Top human resources software your organization needs

Effective human resource software provides a wide range of benefits, such as helping organizations attract and retain employees, maintain compliance, manage benefits, streamline the hiring process, and more. They’re also customizable enough to meet an organization’s needs, goals, and budget.

There are HR software solutions for organizations of any size within any industry. This article will discuss what good HR software does, why you need it, and some popular HR software options that can work for your business.

Takeaways from this blog post:

• HR software helps automate manual and repetitive tasks, organize employee records, and create data-driven reports in a central database, allowing HR managers to focus on more impactful business actions.
• HR software is essential for every organization as it streamlines employee management processes, improves team engagement, and enhances employee experience.
• When choosing an HR software solution, it’s essential to consider factors such as goals, payroll features, system integration, pricing details, and user experience.

What does HR software do?

HR software helps an organization’s HR department automate manual and repetitive tasks, organize employee directories and records, and create data-driven reports in a central database. With HR software, your HR managers can spend less time on time-consuming administrative burdens and focus more on actions that positively impact the business.

Most HR management technology these days stores information in the cloud and requires a monthly or annual subscription fee. It can integrate with other data management programs, allowing each organization to customize it to their specific needs and goals. Because they work electronically, they eliminate the need for paper documents that can be misplaced and prone to mistakes.

Intended for every business size, HR software and other supporting technology can help your team run more efficiently and improve employee satisfaction.

Other key features of comprehensive HR platforms include:

• Securely organizing and storing pertinent employee data.
• Creating workflows and employee tracking processes.
• Managing employee self-service portals for time and attendance tracking.
• Tracking employee training for development and compliance.
• Basic reporting tools on employee satisfaction, compensation management, and more.
• Effective applicant tracking systems that take you through the entire hiring process.
• Tracking of goals and employee performance management tools.
• Monitoring data changes in case of an audit.

Almost every business uses some type of HR or employee benefits management software. From simple payroll solutions to new hire onboarding tools to benefits specialist support, HR software works to streamline the entire employee experience and improve the inner workings of modern-day companies.

Why you need HR software for your organization

Workplace environments are changing every day. To attract key talent in a tough labor market, businesses must invest in updated technology to enhance team engagement and improve the employee experience. A modern HR platform can go a long way toward making that happen.

HR software is essential for your organization because:

1. It empowers your employees to track and manage their tasks, giving them greater autonomy and reducing their reliance on your HR team.
2. It simplifies administrative work by ending repetitive, manual tasks for you and your employees, which can help you focus on more productive operations and long-term strategic moves.
3. It transforms how you manage employees by offering them a convenient and tailored working experience.
4. It stores your vital data in a central database, such as employee onboarding information, company directory, employee attendance management, expense reports, time-off requests, employee reviews, and staff conduct. This can help you satisfy federal and state recordkeeping requirements.
5. It enhances how you communicate with your team and employees through an internal chat system to share ideas better, work on projects, and discuss strategies.

Organizations can better deliver a top-notch employee experience that will keep them productive and happy with the right business HR software. An efficient system and platform should take care of your organization’s management details so that you can focus on your staff and improve the employee lifecycle.

Tips for choosing an HR software solution

While HR software has many benefits, knowing which ones will allow you to focus on more productive responsibilities and longer-term strategic outcomes is challenging.

When choosing the right HR software solutions for your company, consider five essential items:

1. Know your budget: While you may have a firm budget in mind, consider what you will save in time, reduced risk, data clean-ups, labor cost management, and improved return on investment (ROI). Saving on these factors may motivate you to spend a bit more on the right software for your needs.
2. Determine your goals: Understand what you want from your software, identify your current system’s shortcomings, and solicit 360-degree feedback from employees and managers on which experiences need improvement.
3. Identify what tasks you want to support: With many HR digital platforms available, the system must suit your company’s current and future needs.
4. Consider your current HR tech stack: Take the time to understand which software will seamlessly integrate with your organization's current HR technology, provide the most accurate reports, and help you manage everyday processes.
5. Get leadership buy-in: With the backing of your leadership team and HR department, you can choose the right software that will work for your entire organization. Additionally, your software will be more streamlined, effective, and valuable if you and your teams make this business decision together.

Popular HR software companies

There are many HR software options these days. HR software categories include a wide range of standout features like HR and employee benefits administration, talent management, online learning and acquisition, core HR, integrated HR, and more.

Each type of advanced HR software has key features and benefits and performs different tasks within its central database. To help you make an informed decision, we’ll highlight the top types of HR software, broken down by category, that can help you determine the right one for your organization.

