How ERP Can Be a People Tool
Change – the core theme of every Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project – helps organizations evolve. Organizations view ERP applications as business tools to improve profitability, run key business functions and integrate systems across different verticals. Most ERP application suites, therefore, come with a wide range of modules to handle both business functions and human resource functions.
A well-implemented ERP system can serve organizations by helping automate tasks, making for faster response times and reducing wastage, all of which improves efficiency and quality.
Many businesses, however only implement and run a small part of the available tools in an ERP suite, and bring in more as they expand operations. It’s no surprise then that a significant number of companies are either unaware of HR modules in ERP suites, or ignore them because they don’t fully understand the benefits. If your organization relies on ERP for all operational functions, minus those related to HR, you should reconsider your strategy.
Employees are your most valued assets and a human resource management system (HRMS) – either as a standalone application or as part of your ERP suite – stores and manages all the information related to your employees, making HR policy implementations significantly more efficient.
Traditional roles such as hiring and payroll have been a part of ERP for a while now, and businesses have widely adopted them. Companies have also been relying on ERP HR modules for training administration and recruiting functions, and these modules have more significant levels of adoption in recent years.
More niche roles such as employee welfare, employee support, grievance handling, news, forums, financial management, productivity tracking and compensation management, on the other hand, are yet to be widely adopted. These functions are still manually managed by HR departments, especially in small and medium organizations and establishments.
Here is a quick overview of how ERP HR modules can make your business more people centric and contribute towards the overall growth of your organization.
Improve employee-employer relationships
ERP HR modules allow employees and employers (including management) to connect directly and communicate better. HR modules connect to a central database, which holds all information about employees, and allows the employer to better manage concerns and proactive communication as needed.
Solve issues more easily
With ERP HR modules, employees can raise issues and track the associated tickets. Central databases also allow management and other senior employees to directly access concerns raised and address them individually where necessary.
Enable employees to take control of their growth
A well-designed ERP HR module provides employees all the information they need to improve their skills and to grow within an organization. This is achieved by giving them access to their own performance data and providing opportunities to acquire new skills online – perhaps even linking performance to rewards. HR modules also make it easier for employees to learn about benefits available to them and how they can be obtained.
Make benefits truly ‘self-serve’
The ultimate goal of an ERP HR module is to give employees the opportunity to ‘self-serve’. The obvious advantage is the reduction of burden on the HR department, which can translate to cost savings. But perhaps of greater importance is the feeling of control it offers employees, and this, in turn, can boost employee morale. Everyone knows a happy employee is great for business!
Businesses are often faced with the challenge of making compromises to fit into budget and time constraints. But, believe us when we say, ERP HR modules are not the place to cut cost as they are an area that could bring you some excellent return on investment.
If you would like to learn more about ERP HR modules and how they can make your business more people-centric, contact us at 1-866-277-4447 or by email at info@psierp.com.
