Around half of small businesses fail by their fifth year of operations. Fortunately, there are a few important measures you can take to be more efficient and profitable. By deploying your company’s resources in a smarter way, you can save money on labor costs, prevent compliance issues, and ensure a happier workforce. 

People management solutions help you run your organization and manage employees in a more efficient way. More importantly, the right people management software can help your business stay in compliance with labor laws and other regulations. To make the most of this type of software, learn more about what features and benefits you should look for.

What Are People Management Solutions? 

People management solutions focus on the way you manage the people at your company. Often, you’ll hear someone refer to these programs as human capital management (HCM). An HCM is a program that incorporates aspects of payroll and HR. 

Around 38% of small businesses already use specialized software to run their businesses. However, this figure ought to be much higher. As a small business owner, you don’t have time to manage each tiny detail of payroll and HR on your own. Unfortunately, hiring a specialized HCM person can get costly if you only have a few employees. 

By investing in HCM and people management solutions, you can run your business more efficiently. Labor makes up 70% of spending at an average small business, so using software programs in place of HR and payroll employees can save you a significant amount of money. 

Features To Look for in People Management Software

The average cost of each manual data entry that is completed by an HR professional is $4.78. When you use people management software instead of having an HR worker perform manual data entry, you can save money. Plus, these systems are scalable and can grow with your organization. 

Once you’ve decided to use people management software, there are a few features you should look for in a solution. 

Compliance Features 

Do you know all of the tax laws and labor regulations that apply to your business? Legal requirements can vary from one area to another, so staying informed about your area’s laws is important if you don’t want to face penalties and fines.

Fortunately, people management solutions incorporate tax laws, labor laws, and local regulations. When searching for a software program, check out the type of compliance features it offers. 

Real-Time Data Capabilities 

The best people management programs give you instant access to data. For example, you can view time-off requests, pay stubs, and clock-in reports. In addition, you can check out any updates the employee makes to their information as soon as they change it in the system. Through real-time data capabilities, you can make informed decisions. Plus, you can make your decisions based on real-time data about employee attendance, compensation trends, productivity, and turnover rates.

Scalability 

When you run a successful small business, it is only natural that your people management needs will grow over time. To prepare for that growth, you need to get people management software that can scale with your organization. Whether you are introducing a new benefits program or adding a new location, you need people management solutions that can grow with you.

Payroll Integrations

The best type of people management solutions isn’t solely an HR platform. It also offers payroll integrations. Through this type of integration, you can gain a single location for managing all of your company’s interactions with your employees. 

Payroll software ensures on-time wages, accurate pay calculations, and simplified direct deposits. Automatic payroll processing helps improve your tax compliance and reduces the amount of time you need to spend on these activities.

When searching for the right payroll integrations, consider the following features.

• Automatic payroll tax calculations
• Direct deposit functionality
• E-filing for your tax forms
• Tax filing and payment capabilities
• Tax form generation
• Excellent record keeping for potential audits
• Accurate pay calculators 

Digital Form Management 

Digital forms are a necessary feature in HR and payroll software. Ideally, you should have a digital repository of all the forms your employees use for onboarding and compliance training. By managing these forms in a digital library, you can easily upload new versions, make changes, and track who accesses each document.

Audit Trails 

If you are audited for your payroll transactions, it will be significantly less stressful if all of your documentation is in order. When looking for people management software, ask about the program’s ability to provide documentation for an audit. You should also consider what type of documentation you’ll need to store. For example, you may want documentation from training employees on anti-harassment and anti-discrimination practices. 

Data Storage 

No matter how small or large your business is, you need secure data storage for your HR and payroll documents. HRM systems include highly sensitive information, so the software must be fully encrypted. 

Role-Based Access 

Besides being encrypted, you also need an HRM system that has role-based access. The best way to ensure strong data security is to limit access to different data. Users should only be able to access data if they need it to do their job. For example, a company accountant doesn’t need access to HR forms. Likewise, a frontline manager shouldn’t be reviewing payroll data. 

Core HR Management 

Your HRM system should serve as a centralized database for all of your employee information. As a part of its core role, it should include personal details, job roles, contact information, employment history, and performance reviews. Because the HRM system contains all of this information, it should be your go-to source for up-to-date employee data when you’re making important decisions.

Recruiting & Hiring 

With an effective people management solution, you can access tools for creating job postings on different platforms. For example, you should be able to create postings on your company’s website and job listing sites. This type of job posting management is ideal for maintaining consistency and can save your HR employees a lot of time. 

Structured Onboarding Processes 

HCM software is excellent for onboarding. With the best HCM software, you can create a digital library for all of your onboarding materials. Then, you can set it up so that each employee has to go through and digitally sign all of their onboarding materials. In the future, you can refer to these signed forms from training if there is a compliance dispute, termination, or similar issue.

Discover World-Class HCM Software Today

If you want your business to become more productive, the right HCM software can help. When considering the right people management solutions for your business, there are a few important features and benefits you should consider.

To learn more about people management solutions and world-class payroll software, reach out to Asure’s small business payroll and HR experts today.