The benefits of an employee self- service portal

Employees spend on an average 1.8 hours per day and 9.3 hours per week on searching and collecting information – McKinsey report

When employees are involved in searching and gathering information for several hours, they cannot contribute productively towards important tasks at hand. Only by replacing the process of manual data handling with automation tools like employee self-service (ESS) portals, can organizations help their employees focus more on their core responsibilities.  

Companies of all types and sizes are now realizing the importance of employee self-service portals in streamlining and automating information management tasks. ESS portals empower employees to manage their own HR and payroll-related information, and make them less reliant on the HR department for every piece of information. Employees get their own login access to ESS portals for viewing and editing their personal information, such as, address, contact information, and banking information.

As enumerated above, ESS portals have several benefits. Let’s discuss some of these benefits in detail.

Improved efficiency of administrative tasks

ESS portals can be used by employees for recording working hours and requesting time offs on a single platform. They no longer need to send emails to different people for getting approval for leave requests. Also, to collect information, the HR team doesn’t have to chase down every person in the organization. With an ESS portal, employees and HR professionals need to spend less time on mundane administrative tasks, and can focus more on mission-critical tasks.

Transparency of information

At any point of time, employees can look back to the information stored on the ESS portal and confirm its authenticity. Documents related to benefits, safety procedures, salary revisions, complaints and other company policies can be accessed by employees as soon as they want to have a view of them. Also, information regarding leave balances and attendance records are easily accessible to all employees. They don’t have to spend time tracking email threads and approaching the HR team with endless queries.

Updated employee information

Have you ever tried calling an employee in case of an emergency leave, only to figure out that the number is out of service?

If this has happened to you before, then you must have realized the importance of updating employee information on a regular basis. But your limited bandwidth might have prevented you from taking up this tedious data entry task. Fortunately, to get rid of inaccurate information, HR professionals can take the help of employee self-service portals. ESS portals give employees complete access to their own data, so that they can update it as soon as there is any change.

Improved employee morale

ESS portals provide a single platform where co-workers can communicate their ideas and work together towards successful project completion. These portals also provide an employee directory with contact details along with a calendar for birthdays, work anniversaries and other important employee milestones. This way, employees can interact with each other socially and improve the spirit of camaraderie. Further, as social interaction between employers and employees increases, employees feel more connected with the organization and make more valuable contributions.

Enhanced data security

When papers with employee details are slipped into physical folders, they are vulnerable to misuse, loss and damage. With the advancement in technology, companies can migrate their sensitive data to the cloud and ensure higher security. Data can be stored securely on the cloud with only relevant people accessing it through appropriate passwords.

Reduced environmental footprint

It’s critical for corporate leaders to take the environmental impact of paper production seriously. Environmentalists are also suggesting corporates to take a significant step towards creating a paperless work culture. By going paperless, companies can contribute towards creating a better world with reduced deforestation. If you are still sitting on the fence, you can start by deploying business software solutions like document management system and human resource management system with an ESS portal. By using these software, you can reduce the dependence on physical files and folders and help in creating a greener environment.  

A summary

HRMS employee self-service solutions don’t only improve workplace efficiency, but also helps in ensuring the transparency of information and enhancing the security of data on the cloud. Above all, it can make employees more responsible and attentive, and ensure that important details are not left unattended at any stage.

Author Bio:

Kalpana Arya is into Technical Writing both as a profession and as a passion, and is presently working with Techjockey as a Senior Content Writer. She tries to keep her blogs informative, and helps readers learn new tricks of technology.