment, these companies also help themselves: sharing information electronically saves time – and money.

According to a study conducted by Boston, MA-based Aberdeen Group, the top pressures that drive HR and payroll technology initiatives are the need to adapt to market changes, better management of complex employee relationships, rising costs associated with workforce management and employee retention amid a shrinking labor pool.

The study indicates that the actions required to meet these pressures include:

Increasing the efficiency of HR and payroll management by adding strategic functionality to core processes
Improving data accuracy and security
Integrating business systems to consolidate functions
Educating HR and payroll staff, and the end-users of self-service systems, on how to optimally utilize the programs that are put in place

Yet, while the need to automate workforce management isn’t argued, the challenges related to evaluating and selecting a solution often keep companies from breaking free of the burden created by their current processes and moving toward full automation utilizing an integrated system to manage HR and payroll.

With so many products on the market, and an HR and payroll team that is already over-loaded with work, who has time to sort through the myriad of choices and make an informed decision? For small to mid-sized businesses, Ascentis offers fully integrated, easy-to-use solutions that will get your HR and payroll process automation initiative up and running fast. To find out quickly how automation will make your team more efficient and accelerated, take a 6-minute tour of Ascentis HR or an 8-minute tour of Ascentis Payroll.

Ascentis Blog

Information to help HR and payroll managers, recruiters, and compliance officers become more effective.

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