The e-HRM guide
E-HRM is about HR clouds and HR software, but what does that actually mean and what types of HR tools exist? This guide creates clarity in the e-HRM landscape.
Contents
- What is e-HRM?
- Why implement e-HRM?
- How to implement e-HRM?
- 3 large clusters in HR software
- The benefits of e-HRM
- Our e-HRM solution
1. What is e-HRM?
E-HRM stands for Electronic Human Resources Management and simply means that you support your human resources and organisation with technological HR systems. So it's about human resources software and human resources tools that ensure that your human resources management can run smoothly digitally in an HR cloud. This provides more overview and more support. And less time wasted at the same time, because the electronic HRM tool takes care of synchronised processes and thus takes away a large part of your workload.
What types of HR software are available?
We start with the most general term for an HR software package: HRIS. This is the abbreviation for Human Resources Information System. This is the most common term used to describe an HR system that keeps track of employee information for business purposes.
HCM is the extended version of an HRIS system and stands for Human Capital Management (system). An HCM package will have, in addition to the HRIS functionalities, an even broader range for managing talent across the enterprise.
HRM or Human Resource Management Systems is the predominant group of select HR software providers that offers a broad spectrum of functionality for managing a large and international workforce.
ATS or Applicant Tracking Software, represents the grouping of software tools that help your company attract and recruit potential candidates. This software usually has integrations with numerous job boards and often generates a unique branded page where all open jobs are listed.
TMS Talent Management Systems are HR software packages whose main objective is to attract these employees and to further develop and guide them once they are part of the organisation. These systems often need to be integrated with other HR tools or HRIS to exchange the necessary information.
LMS stands for Learning Management System and groups all tools that support different types of training, education and different learning paths.
HCM is the extended version of an HRIS system and stands for Human Capital Management (system). An HCM package will have, in addition to the HRIS functionalities, an even broader range for managing talent across the enterprise.
HRM or Human Resource Management Systems is the predominant group of select HR software providers that offers a broad spectrum of functionality for managing a large and international workforce.
ATS or Applicant Tracking Software, represents the grouping of software tools that help your company attract and recruit potential candidates. This software usually has integrations with numerous job boards and often generates a unique branded page where all open jobs are listed.
TMS Talent Management Systems are HR software packages whose main objective is to attract these employees and to further develop and guide them once they are part of the organisation. These systems often need to be integrated with other HR tools or HRIS to exchange the necessary information.
LMS stands for Learning Management System and groups all tools that support different types of training, education and different learning paths.
2. Why implement e-HRM?
More and more companies are betting on e-HRM. In 2017, PwC* investigated more than 300 organisations how they use HRM technology. What turned out? More and more organizations are implementing e-HRM software.
"Close to 40% of the 300+ companies we surveyed have core HR applications in the cloud, and even more are planning to migrate."
* This research was conducted worldwide by HR teams and professionals working at 370 companies of different sizes. These organisations are part of more than 30 different sectors and are located in 40 countries.
"Close to 40% of the 300+ companies we surveyed have core HR applications in the cloud, and even more are planning to migrate."
* This research was conducted worldwide by HR teams and professionals working at 370 companies of different sizes. These organisations are part of more than 30 different sectors and are located in 40 countries.
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Does the implementation of e-HRM software have a positive impact?
Business processes are increasingly automated, but does this technological evolution also have a real impact within HR? We quote some remarkable figures from the report, which paint a better picture of the business impact that e-HRM can have:
- 52% saw an increase in the use of e-HRM software by employees. Makes sense when you know that they can access the software at any time and from anywhere. They can, for example, request days off from their sofa.
- 47% mentioned that managers would use self-service tools more intensively to manage their teams.
- Automation and innovation in HR continue to drive down costs. 20% of the companies noticed a measurable decrease in personnel costs.
- 78% were satisfied with the capabilities of this HR cloud to meet their business needs.
- Fears of a failed implementation fell from 52% to 47%.
- Only 17% of HR tech companies indicated that mobile access is a priority for them.
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3. How to implement e-HRM?
Focus on a specific process area
HRM processes flow through to many aspects within a company. Through thorough analysis, look for the process area that would benefit most from digitisation: these are often processes and tasks that involve a lot of manual work in processing and/or communicating information. Look at the pain points in the operation of these processes and the e-HRM solutions and human resources tools that are on the market today.
Involve essential stakeholders within this process
Depending on which process area within HRM will be automated first, you will also need input from various stakeholders. Timely involvement of the right stakeholders is essential to a good selection and implementation of an e-HRM solution. Stakeholders who are involved can help determine the HR software needs and will also be more inclined to be ambassadors for automation.
