Practical Ways to Simplify Payroll and HR with Employee Self-Service

Summary

• Employee Self-Service (ESS) systems can relieve some of management’s administrative burden and give employees access and control over their HR and payroll details.
• Not all ESS systems are created equal. Businesses need an intuitive and fully integrated system to get the most value.
• An all-in-one platform with built-in ESS can transform HR, payroll, and workforce management for hourly workforces.

Running a business is a constant balance between strategic planning and day-to-day admin tasks. Big-picture planning fuels growth, while essential administrative duties keep operations running smoothly. However, maintaining this balance is easier said than done. 

Admin work can take up a lot of time, and managers and business owners can quickly find themselves buried in paperwork instead of being on the ground, supporting their teams, and creating employee engagement initiatives. To ease this burden, many turn to employee self-service systems. But how do these systems actually function?

Workforce.com has employee self-service (ESS) features, from onboarding to payroll. Let’s break down how they work and how they can save business owners a ton of time.

Getting it right from onboarding

HR tasks involve a lot of paperwork, but managers don’t have to handle it all. Employees can take charge of some of this administrative work and have more autonomy over their personal details. 

Workforce.com’s onboarding system makes it easy for new hires to get set up. Within minutes, new hires can submit their personal and contact information, bank details, I-9s, and W-4s without physical paper forms. This not only speeds up the process but also eliminates double data entry, reduces mistakes, and ensures accurate pay. 

Managers can also streamline processes by uploading key documents, such as company handbooks, role-specific materials, or a list of faqs, to ensure that every employee has exactly what they need from day one.

“One of the exciting features that I’ve really enjoyed with the Workforce.com platform is the HR onboarding portion because they have a feature that allows me to upload documents. So, for instance, I can upload a document that says ‘front of the house server benefits’ for our bakers. I can have a different set of benefits and upload that document in a PDF form where they can open up their cell phones and see it right there. And that’s been a really good thing, as well as the policy manual. It makes it available to everybody,” shares Shelly Archer, Human Resources Manager at Shipley Do-nuts.

Faster updating of employee information

Workforce.com’s HR software, employees can quickly update their details whenever a life event requires it, such as a move, a name change, or a new bank account. Instead of going through HR or filling out paperwork, they can simply update their information directly through their profile in the company’s HRIS.

Easier management of timesheets and PTO 

Accurate employee clock-ins and outs are the backbone of accurate payroll processing, but things can get tricky when employees forget to log their hours or when clunky systems fail to track time properly.

Workforce.com’s time and attendance system tracks employee time accurately. Employees can clock in and out through a shared tablet at work or on their mobile device. No matter where they are, whether on-site or remote, their hours and breaks are recorded correctly.

Employees can also review and correct their time logs should there be any mistakes or discrepancies. Instead of constantly chasing down timesheet corrections, managers can focus on more important things.

“One of the features I was most excited about with Workforce.com is the employee’s ability to edit their own time punches. If they did forget to clock in, they can submit it. Of course, it still gets reviewed. At the end of the day, it’s just one less step,” says Bobby Archer, General Manager at Shipley Do-nuts. 

Beyond tracking hours, employees also get complete visibility over their leave balances. They can plan ahead, submit time off requests, and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks, like a PTO request form that gets buried in email or miscommunication due to having multiple channels.  

“We wanted our employees to be able to see how many PTO days they have. We also want them to be able to see their clock-in and clock-out times. So that way they can know and plan personally on their end how to pay their bills and what to expect,” Shelley shared when she talked about their goal of giving their employees the ability to view their information and how Workforce.com helped them provide a way to do that. 

See Workforce.com in Action: Shipley Do-Nuts’ Success Story

Visibility into all things payroll

Employees shouldn’t jump through hoops to access their payroll information. With Workforce.com’s payroll software, they can easily access their pay stubs, tax documents, direct deposit information, benefits details, and complete payroll history. 

There’s no need to wait for HR or finance to pull reports. Employees can generate and view their own payroll info anytime, all in one place. This means fewer email requests, less back-and-forth, and a faster, more seamless way for staff to get the details they need whenever they need them. 

An all-in-one solution makes things easier

Employee self-service is a feature that’s great to have, but what makes a huge difference is having a single solution where all things that can make or break payroll are in a single, integrated platform. 

Juggling separate systems for time tracking, scheduling, HR and payroll is time consuming, puts you at risk of potential errors, and can disrupt workflows. When data is scattered across multiple platforms, every step takes longer and the risk of mistakes only increases. A single, connected solution simplifies the process. 

“Prior to Workforce.com, we were using four different platforms. We had an online service that would send out the new hire paperwork and I would have to process it manually. We had a clock-in and clock-out system that was web-based. We had another scheduling system that was also web-based. As far as the payroll processing, we had an actual person with whom I would send our payroll through another system. Integrating all of those together has saved so much time. It takes me 95% less time doing what I’m doing now with Workforce.com.” Shelley further explained.

Tips for Implementing an Efficient Employee Self-Service Software

Implementing an ESS portal or system is beneficial both for employees and employers. Aside from taking some of the admin load away from managers and HR teams, it also enhances the employee experience.

To make ESS systems truly effective, here are a few tips:

Keep it all in one place

Employee self-service is meant to streamline processes, but using multiple platforms defeats the purpose. Choose an integrated system so employees don’t need to juggle different apps or logins. 

Prioritize ease of use

The best ESS system is not the one with the most bells and whistles. It’s one that’s easy for staff to use. Make sure that your ESS is intuitive and minimize the learning curve as much as possible.

Employees should be able to view and update their personal data, emergency contacts, tax withholdings, and other HR information without hitches.

Keep it mobile

These days, mobile access is no longer optional. A mobile-friendly ESS or dedicated mobile app allows staff to handle work info on the go, whether checking pay stubs, submitting time-off requests, or updating personal details. It’s all about making things as convenient as possible and allowing them to do these tasks without waiting until they’re at a computer.

Gather feedbackRegularly check in with staff and get feedback about what they think of the platform. Identify areas that work well for them and determine which parts need improvement. Their input helps refine the system and ensure it stays as efficient and user-friendly as possible. Be ready to adjust to make the most out of the system.

Make the switch to Workforce.com

Switching to a new system can feel like a big leap, especially when you’re used to current platforms. However, making the move could be one of the best decisions for your business, especially if you want to lessen the administrative burden for your team.

“It would be in a company’s best interest to switch over sooner rather than later because you would be wasting a tremendous amount of time. Workforce.com helped us improve our efficiency,” Shelley said. 

Discover how Workforce.com helped Shipley Do-nuts and numerous other businesses across the globe. Book a call today.