Excel overload: 5 reasons your company needs HR software

Every business has to start somewhere.

But there is only so far a spreadsheet will get you. Which is why all successful businesses eventually opt to move to a single software solution to counter the headaches of HR. 

So why should you make the leap too? 

Research has revealed most HR departments spend up to 41% of time on transactional work, while only 19% is dedicated to the workplace and work. These percentages show just how much a transformation of manual day-to-day processes is needed—and how it can bring focus back to improving the workplace. 

Using a cheap, but chaotic combination of Excel and various other platforms might seem like a good way to keep overheads low. But in reality, their lack of cohesion and ability to communicate with each other can cost you a lot of wasted manpower and money on transactions, as well as providing increased opportunities for errors. 

Bringing in dedicated HR software to keep all data in the same environment allows you to free up that 41% of time, while making communication easier and mitigating inaccuracies across all aspects of HR, such as:

-       Payroll

-       Record keeping

-       Performance evaluations

-       CVs and hiring 

-       Interviews and candidate assessments

-       Role information

Manual processes can’t help but produce errors. We’re only human, after all. And when trying to negotiate a veritable spider’s web of management systems that don’t talk to each other (see #1), HR staff can struggle to ensure every detail in their mountain of paperwork is accurate or correct. 

This is especially problematic when it comes to payroll, not only because people rely on their wages to live, but also because of the fees or penalties that can be imposed. Yet no matter how good your Excel spreadsheet, there will always be mistakes made—if not in the spreadsheet itself, then when information is manually copied or reviewed elsewhere.

By bringing in the entire payroll process into a single solution, you can help eliminate errors by making sure the data is in sync across the system. Changes will be automatically updated throughout. And everyone will have access to the same information, removing the chance of misunderstandings or miscommunication. 

The nature of modern business means employee attendance isn’t contained to a single office. Companies can be spread over multiple sites, either across the country or around the world. Workers may be in one place or several. They could work on the road. Or even remotely.  

So how do you keep track of their working time and attendance? 

It certainly can’t be done on a spreadsheet anymore. Which is why automated software is increasingly essential for companies, helping to maintain a centralised view of all employees’ time worked wherever they may be. It can allow you to set parameters for work, shift patterns and break times, and help you manage overtime costs. It can also give you real-time information, making it far easier to spot issues and optimise productivity—while bespoke reports can be available to share at the touch of a button. And as for ensuring accuracy, our own specially created software for Odoo even uses biometric technology to verify the identity of individuals, helping to mitigate costly errors.

Each employee requires a certain number of tasks to be completed to keep their records up to date, deal with issues, handle benefits, and ensure they get paid. And each employee is different. So it’s very difficult to process these tasks in batches—they need to be done individually. 

When you’re a small company, it might seem like overkill to bring in HR software to undertake these tasks. You can survive using a combination of third-party platforms, because you don’t have that many employees to deal with. 

But the more successful you get, the more people you need to hire. And with every new employee, the manual work for HR increases until (as we saw above) they are spending more time on transactional tasks than actually helping improve the company’s culture or looking after people. By automating these tasks using HR software, you are not only freeing up your staff to better place their focus, but you’re also ensuring your company has the flexibility to continue growing with success. 

A small, but important reason why it could be time to move to a dedicated HR solution is the technical cost. Not just in purchasing the various platforms over time, but in maintaining them over the years to come.

Using multiple platforms requires having an IT service provider who has the specialist resources to cater for every piece of software you’re using. But given the random nature of how you came to be using them, chances are you won’t get the range of expertise you need. Which means hiring a provider who can’t possibly give you value for money. 

Moving the HR side of your business to a single platform makes it easier to find a provider who is an expert on every aspect of that platform—giving you greater value for money and better opportunity to reach peak productivity. It will also save on costly maintenance of all the different packages, especially when you consider the multiple licences, upgrades and bug fixes that you’ll be responsible for in the long run

Want to know how to move your business to a dedicated HR solution with Odoo—improving productivity, reducing errors, and saving you money? Get in touch today and our experts will tell you everything.