By: Lauren Perrodin

Human resources (HR) technology tools help managers do their jobs more efficiently and with more accuracy in every department, from recruitment and employee management to payroll and compliance. Technology has improved the workflow of 50% of HR staff, according to the 2022 Paychex Pulse of HR Survey, for both payroll and benefits administration.

Company HR teams are typically fairly lean and short on time. Meanwhile, employee and applicant demands are high: They need fast response times, accurate solutions and comprehensive benefits. What’s more, younger generations expect to work with more digitized tools and will likely look for positions that are optimized or are open to technology optimization.

The only way for HR departments to meet their needs is to accelerate processes while ensuring precise results.

But what are the tools that are saving between 60 to 120 hours of work for HR professionals? Let’s take a look.

Top HR Software

Programs and software that HR teams choose from must be easy to use and improve the employee experience. There are two main types of software:

  • Human resources information systems (HRIS): The technology necessary to carry out day-to-day operations from payroll to paid time off.
  • Human resources management systems (HRMS): How HR professionals are able to report on the successes of their employees for performance management.

Here are the top 5 HR programs according to Outsource Accelerator and Forbes that could meet the needs of small to enterprise businesses:

  • ADP: Offers hiring compliance tools, attendance tracking, payroll and more.
  • BambooHR: Includes performance management tools, e-signature approvals and interview scheduling.
  • SageHR: An HRMS software that encourages employee engagement with feedback capabilities, PTO requesting, applicant tracking and life cycle management.
  • Paychex: Handles all HR management on a single platform from online payroll to human capital management (HCM).
  • Rippling: Combines HR and IT by managing HRIS necessities as well as employee apps and devices.

How to Choose HR Software

The software above was chosen because it offered more than just recruiting tools, but management and payroll, PTO and other capabilities as well. Choosing HR software involves taking a look at the needs of your department to identify bottlenecks and archaic manual processes. And it should be easily integrated.

You should choose technology that will help take your department to the next level and make it agile regardless of the economic climate, all while embracing current employee trends.

For example, a 2022 PwC survey found that common HR challenges include:

  • Gathering data analytics.
  • Recruitment.
  • Modernizing HR systems.
  • Employee upskilling.
  • Retention.
  • Remote/hybrid work.

Can technology help support these initiatives and challenges? Yes! The right software can track employee engagement no matter where your teams work, while streamlining the onboarding process.

Create a Strategy

The trick (and the challenge) is implementing new software seamlessly. PwC’s survey found that a lot of the hurdles that HR professionals have to jump over in modernizing their systems is the integration stage; employees have a hard time adopting the new software or using it properly.

To avoid buyer’s remorse, along with looking for bottlenecks, check on the software that is working. From there, you could pinpoint other supporting technologies that integrate well with what you already have. Afterward, implement a comprehensive training program to ensure flawless implementation.

Excel in Your Human Resources Career

Remaining relevant in the digital transformation age means constantly evolving your programs and systems for greater efficiency. As the HR department as a whole improves, it’s imperative that employees continue to upskill. Our HR Management grads have a 100% pass rate for the SHRM-SCP certification and an 80% pass rate for the SHRM-CP certification.