Make a business case as a guideline
A business case helps to make a better estimate of all the requirements to make the step to e-HRM. So you can go to an HR software provider with a clear picture of your needs and expectations and ask if their product provides that. Finally, the business case is primarily a measurement tool to compare the proposed goals with the final results.
HRM processes flow through to many aspects within a company. Through thorough analysis, look for the process area that would benefit most from digitisation: these are often processes and tasks that involve a lot of manual work in processing and/or communicating information. Look at the pain points in the operation of these processes and the e-HRM solutions and human resources tools that are on the market today.
Involve essential stakeholders within this process
Depending on which process area within HRM will be automated first, you will also need input from various stakeholders. Timely involvement of the right stakeholders is essential to a good selection and implementation of an e-HRM solution. Stakeholders who are involved can help determine the HR software needs and will also be more inclined to be ambassadors for automation.
Make a business case as a guideline
A business case helps to make a better estimate of all the requirements to make the step to e-HRM. So you can go to an HR software provider with a clear picture of your needs and expectations and ask if their product provides that. Finally, the business case is primarily a measurement tool to compare the proposed goals with the final results.
4. 3 major clusters in HR software
In order to structure the HR software landscape, we started from the 'employee journey'. This is the total experience, going from the first application as a candidate, over the employment as an employee with the employer, to leaving the organisation again. In line with that employee journey, you will see three major clusters of e-HRM solutions emerging:
- Before someone enters employment (recruitment & selection)
In this cluster you will find the Applicant Tracking Tools (ATS), which manage the inflow of candidates. In Belgium, CV Warehouse is a well-known example. To subsequently screen candidates, more and more organisations use selection tests and assessments (e.g. via Thalento). Vacancy databases also fall under this heading, as do staffing tools. Together, these HR tools help to find and screen good candidates. - Hard-side of HR software: everything between onboarding (in service) & offboarding (out of service)
As soon as an employee joins the company, a lot of HR administration takes place: from drawing up contracts to the monthly payroll. This part is typically called the 'hard side' of HR. In this cluster we mainly find the traditional players, such as the software of the social secretariats, but also many new players in time registration and personnel planning, who often focus on one specific part of the HR administration (e.g. Online Work Schedule, Beeple, BookU).
We are on the eve of many innovations in this cluster. The tools for HR administration are increasingly evolving into e-HRM tools. HR analytics (e.g. iNostix), providing useful insights based on HR data, will also occupy a more prominent place in this cluster. - Soft-side of HR software: everything concerning culture, feedback, engagement, etc.
Finally, a promising cluster in which a lot is happening. Just think of:
- Intuo, a platform for e-learning, engagement and performance management.
- Manual.to, which makes it easy to distribute manuals to employees.
- Moov-IT, who work on health promotion in organisations.
These tools are often linked to a certain culture or behavioural change that organisations want to launch (e.g. stimulating health, engagement, innovation and/or a broader feedback culture). And, as we know, culture change is often a big challenge. So, we are very curious to see how this cluster will further evolve and how e-HRM can play a role in it.
5. The benefits of e-HRM
1. Centralised HR data
What if all HR data was in one place?
Digital, centralised HR data: Always up-to-date in a convenient overview. HHow much mail traffic and paperwork would you avoid then? Both the accountant and the HR employee would be able to work more efficiently, with much less chance of errors and better data protection.
At the same time, e-HRM also keeps you better informed than ever at C-level of what is going on in the company. After all, you receive even more accurate and in-depth HR reports, because the accountant and HR employee have more figures and more time to analyse them.
"The advent of cloud-based computing and real-time data has allowed for a lot more flexibility to make real-time decisions, as opposed to just looking at what's happened in the past quarter or the past year. You can figure out which employees are working the most or the least and come up with the median information needed to set policies and help the C-suite make the labor decisions they need to make"
-Nina Chmura, senior partner at WithumSmith+Brown, Forbes 2017
Digital, centralised HR data: Always up-to-date in a convenient overview. HHow much mail traffic and paperwork would you avoid then? Both the accountant and the HR employee would be able to work more efficiently, with much less chance of errors and better data protection.
At the same time, e-HRM also keeps you better informed than ever at C-level of what is going on in the company. After all, you receive even more accurate and in-depth HR reports, because the accountant and HR employee have more figures and more time to analyse them.
"The advent of cloud-based computing and real-time data has allowed for a lot more flexibility to make real-time decisions, as opposed to just looking at what's happened in the past quarter or the past year. You can figure out which employees are working the most or the least and come up with the median information needed to set policies and help the C-suite make the labor decisions they need to make"
-Nina Chmura, senior partner at WithumSmith+Brown, Forbes 2017
Which HR data can you centralise?
Personal data
All the data you need for a correct HR administration can be found in one employee profile. Personal data, leave counters, salary history, documents, assets, training courses...
