Employee Management Systems: What You Need to Know

Great management can improve employees’ mental health and help them be more productive in the workplace. Managing staff isn’t always easy or straightforward, but that’s where employee management systems can help.

Employee management systems typically include tools to help you track, monitor, and communicate with your team, and even recruit and hire new talent. By streamlining many people management tasks into one convenient location, HR teams can tick items off their lists quickly and efficiently so you can focus on what really matters: ensuring your people get the attention and support they need.

Our comprehensive guide is here to demystify employee management systems. We’ll explore what they are, when you should use one, and their features, benefits, and limitations.

What Is an Employee Management System?

Employee management systems are digital platforms for HR professionals, designed to help them oversee large parts of the employee lifecycle—from hiring and onboarding to compensation and offboarding.

Typically cloud-based, they allow HR teams to upload data and share information with the appropriate team members. Employee management systems contribute to wider business objectives by enabling HR departments to excel.

What’s the Value of Employee Management Systems?

Employee management systems have plenty to offer businesses of all sizes. From small start-ups to multinational corporations, organizations can use these wide-ranging tools and functions to improve their processes.

For one, they make it easier to identify issues such as choke points or bottlenecks and understand how teams operate.

But employee management systems help more than just HR. Organizational leaders can use management systems to track employee attendance, workloads, and more to get the pulse of their organization.

We’ve listed more key benefits of an employee management system below.

Streamline HR Processes

HR pros wear many hats, often tackling training, recruitment, benefits management and more on any given day. Juggling the varied demands of a team can take up valuable time, even for sizable HR departments. Employee management systems feature pre-built tools designed for HR-specific duties, all conveniently housed in one place. No more wasting time trying to find the tools you need! They’re all in one easy-to-use platform.

Boost Accuracy and Reduce Human Error

Employee management systems can also reduce HR errors. With automated calculations, analysis and data processing, they can act as a business’s single source of HR info. With a cloud solution, consistency and accuracy become the norm and the organization can make future business decisions based on sound information.

Improve Employee Retention and Engagement

Employee management software allows you to communicate with your employees as well as manage them. Options for communication will vary by the software, but many can create surveys, training videos, and some even feature community spaces. Use surveys to learn how employees feel, their causes for concern and what they like and house opportunities for professional development in the same convenient location.

Exploring the Right EMS for Your Business

If you believe a customer management system can benefit your HR department, it might be worth trialing software to give you an idea of the potential of employee management systems. Experimenting with different employee management systems allows you to see which one meets your current and future needs—and your budget—without having to financially commit to one service provider over another.

You may want to think about the following factors when considering the right software for your business:

What’s Right for Your Business?

Start by addressing the needs of your company. Consider the following:

• How many employees do you have to manage?
• What’s everyone’s workplace situation? Are employees primarily in the office, hybrid, internationally remote?

Consider how the answers to these questions affect your operating model and processes, including communication and workflow.

You might also want to think about how tech-savvy employees are, and whether a management system could easily fit into their day-to-day. Finding answers to these questions should tell you what kind of software suits your business and your staff.

What Are Your Business Objectives?

You’ve considered what’s right for your staff, but what’s right for the business? HR departments must often work closely with leadership teams to achieve business goals. This might mean increasing staff satisfaction or doubling employee numbers over a predetermined period. Consider how an employee management system can help you reach those goals.

What Are the Limitations of Employee Management Systems?

Employee management systems might not be right for every business. While many organizations benefit from the additional insight and functionality, new platforms and processes aren’t always plain sailing. If you’re considering implementing a staff management system, there are some things to be aware of.

• Potential for Micromanagement: Features like location or time tracking can inadvertently lead to micromanagement if not implemented thoughtfully, with clear expectations, consistent rule enforcement, and flexibility for exceptions.
• Risk of Inflexible Routines: While EMS can streamline workflows, it can also lead to rigid routines. It's crucial to ensure that the established routines are beneficial for both the business and company culture.

How to Know an EMS is Right for You

Employee management systems can fulfill a range of HR needs, making tasks in the department much easier to manage. If you’re still considering whether a staff management system is right for your business, look at your company’s pain points

Your HR Department is Overworked

Whether you’re an HR team of two or 200, if you’re struggling to keep up with the needs of the business, an employee management system may be what you need to curb burnout. With multiple functions that reflect the busy day-to-day, these tools are designed to make things easier, period.

Your Company Culture Needs a Boost

HR processes are crucial in keeping companies ticking operationally and maximizing wellbeing in the workplace. Without a fully functioning, well-oiled HR department, your workforce could start to struggle and business outputs suffer. If you want to invest in your teams, invest in your HR department.

You Could Benefit from Automation

HR automation doesn’t just save time. It also alleviates mental load, reducing clerical errors in the longer term. Some employee management systems have the potential for automation. If you’re working with large amounts of data, delivering the same training lessons week after week, or simply want to send fewer emails, consider an employee management system and say hello to a wealth of efficiencies.

You’re Ready to Get Started

Once you’ve decided on the software you want to use, it’s time to learn how to use it. Run through the various situations you expect to face in the workplace, and consider‌ using use mock data for more accurate simulations. Once you feel familiar, it’s time to train the staff who’ll be using use it. You can use a variety of media such as recordings, interactive presentations, webinars and in-person sessions to bring everyone up to speed.