Human Resources (HR) is a critical department for any size-able enterprise. Human resources software helps to streamline HR workflows and ensure compliance with major labor laws—preventing problems and keeping employees satisfied and engaged with their work.
Yet, many enterprise organizations struggle to find the optimal HR solutions for their needs. This is especially true for companies that are still relying on piecemeal on-premises solutions for enterprise resource planning (ERP) and HR workflows. HR in the cloud helps organizations streamline HR processes and increase efficiency so they can generate better ROI from their human resources department’s efforts.
What should your enterprise look for in an HR solution—especially for cloud HR software?
What to Look for in an HR Solution
The key thing for any enterprise software (regardless of focus) is the return on investment. What does the software provide to the company compared to the cost of acquisition? However, ROI doesn’t just refer to direct monetary returns—it can take the form of process improvements, labor savings, risk reduction, and other benefits as well.
What in an HR solution generates positive ROI? Here are a few examples of what to look for in an HR solution which often contribute towards positive returns:
- Centralization of Information. HR workflows live or die by the ability of human resources team members to access pertinent information when they need it. One of the problems with piecemeal on-premises HR and ERP software is that there may be important information on multiple separate databases—making HR data harder to manage and HR workflows less smooth and efficient.
- Recruitment and Onboarding Solutions. The way a new hire is introduced to the company can have a critical impact on how well they’ll adapt. This, in turn, affects employee engagement, productivity, and retention. HR solutions that incorporate solutions for recruiting and onboarding new employees in a consistently positive manner can play an important role in helping to minimize future recruitment costs (by reducing turnover and the need to keep hiring new people for key roles).
- Information Security. Employee records often contain highly sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) that needs to be protected from illicit access. So, when choosing any human resources software for managing employee information, strong security is always a concern. Failure to protect information can lead to problems down the line—especially if cybercriminals use the stolen information to commit fraud against the company.
- Simplicity of Use. The user experience (UX) of any software solution plays a critical role in whether it sees frequent use and how efficiently it can be used by employees. So, finding an easy-to-use software that simplifies HR workflows as much as possible is important for facilitating key user buy-in and for improving efficiency. A great ERP or HR solution with a terrible interface probably won’t do much to actually improve human resources operations because people won’t want to use it.
These are just a few of the things to look for in an HR solution—whether it’s on the cloud or on a local database/server.
Benefits of HR in the Cloud
So, why should companies use cloud HR software instead of on-premises HR solutions? What are the benefits of HR in the cloud that make it preferable to building a data center in-house and maintaining the software internally?
Some examples of the benefits of running HR in the cloud include:
- Saving on Infrastructure Maintenance. One of the primary benefits of any cloud-based software solution is that it eliminates the need to manage data center infrastructure in-house. This means less time and labor spent on inspecting, maintaining, and upgrading infrastructure and more time spent on actually putting your HR, ERP, and other software solutions to use.
- Improved Scalability of Infrastructure. When planning out resources for in-house HR solutions, it’s important to consider what the peak demand for the human resources software will be not just at the time of installation, but for the next 5-10 years. This means over-building for your needs—which wastes resources in the short term to ensure long-term stability. With HR in the cloud, however, you only need to provision the resources you actually need because additional capacity can always be added with the push of a button.
- Centralized Data Storage and Management. HR in the cloud makes it easier to manage data for your human resources software by providing a centralized repository for all HR data. This cloud-based data storage also makes it easier for employees working remotely to access their HR information when they need it. With everything in one place, there’s less risk of data going missing or of people who need to access data being unable to find it.
- Improved Data Security Management. Keeping data safe from cybercriminals is a major challenge. Unless your business is specifically focused on cybersecurity, it can be hard to keep up with the latest threats and attack strategies. Cloud service providers (CSPs), because their entire business model is built on digital services, are often extremely well-equipped to guard against cyber threats. By moving enterprise resource planning and human resources software to the cloud, you can ease your organization’s cybersecurity burdens while increasing actual security. Of course, to get the most protection, it’s still important to practice good network security hygiene (such as enforcing strong passwords, training employees to not fall for phishing attacks, and restricting each employee’s access to only those systems and software programs that they need to complete their job function).
These are just a few of the benefits of using cloud HR software versus on-premises solutions. However, it’s possible to further enhance these benefits…
Taking Things to the Next Level with Complete Cloud
While the cloud does represent a significant improvement over traditional, on-premises HR solutions, there are still a few things that many cloud HR software solutions leave to be desired. For example, although the cloud almost completely eliminates hardware and software-related costs (like database licenses, OS licenses, and data center fees), many CSPs still charge extra for other services (such as implementation, process, and technical expert services).
This is where a solution like Drivestream’s Complete Cloud can help!
Unlike an “incomplete” cloud service offering, Complete Cloud from Drivestream covers all aspects of your cloud service for one flat monthly rate. There are no surprise charges or hidden fees—just one low, easy-to-budget-for monthly fee.
Because consulting and support services are included in the Complete Cloud, you never have to worry about how to best optimize your cloud HR software—our process and technical experts will help you configure your HR in the cloud to best meet your existing workflows free of charge. So, if you change your workflows, you never have to worry about how you’re going to budget for software configuration because there won’t be any additional charges!
Are you ready to take things to the next level with HR in the cloud? Reach out to the Drivestream team to get started.