The small business workshop: understanding HR self-service

Stuck under a mountain of HR admin? We can sympathise!

Fear not, if you want a solution, you’re in the right place.

In this blog, I’ve covered how HR self-service can empower workers and free up time for HR professionals, as well as highlighted some key points made by our HR Director, Lizzy Barry, during a recent webinar.

So, if you’re curious about how self-service could free you up to focus on more strategic work, read on.

What is HR self-service?

HR self-service, also known as employee self-service (ESS), is a digital platform within HR software that empowers staff to independently manage their HR-related tasks, such as:

• Updating personal details
• Accessing payroll and benefits information
• Logging work hours
• Requesting time off
• Enrolling in training programmes
• Viewing company policies

The goal of self-service is to enhance operational efficiency, minimise data errors and empower workers to handle routine tasks independently.

Lizzy explained, saying: “A real value-add for HR teams of all sizes is giving employees the opportunity to self-serve when there’s something we need them to do or information they need to give us.

“Being able to give them a place to do that themselves not only means that it’s definitely accurate because they’re the ones entering the information directly, but it also reduces the dreaded manual entry.”

How does HR self-service work?

Typically, a self-service platform is cloud-based and accessible via a mobile app or web browser, meaning staff can use it from any location through a device that has an internet connection.

Whether employees are office-based, hybrid or fully remote, via the self-service portal, they can log in and take care of routine tasks.

Use cases for HR self-service

Using the power of the cloud, mobile apps and web portals, employees can manage a wide array of basic tasks themselves, without having to involve managers or HR, including: 

1. Document management: self-service portals enable employees to access crucial HR and payroll documents, such as contracts, payslips, P60s, handbooks, etc.  
2. Centralised records: with self-service you can collect all the information you need from your employees, such as emergency contacts, home address and accessibility needs, to name a few, requesting them to input it via the portal.  
3. Absence management: your employees can check their leave balances and request time off from any device.  
4. Learning and development (L&D): employees can enrol in training sessions and track completed courses, promoting continuous growth while making it easy to manage personal development plans. 

Lizzy shared a glimpse of her experience with self-service, saying: “One of the things that’s really helpful with self-service is that you can automate tasks for employees to do on a regular basis.

“Each year at IRIS, for example, we have an automated email that goes to our employees, asking them to double-check their details, such as address and bank details, are still correct.

“Rather than having to individually reach out to each employee and collating all that information to manually update it, the self-service system, combined with automated workflows, can do it for us.

“In HR, we can often get bogged down with manual work, but the system enables us to do it in a really straightforward way.”

What are the benefits of HR self-service?

For growing businesses with a high volume of HR admin, it’s essential to equip both employees and managers with effective tools.

By implementing an employee self-service portal, you can achieve some amazing benefits, such as:

• Enhanced employee engagement and reduced staff turnover
• Saving time by cutting down on HR admin
• Minimising risks and data inaccuracies
• Ensuring HR compliance
• Promoting employee wellbeing

The SME business workshop: optimise HR & payroll

Hopefully you’ve found the above useful!

The full webinar covered a wide array of other topics which may be of interest, including:

• The HR challenges impacting businesses
• Small business kit (one-stop-shop solution approach) 
• Creative solutions for attracting talent on a budget 
• Integration & add-on opportunities  
• Performance management for lean teams 
• Q&A session 

Webinar: The small business workshop – optimise HR & payroll

Watch here