There have never been more options for organisations that want to simplify and streamline their human resources processes, from cloud-based HR software to outsourced HR services, but this doesn’t make the ideal solution any easier to find, says Lesley Meall, FSN contributing editor.
Human resources systems used to be the preserve of large organisations with hundreds, or even thousands of employees, but the evolution of the internet – from millions of computers that all connect to each other into an interactive computing platform – has broadened access and affordability. Today, even the smallest organisations can simplify and streamline some of their HR processes – for employees and potential employees – by exploiting a growing smorgasbord of browser-based tools, systems and services.
The options now range from offerings that clearly describe and present themselves as HR-specific, such as human resources software, human resources intranets or portals, and various outsourced HR services, to more generic (and perhaps less obvious) web-based tools such as wikis. So for small and medium-sized organisations that are contemplating a change to their existing arrangements for HR, updating any HR systems they already have in place, or simply trying to find ways to do more with less, all of these approaches merit consideration, along with their related benefits, costs, challenges, strengths and weaknesses.
The outsourcing option
The rising tide of regulation had made HR a burden too far for some organisations, and they want nothing more than to hand as much as possible over to somebody (else) who can provide the required expertise, (often) for the lowest cost possible, and there are lots of specialist service providers that could take some or all of the job off your hands, for a fee. As you will find if you Google ‘outsourcing HR’, the results are up in the millions. But not all HR outsourcing services were created equal, and there is some (unavoidable) leg-work involved in finding the right solution for your particular organisation.
Ideally, you would start your search armed with a pretty good idea of what you are looking for; but this can be difficult if you are not aware of the many possibilities out there. HR outsourcing providers can provide HR consulting, HR software, legal compliance and operational HR advice and support to managers and staff, payroll services, plus HR administration. So outsourced services span from discrete HR activities such as payroll admin, disciplinary handling, TUPE transfers, and the provision of international assignment policies and work permits, through HR intranets and portals (on which more, later), to more strategic services such as workforce planning and deployment, or the international management of benefits.
In some scenarios, HR outsourcing can offer all of this and more, including the required staff and technology infrastructure. This sort of all-singing, all-dancing solution has traditionally been aimed at large organisations and provided by large organisations such as Accenture, ADP, Hewitt Associates, NorthgateArinso and Origin (part of Randstad). But some giants, such as Ceridian have SME offerings, and national organisations (and SME specialists) such as HR Advantage (in the UK) and regional US operators such as CBR (in Arizona, California and Nevada) also offer HR services ranging from basic legal compliance to fully outsourced solutions.
As HR is a non-profit centre it’s an obvious candidate for outsourcing, and the benefits can potentially include: reduced cost and risk, increased efficiency and flexibility, access to better HR expertise, systems, processes, and management information . But it’s wise to consider the potential disadvantages too. These include: impact on the employer/employee relationship, loss of control and flexibility, complications arising from the need to meet legal or regulatory requirements, and failure to deliver the expected cost benefits (regardless of whether or not a thorough cost-benefit analysis has been conducted).
Outsourcing or software as a service?
The spread of HR solutions being offered in ‘the cloud’ using the software as a service (SaaS) delivery model makes it hard to draw a clear dividing line between traditional providers of outsourced services and SaaS pure plays. Although the associated terminology can potentially make this confusing for many SME organisations, it doesn’t have to be an issue, as the end result is pretty much the same: online access to an HR system that offers the sort of features you probably couldn’t afford when the only option was the traditional on-premise solution.
SMEs may feel spoiled for choice when it comes to online HR systems. In addition to the web-based offerings of outsourcing service providers (such as some of those mentioned above), there are offerings from SaaS pioneers such as Netsuite, traditional software developers such as Iris, and providers that specialise in online HR software. These include: Breathe, Simply HR and Simply Personnel, where the software and services are hosted for businesses on the servers of third party service providers, along with all of the associated data on employees etc. It’s an approach that can remove the need for costly installations, updates, maintenance and IT resources, and make changes in head-count easier to manage, but it raises security questions.
