The ability to customize business software, “customizability”, is an important capability because it allows the solution to be tailored to meet the specific needs and objectives of your company. Customizability also paves the way for important business benefits such as increased efficiency, better user adoption, and enhanced productivity.
To clearly understand the full range of benefits that software customizability can deliver, this article will take a closer look at the topic of customizability in HR systems, including the challenges associated with non-customizable HR solutions, reasons to implement customizable technology, and best practices you can follow to achieve ideal results with HR onboarding software.
But first, what is an HR automation solution? HR onboarding software is a category of solutions that automate and streamline manual and repetitive HR tasks such as payroll, time tracking, leave management, employee onboarding, and more. For example:
Recruiting solutions, also known as applicant tracking systems (ATS), streamline important hiring processes by automating tasks related to job posting, candidate tracking, and interview scheduling. These tools help HR teams manage applications more efficiently, identify top talent, and improve the overall candidate experience.
Similarly, onboarding solutions automate and simplify the steps needed to bring new employees into a company, making the onboarding process faster and more efficient. This includes tasks such as document collection, training, and providing important company information – everything employees need to hit the ground running.
A performance management software solution is a digital tool designed to help organizations monitor, evaluate, and improve employee performance by setting goals, tracking progress, providing feedback, and facilitating regular performance reviews.
By automating manual processes and saving time, HR systems can help HR teams become more productive and focus on higher-value, more strategic initiatives. And they can do even more when they’re fully customizable.
Why is this? Customizable onboarding platforms help companies do a better job of aligning the software with their actual, and often unique, business processes. By tailoring features, functionality, and onboarding workflows to the company’s specific needs and goals, companies can adapt the software as they grow or as market conditions change. As an added benefit, customizability allows HR software to remain highly relevant and useful over time.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the most significant benefits related to HR onboarding software customizability with some industry-specific examples.
HR software in the healthcare industry can play a crucial role in aligning with a company’s unique business needs by offering the ability to tailor features and functions to fit specific operational requirements. This customization ensures that the software integrates smoothly with existing processes and workflows, enhancing efficiency and overall effectiveness.
For example, a company in the healthcare industry can take advantage of specialized features to track and manage employees’ certifications to improve compliance efforts. In this case, the employee onboarding system can be configured to track certificates and license expiration dates and then trigger alerts to notify employees and managers as these dates approach.
Not only does this eliminate manual efforts, which often come up short, but it helps the entire organization remain more compliant and maintain consistency in its onboarding process.
Customizing software is also a good idea if the company is expecting to grow, since customizability can provide the scalability the business may need in the future.
Consider the example of a construction company that is experiencing growth and needs to hire new employees. Customizable automated onboarding software enables this company to easily add new employees to the system and even create a new department for the addition of a project management team. All of this helps the team easily add employees and give them the same experience, all without missing a beat. The onboarding process remains consistent across departments, ensuring a smooth transition for new hires.
Customization also allows businesses to create tailored reports, dashboards, and other types of data analytics that focus on a company’s most important metrics and goals.
For example, a restaurant group can customize its HR onboarding platform to develop new reports to track key metrics related to waitstaff and other employees, such as employee turnover rates, shift attendance, overtime, customer service feedback, and employee training. These insights give the business the real-time information it needs to influence results quickly and align employees’ efforts with company goals. By analyzing retention rates and employee feedback, the company can continuously improve its onboarding process and overall employee experience.
Why consider customizable HR onboarding solutions? It’s important to remember that the alternative, non-customizable software can lead to many challenges in the future. It can be hard to add new users, difficult to maintain and update, and can lead to too many manual processes that waste time and lead to too many errors.
Higher costs are also a concern with non-customizable HR automation software. Businesses might face increased expenses if they need additional software to fill gaps or as a result of the inefficiencies of working around the system’s limitations. Over time, these costs can outweigh the initial investment in the software.
Before implementing a customizable HR onboarding solution, you need to start by thoroughly assessing your own goals and requirements and defining “must-have” functionality. This may include features like e-signatures, learning management system (LMS) integration, background checks, and employee self-service portals. After that, it’s important to select the right vendor. This should include a company that can provide the base functionality you’re looking for in HR software, whether it’s HR, payroll, onboarding, performance management, or other specialized applications.
Yet the vendor should also have a proven track record when it comes to customizability, which can include easily modified software or a professional services team that can help your company make the changes you need. From there, managing the implementation process requires careful planning and collaboration with your HR team and other stakeholders.
When choosing the best onboarding software for your organization, consider factors such as onboarding automation capabilities, the flexibility of the onboarding workflows, and how well it integrates with your existing HR systems. It's also worth exploring onboarding software pricing options to ensure you're getting the best value for your investment. Look for features that enhance the user experience, such as automated workflows for document management and task tracking.
With so many recent innovations in HR software lately, you really should only consider solutions that can be easily customized to fit your specific needs. Still, so many vendors may claim that their software can be customized when they only offer some limited options to change their basic application. Yet by carefully finding the right vendor and collaborating closely with them during the implementation phase, you can gain an HR onboarding automation solution that will truly support your objectives, now and into the future.
By implementing a customizable onboarding platform, you can automate employee onboarding, streamline the onboarding process, and create a more efficient and effective HR system overall. This not only saves time and resources but also ensures a consistent and positive experience for new hires, setting the stage for long-term employee engagement and success. Customizable onboarding checklists, employee handbooks, and tools for introducing company culture can significantly improve the onboarding journey for new employees.
Author Bio:
This article is written by a marketing team member at HR Cloud. HR Cloud is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications & engagement, and rewards & recognition. Our user-friendly software increases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk.