When it comes to technology in the field of human resources and payroll software, Employee Self-Service or ESS technology is one of the most popular innovations. Companies across sectors such as retail, education, F&B, hospitality etc. are reaping the benefits of ESS portals. What attracts HR practitioners and payroll managers to this software is its ability to reduce the administrative workload for them.

Today, most companies hire employees that are well versed in using computers and can be trained easily in working on payroll software that is tailored to be enterprise specific. Once an employee uses HR

payroll software with ESS portals like sumHR, his or her dependence on the HR department reduces dramatically. Here are a few ways in which Employee Self-Service is improving payroll issues:

Access payslips anytime, anywhere

Every employee receives payslip each month but most often it is in hard copy. Thus, losing it is really easy. ESS makes accessing payslips really simple. Every month, once the salary is paid to the employee, the payslip is generated and uploaded online. Thus, whenever the employee wants, he or she can access current and previous payslips and print them. Payslips are crucial when an employee wants to apply for loans, credit cards, tourist visa, leasing a house etc.

Furthermore, since this information is available 24×7, employees do not need to rely on HR managers to provide them with this information. They can access it on the weekends or at midnight. With all the payslip records easily available to employees, the HR department too can save time and resources.

Publish rosters, timesheets and maintain attendance

For a payroll manager, making sure each employee receives his or her payment on time is essential. For this, attendance sheets and time sheets need to be error-free and have to be processed in time. In jobs that hire casual employees, maintaining payrolls accurately is difficult to achieve. With ESS portals in HR Payroll software, managers can publish rosters informing casual staff of the shifts available. When the casual employees take up shifts, they can record their time sheets online too. This eliminates paperwork and increases accuracy. Moreover, employees themselves can have access to the number of hours they have worked and get information on the next available shift.

For full-time employees, they can themselves look into leave management and attendance management. They can monitor the number of sick leaves, annual leaves, vacation days they have used. The attendance system gives precise information of the number of days or hours an employee worked or was in office.

Updated employee data

Many times, employees don’t fill in their employment forms accurately or forget to update their details. In such cases, the company has out-dated information which may be in the form of bank details, residential address, bank details etc. An ESS allows employees to update such information without interacting with any HR executives. Employees can simply go online and update their information instantly. Moreover, since payroll data is updated clearly on the portal, employees can manage their own tax declarations.

Improved communication between employees and HR

Imagine yourself as an HR manager who accepts all types of requests from employees in the form of emails. This would mean that you would receive requests for leaves, holiday extensions, inquiries regarding payslips, etc. straight in your inbox. Handling multiple requests can be overwhelming and time-consuming. Now imagine using a portal that streamlines all the communication between employees and HR managers. Employee Self-Service portals allow employees to access their details 24X7 and can update them whenever need be. Thus, they can apply for annual leaves, schedule appointments with HR, update emergency contacts, view leave balance, raise travel requests, claim reimbursements or fill up appraisal forms online. They can also use it to voice their grievances or sort out issues regarding payroll and salaries. We had Tremendous feedback on this article: what should you select? Payroll Software or Outsourcing?

Moreover, if the HR department is introducing new training videos or wants to make announcements, they can do so through this portal. Thus, communication both ways improve and it reduces the number of redundant email exchanges between employees.

In conclusion, we can say that an Employee Self-Service portal aims to create a paperless payroll system. It mobilizes automation and digitalization of processes which are repetitive and time-consuming. It not only encompasses the needs of both casual and permanent employees but also delivers outputs depending on the job level of each employee. Furthermore, it makes communication between employees and HR managers smoother and transparent.

Nishit Jariwala

Blogger, entrepreneur, designer, photographer and a dreamer are just a few words to describe Nishit – an engineer by chance and an entrepreneur by choice. Entrepreneurship is not a career decision for him, it is a lifestyle choice he made when he was only 17.