Ask the Experts: Lean HR Tools that Make a Big Impact

In this final post in our three-part HR roundtable series, our experts explain which HR tools and software make the biggest impact on expansion-stage companies.

When it comes to companies operating at the expansion stage, efficiency is the name of the game, and HR can play a major role in eliminating administrative work and streamlining procedures. Especially if they have the right tools.

Now that we’ve determined when growing companies should establish HR and the biggest pain point a human resources department can help you address, we’re concluding our roundtable with one final question for our group of HR experts:

What is your favorite HR tool or HR software that makes a big impact for companies aspiring to be as lean as possible?

Tim Sackett, President at HRU Technical Resources, Fistful of Talent blogger I think any piece of software or tool that allows your employees/managers to be self-sufficient has huge impact to lean. HR always tries to add value by “taking away” things from managers. “Oh, don’t worry, we’ll set up that phone screen time for you, so you don’t have to,” or, “Don’t sign up for those benefits online when it’s convenient for you, come to our open enrollment meeting and we’ll do that for you.” That’s not adding value, it’s shifting administrative work and adding touch points. Every HR project should be looking at, “What is the simplest way for us to do this as an organization?” — no matter who ends up doing the final work. Instead, most HR shops look at, “What is the way we can take this out of the hands of our employees and managers?” – even if it actually adds work to the overall organization. HR’s only goal should be, “How do we eventually have nothing to do so that they no longer need us” Of course, that would never happen, but to strive for that would have great outcomes for your organization.

The TribeHR Team It’s hard to avoid shameless self-promotion with this question! For growing businesses, TribeHR eliminates the administrative burdens of recruiting, performance management, and maintaining a core employee database. But we’re also strong believers in using social networks for as much of your HR as you can, and recognize that there are tons of awesome innovations happening in this space every single day. Ultimately, you should look for HR software that you’re comfortable with, but also that employees love to use, is social, affordable, puts real numbers to your HR data, and offers great customer support. Shop around… and choose TribeHR!

Kathy Rapp, SVP at hrQ, Fistful of Talent blogger Ha. A smart HR person. There are so many free or low-cost solutions that organizations can tap into, and a truly smart HR pro should be all over them. It’s the use of “social” tools for employment branding, recruiting, marketing, crowd-sourcing, learning & development, and customer feedback.  It’s using your professional network to get answers to questions, find creative solutions, or just get things done. Lastly, it’s being on top of the trends impacting HR now and in the future such as mobile technology, on-demand interviewing, software to capture and produce real-time data analytics – all of which make organizations more effective and efficient.

Thanks for following our HR roundtable. In case you missed the first two posts in the series, you can view them here:

• When Should Your Growing Company Establish HR?
• The Biggest Benefit HR Can Provide

Photo by: OZinOH