Kalender
All leave requests and sick days are displayed in the calendar overview. Here, HR managers or team leads can check everything and quickly make adjustments before everything goes to the social secretariat.
Documents
All company documents, from certificates and pay slips to information about insurance management within the company. Share these documents with employees in a few clicks via the mobile app. Make important company documents available to everyone in the organisation. Assign individual documents to employees. And have contracts signed digitally.
Personal data
All the data you need for a correct HR administration can be found in one employee profile. Personal data, leave counters, salary history, documents, assets, training courses...
Kalender
All leave requests and sick days are displayed in the calendar overview. Here, HR managers or team leads can check everything and quickly make adjustments before everything goes to the social secretariat.
Documents
All company documents, from certificates and pay slips to information about insurance management within the company. Share these documents with employees in a few clicks via the mobile app. Make important company documents available to everyone in the organisation. Assign individual documents to employees. And have contracts signed digitally.
2. Workflows
When a company is successful and grows, it will systematically be more in need of structure. This structure is often created by documenting recurring processes within the company and optimising them into workflows. Such as e.g. this onboarding workflow:
These can easily be automated in an HR tool. E-HRM then takes care of setting up a fixed structure that includes everything and displays it in a clear overview, including notifications of uncompleted tasks so that nothing can be forgotten.
3. HR analytics
With e-HRM software, you can easily retrieve and analyse HR data from an HR system, enabling you to quickly make important connections using strategic methods. This is what we call HR analytics: combining HR data and figures to arrive at insights.
How does e-HRM help you with HR analytics?
- Operational reporting
Collect data (or HR metrics) on what you do in a clear way in an HRM tool. How many people have you recruited in the past year? What training did the employees go through? How much does everyone earn? Keeping a systematic record of these figures is step one. - Advanced reporting
Make it a habit to keep track of information that indicates how things are going in and with your organisation. Nowadays, there are HR tools that follow the evolution day by day for you. This saves you the time of pouring all the figures into reports. Measure, for example, incoming and outgoing staff, absenteeism, salary, costs... - Strategic Analysis
With statistical models you learn how HR data influence other data and vice versa. You link the activities of the HR department to the business results. For example: what does the Bradford Factor tell me about absenteeism in my organisation?
- Predictive analysis (predictive analytics, predictive HR analytics)
With more advanced statistics and people analytics from e-HRM software, you can also predict what you can expect in the coming period. You combine patterns and trends in the data with models that give a view of the future. Based on that information you can plan better.
4. Performance management
Closely monitor the growth of employees and organise performance reviews at regular intervals. This will increase engagement and promote a more transparent relationship between manager and employees. Keep the information shared during the discussion in an HR tool, so that it is not lost. This way, you will reap the benefits permanently. Via e-HRM, for example, you can set up an HR system for performance reviews, where you can keep and consult reports of performance interviews.
4. Employee Self Service
E-HRM ensures that employees can manage part of their own HR data. Through HR tools that offer an Employee Self Service, they can adjust and consult their own data and HR administration. Think of entering personal data, requesting leave, consulting their salary package and payslip, uploading necessary documents, digitally signing contracts and reviewing performance reviews. This again ensures more transparency between managers/HR and employees. And at the same time, it also reduces the administrative burden for HR, freeing up time for other HR processes that can have a major impact.
Curious about what e-HRM can do for your Human Resources Management? We asked 291 Belgian SMEs which processes are the most time-consuming and looked in detail at how they are currently carried out. It turned out that no less than 95% of them see opportunities for the further digitalisation of HR. Would you like to read the full report? Download it here for free and discover what you can gain by implementing smart HR software.
6. Our e-HRM solution
Officient is a human resource software (or HR) management tool. Our tool is primarily geared towards the HRIS package. This means that we have developed an HR system that keeps track of all employee information in one overview. With this, we offer a SaaS solution for human resource management in your company: an HR cloud or e-HRM that keeps track of everything for you.
We mainly focus on HR administration and payroll by means of personnel data, a leave and illness calendar, documents and contracts. But we also want to focus on HR analytics, because we strongly believe that centralised HR data can lead to valuable insights.
We are keen to let you discover this for yourself. Are you interested in testing our e-HRM solution? Request your demo here. Would you rather learn more about e-HRM first? Download our free e-HRM ebook here.
We mainly focus on HR administration and payroll by means of personnel data, a leave and illness calendar, documents and contracts. But we also want to focus on HR analytics, because we strongly believe that centralised HR data can lead to valuable insights.
We are keen to let you discover this for yourself. Are you interested in testing our e-HRM solution? Request your demo here. Would you rather learn more about e-HRM first? Download our free e-HRM ebook here.
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