Core HR

Core HR technology, also known as a human resources information system (HRIS), is an all-in-one HR software that helps companies manage their teams, benefits, compliance, and more. It can also help you measure, achieve, and sustain workplace equity.

These software systems often include essential tools like time and attendance tracking, analytics for various HR metrics, payroll management, and compliance support. Their intuitive design makes HR administration faster and more accurate.

Examples of core HR software companies include:

• Paycor
• Rippling
• Gusto
• BambooHR
• Workday
• ADP

Employee experience

Employee experience software encourages two-way communication between employees and managers, facilitates employee recognition, and streamlines collaboration. If you want employee engagement tools to help you build a productive team, this type of software can help you meet your needs—whether in-office, hybrid, or fully remote.

This type of software typically comes with a mobile app that employees can use to complete several tasks through self-service portals, including submitting expense reimbursements, requesting time off, enrolling in benefits, responding to employee surveys, and viewing current insurance coverage. It also allows you to provide shoutouts and create employee recognition programs from a single source dashboard.

Examples of employee experience software companies include:

• Blink
• Culture Amp
• Bonusly
• Lattice
• Workhuman
• WorkTango

Talent acquisition

Talent acquisition software is a digital way to modernize and automate various recruitment and hiring processes. With these programs, you can better source top talent, review resumes, track applicants, post job listings, share feedback with candidates, and perform other administrative tasks, saving your HR team valuable time.

You can also leverage the metrics and performance tracking features to help you analyze your recruitment strategies and learn where to make improvements to secure the right candidates. Once you make your hiring decision, you can use talent acquisition software to help your new employee complete their onboarding and familiarize them with their benefit plans.

Examples of talent acquisition software companies include:

• Recruit CRM
• Workable
• SmartRecruiters
• Workday
• Greenhouse
• LeverTRM

eLearning

Learning and development software, also called eLearning, covers the entire range of activities that help businesses change their perception about learning and developing talent from a traditional compliance checklist into a holistic business growth process. These platforms have everything you need to help your employees learn, develop their skills, and drive business growth in one application.

Your company can improve its knowledge-sharing capabilities and drive development opportunities by providing valuable training content and enabling employees and managers to collaborate within the platform. Finally, correlating performance data with your KPIs allows you to measure the impact of training in your business and better tailor your courses.

Examples of eLearning software companies include:

• TalentLMS
• Lessonly
• Whatfix
• iSpring Suite
• Valamis
• LearnUpon

Talent management

Talent management platform matches employees to the right opportunities in the hiring process, automatically maps your workforce’s architecture, and provides deep data insights for talent and workforce planning.

With this type of software, HR and managers can have a comprehensive view of the human skills inside the organization so they can organize an internal marketplace that enables people’s mobility and boosts employee retention. As a result, employees receive job offers and upskilling opportunities that align with their profiles and career development objectives.

Examples of talent management software companies include:

• Remofirst
• Trakstar
• Paycor
• PerformYard
• Deel
• ClearCompany

Personalized employee health benefits

Whether you’re a large, small, or midsize business, you must offer the benefits your employees want to attract and retain employees. According to our 2024 Employee Benefits Survey, 92% of employees said health benefits were somewhat or very important to them.

Instead of offering a costly traditional health insurance plan, employers can offer a more affordable alternative. Health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) allow employers to reimburse their employees tax-free for qualifying medical expenses and sometimes health insurance premiums.

PeopleKeep’s HRA administration software makes health benefits management easier and more accessible for all employers. An HRA through PeopleKeep gives employers immediate access to document storage, compliance features, award-winning customer service, and meaningful health benefits.

PeopleKeep allows employers to design a personalized and flexible HRA benefit plan that improves company culture, reduces manual benefits tasks, and promotes retention and recruitment.

With PeopleKeep, you can support your employees and boost your benefits at your organization with an HRA so you can get back to running your business.

Conclusion

As your workplace changes, HR departments must evolve to continue meeting the needs of their employees. With the right HR software solutions, companies can keep themselves profitable in a competitive job market while improving employee performance.

However, choosing the right HR software and subscription model for your organization is essential—one with a range of features, an intuitive interface, and a central database consistent with your goals and budget.

With PeopleKeep, our budget-friendly personalized benefit software can help employers of all business sizes manage their perks effectively. Check out our administration software overview to learn how PeopleKeep can help your business with employee benefits.

This article was originally published on June 15, 2022. It was last updated on April 26, 2024.