SMALL businesses have unique human resource (HR) challenges, including employee retention, cultivating a positive company culture and employing sound methods for conflict resolution.
Navigating these challenges requires a people-first mindset, excellent communication skills and, most importantly – time. Trying to give internal challenges the time they deserve can often be hampered by the significant administrative burden that falls on HR professionals. This is where using HR tools can make the world of difference.
Ideally, small businesses should be automating as many processes as possible to allow for time to be spent on the tasks that involve building relationships, having meaningful conversations, and listening to the needs and experiences of employees.
Choosing an HR tool will depend on your individual needs, so we’ve put together a list of the three top-rated HR tools: each has features that address different pain points for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Sage: For a comprehensive and scalable all-in-one tool
What is convenient about Sage is that it’s the kind of tool that will grow with your business. As a small business owner, you need to keep an eye out for tools that will help you scale your business – tools that can accommodate your expanding needs over the long term. With Sage, you gain access to a comprehensive service offering, including payroll administration, accounting, employee on-boarding and leave management.
Top feature: administration and facilitation of performance management. The system allows you to share goals between individuals and teams, track progress and send anonymous surveys to staff that will help create the most people-centric work environment possible.
Helperhub: For simplicity and cost-effectiveness
Founded in 2019, Helperhub is the new kid on the block, but it’s made a positive impact in a very short space of time. Helperhub is the tool you need if you’re looking for a service that was designed specifically for SMEs. You can use Helperhub to automate your payroll, send invoices and payments, and administrate PAYE and UIF filings. Helperhub is among the most cost-effective tools, with various packages available depending on your needs. For micro-businesses who only need a small degree of functionality to start out with, you can get Helperhub for R40 per month per employee (admin fee), R20 per month (tax admin fee) and nominal added fees for financial products and other services.
Top feature: Helperhub has a built-in easy to use feature for processing references. You can load team members as employees, service providers or volunteers – each of these profiles has its own functionality and online form for writing and sending references confidentially.
HRSimplified: For speed and performance monitoring
What’s remarkable about this platform is that it was built to alleviate pressure on your HR executive by providing a user interface that’s super easy to use as an employee self-service tool. According to findings by HRSimplified, by using efficient HR software, you can reduce your HR professional’s workload by 50 percent, saving valuable time and resources. The unique selling proposition of this software company is very simple: it’s fast. In fact, it takes one minute to approve an employee’s leave.
Top feature: HRSimplified has incorporated a dashboard into its system that provides employers with data and analytics on their employees. Using this system, you can pull reports on overtime, claims, team demographics and department-specific statistics that allow employers to hone in on how the various parts of their business are being run in terms of human capital, time and financial management.
Ben Bierman is the managing director of Business Partners.
BUSINESS REPORT