Self-service portals, once the preserve of large organisations with big budgets, are now available to smaller businesses and non-profits thanks to the development of cloud software and open source solutions like CiviHR.
What are the benefits?
The most obvious advantage to using a self-service portal is that it allows employees to manage their information from day one. This approach reduces the HR admin load and ensures employee details are kept up to date. It also allows employees to quickly request leave and fulfil HR obligations such as uploading documents to the system.
And why is technology so important?
The CIPD views workforce technology as driving new forms of employment relationship and fundamentally changing the way organisations operate. But as with all organisational change, implementing new technology requires an agile approach. And a self-service portal is only beneficial if employees log in and use it.
Implementing a self service portal
To get the most from your new system, here are three tips for encouraging employees to adopt the self-service portal:
1. Manage change properly
Communicate, communicate, communicate. Employee involvement is key in change management, so get them on board. Ask your staff their opinion on the system and how they would want to see it used. Allocate enough time for each team to practice using the system so that they are familiar with how it works before they have to use it for real.
2. Make it easy
Store all the information regarding the system and its usage policy is in one accessible place. It might be useful to create some fun exercises to encourage engagement with the system, like running a competition: the first three people to submit a leave request using the portal receive a prize! It also helps if you choose an accessible system that can be used on multiple devices so staff can log in from their mobile at home.
3. Provide proper training and support
Employees need to feel confident using the system and know that they can ask for help if needed. It’s a good idea to nominate one member of staff as the system administrator, so they can be on hand to answer any questions and boost employee engagement with the system.
Get Started Today
It’s time for organisations to take advantage of technology that empowers both employees and HR departments. With CiviHR’s self-service technology, your employees have instant, online access to their key HR details. They can apply for leave, record sickness, read policy documents, look up colleague’s contact details in the directory, and view any tasks assigned to them, such as requirements to bring in a copy of their passport or attend an appraisal.
If you want to see the CiviHR self-service portal in action, why not test it out on our demo site? Select the civihr_staff login name to see how the portal would appear to employees and the options available for managing your HR data.
Source: https://civihr.org/blog/post/getting-started-self-service-technology