Employee self-service saves HR staff time and effort by automating or streamlining administrative tasks. Moreover, it shows employees that management trusts them to handle specific HR issues. Ideally, a payroll self service also allows frontline managers to connect with an employee to assist. This requires an integrated ESS portal with end-to-end connection and continuous follow-up to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.
Identify Your Needs
Employee self-service (ESS) technology empowers employees to handle some of the HR and IT tasks typically handled by the human resources department. Most commonly facilitated through an online portal or internal website, ESS gives employees access to information crucial for managing their work life.
The most obvious benefit of a well-designed ESS system is that it saves time. It allows HR staffers to focus on broader, strategic business issues by offloading routine administrative functions to the employee population.
Employees can quickly and easily update their contact information and other basic data elements using an ESS portal. They can also access payroll and benefits information, submit schedule requests, check their remaining PTO, and more.
In addition, a robust ESS solution can help streamline and automate processes previously handled manually. This can significantly improve the level of engagement your employees feel with their employer. Moreover, it helps employees feel like they are trusted by management to handle certain tasks on their own. This, in turn, leads to a positive culture and environment.
Create a Plan
Employee self-service, or ESS, allows employees to perform many tasks that a human resources department traditionally handles. This can streamline operations, improve communication and collaboration, and save the organization money on payroll-related expenses.
A successful ESS system requires careful planning, training, and monitoring to ensure the best results. Implementation also takes time, and it can be challenging for employees to get used to a new online platform that requires them to take on more responsibility for their data.
One way to make the transition easier for employees is to include links to employee forums within the ESS system, where they can ask questions and collaborate on solutions to common problems. By leveraging search-engine analytics to identify frequently searched keywords, the system can also provide relevant content to employees, ensuring that they find what they need quickly and easily.
Another key to a successful ESS system is to design it for mobile access. More and more employees are using their phones for work, and they are drawn to companies that support anywhere-anytime access. Finally, it’s important to ask for feedback on the system and act on employee input.
Build a Budget
When HR leaders invest in employee self-service (ESS) solutions, they expect a return on investment. They know that the technology reduces paperwork, helps staff get back to higher-value work, and enables them to focus on strategic initiatives that impact the bottom line.
That’s why it’s essential to prioritize the needs and budget for your ESS project to deliver on your promise. You may find a predesigned solution that fits your budget, but you must also consider any other expenses and costs associated with the implementation process and ongoing use.
Ideally, your ESS system should link to your company’s employee data management software so the information displayed is accurate and consistent across applications. This means your managers can see their employees’ payroll and benefits information in one application and their timesheets, PTO requests, and other work-related activities. Many ESS solutions provide managers with a mobile app to help them stay on track and make informed decisions — like receiving alerts when their team members are approaching overtime or close to maxing out their vacation hours.
Select a Solution
Employee self-service, or ESS, is a feature that allows employees to handle HR-related tasks themselves. This removes administrative workload from your HR department and gives employees a sense of empowerment.
Having an ESS portal also helps new hires settle quickly and effectively, ensuring a smooth integration into your team. They can sign their contracts digitally, access important documents, and get a feel for the company culture from day one.
An ESS system can also help you avoid compliance issues. For example, many organizations cite inaccurate payroll and attendance data as their compliance concern. When employees can enter this information, accuracy increases, and your team can spend less time worrying about the details.
Another compliance issue is ensuring that all data is stored securely. A well-designed ESS solution will use a secure firewall and double authentication to ensure the safety of your employees’ personal information. It will also allow you to set up policies and notifications for specific scenarios, such as social distancing during a pandemic. Moreover, a good solution will provide detailed reports on user behavior, such as failed search queries and other relevant metrics.
Implementation
Employee self-service is a proven concept offering greater service accessibility, improved processing efficiency, and enhanced delivery. However, it’s not a one-size-fits-all model and should only partially replace a physical Service Desk or telephonic conversations.
Providing your employees the ability to do their routine HR tasks through a secure online portal or mobile app gives them a sense of trust and empowerment. This is especially true when the ESS system is designed for daily operations (think access to schedules, time card review, and vacant shift claiming), as well as PTO management, benefits management, and payroll configurations.
Whether your employees use an ESS portal or mobile app, they need to find it easy to navigate and understand the purpose of each feature. Consider adding rich content and a relevant search function to help them get the most value from their experience. Remember, most employees don’t speak the technical jargon of back-office specialists, so it’s important to keep content concise and focused on action. This will ensure that your employees frequently return to the portal or app to access the needed services.