Because of issues relating to control, security and privacy, some organisations prefer browser-based HR systems that can be hosted online by third party service providers, or hosted by the businesses itself on its own servers, which can enable businesses to host some of their HR externally and some internally (an approach that may be described as ‘hybrid clouds’). Employees, managers, HR staff and external job hunters can still access the necessary HR tools and materials on a 24/7 basis, from anywhere and any device with internet access, as long as they have the necessaty permissions, and exploit some of the other advantages associated with the SaaS delivery mechanism.
Providers offering this mixed approach include Cascade, Octopus HR, and various others (and Cascade’s website features a 5-minute video overview/buyers guide to help with the selection process). But whether HR systems and services are hosted on a businesses own servers or third party machines, they share the advantage of providing web-based access to broad ranges of HR support tools for: managing employees, tracking sickness, assigning tasks, centralising documentation, handling online recruitment, using workflow to streamline personnel management, providing access to online forms and templates and centralising HR-related documentation – which brings us to the area of self- service systems and HR intranets.
Self-service solutions
It is easy to get hung up on the terminology that describes the technology that underpins self-service HR applications. Some HR intranets are part of much larger corporate intranets, and it’s increasingly difficult to draw hard perimiters around what people are describing with terms such as HR portal, employee portal, or HR intranet (or differentiate between and intranet and an extranet, for that matter), as many HR systems provide access to information and interactive self-service tools (if on a limited basis) to people outside their organisation (such as job applicants), as well as those on the inside. Different terminology can be used to describe similar systems.
It doesn’t help that HR intranets have been through a number of evolutionary steps. The first two generations were bespoke inward looking HR intranets displaying information for employee viewing purposes only, and they did little to reduce the workload on HR or make life easier for employees, managers or employers. The third generation of HR intranets was more interactive, (but equally inward-looking), generally built by external developers, and linked to back-end databases that were often part of larger HR systems, and their associated functionality. But if you are looking for self-service tools today, you may want to focus on web-based and more interactive and flexible alternatives.
These latest generation of HR self-service tools can provide employees (and often prospective employees) with a secure and easy to use means of accessing and updating personal data, submitting forms, and finding their own answers to queries, making life simpler for employees and line managers, as well as relieving HR of paper-based processes, unnecessary emails, telephone and paper enquiries, and much more. These are often provided as browser-based front ends for Windows HR systems, but not always, and self-service capabilities are increasingly likely to be available in systems and services such as Simply HR, which is aimed at smaller organisations.
Wiki wonderland
There are a also a number of systems that can be used to deploy or develop your own HR intranet. These include Interact and Intranet Dashboard, which offer suites of tools that can provide an organisation with intranet, extranet, document management, portal and workflow capabilities; some providers, such as Denali Intranet also offer tools for exploiting social networking. Among the many tools offered by organisations such as these you will also find wiki engines, and these can be particularly useful in the building of HR intranets.
If you aren’t familiar with the wiki concept, watch the basic (if slightly irritating) demo at, and use your imagination. If you are familiar, you’ll already know that Wikis are a fast, simple and effective way for groups of people with (no programming expertise and) internet access to collaborate, and aggregate and share information (by creating and editing linked web pages), and you won’t be surprised to find that their many uses extend to enhancing existing HR systems and intranets, and building new HR intranets.
Some of the available wiki engines (such as Central Desktop, Confluence and PBworks) were created with enterprise users in mind, and the management tools, controls and security they offer are reflected in the asking price. But there are also a number of very low cost and free wiki engines out there (such as Mediawiki and Wikidot), and some organisations may find that they are sufficient to create a reasonably comprehensive HR knowledge base and interactive website at a fraction of the price of some of the commercial alternatives – which could give an extra layer of meaning to the term of reference self-service HR.
