A degree of self-reliance is essential for employees in any organization. Many companies have employee directories, a highly desirable HR tool. A survey shows that 73% of US employees prefer self-service HR tools.

Just as consumers can do transactions with online banking or self-checkout at supermarkets, the workplace can also have a certain degree of autonomy and automation. With employee self-service (ESS), your workers can request time off, record attendance, track work time, and much more.

In this article, we discuss how your company can benefit from ESS.

What is employee self-service (ESS)?

Employee self-service is a system that offers significant automation for the HR department to work more efficiently and save valuable company resources. At the same time, it increases data accuracy by enabling employees to take up some administrative matters on their own.

For instance, workers can add, update or delete information about them without interference from managers or supervisors. This improves the accuracy of the data as workers are not likely to commit errors when recording their details.

As the need for a digital workplace is increasing, and organizations are adopting digital transformation, it is becoming increasingly necessary to look for solutions beyond Excel spreadsheets and word documents. ESS offers a digital solution for companies to automate workforce management, save valuable working time, create transparency and ensure data accuracy, all of which increase employee satisfaction.

How does ESS work?

Automation of various administrative functions is what an employee self-service system is about. Modern software tools help companies gain employee access to different functions. The ultimate goal here is to optimize the administrative processes by allowing workers to perform specific tasks such as time tracking, attendance recording, annual leave planning, and updating staff information on their own.

For instance, when a worker requests leave, it is sent to the superiors, who can validate it with a single click. This gives freedom from visiting the human resources and printing out leave requests for approval.

With ESS, the working hours can be tracked and monitored within seconds, which helps with overtime calculation, shift scheduling, and much more. Furthermore, employees can handle and edit their information keeping it correct without visiting the HR manager. A self-service system significantly increases the workforce and the HR department’s efficiency.

Five benefits of employee self-service (ESS)

1. An employee can view their data and apply for leave easily

One of the essential ESS benefits is the ability for employees to manage their paperwork and edit any errors. This gives them the freedom to keep the employment information up to date and include any relevant changes without seeking permission from HR. Workers can also use an employee self-service system to apply for leaves digitally and instantly.

2. Data is centralized, accurate, and can be easily accessed by managers and employees

Data centralization is at the core of ESS. For any company to accurately manage employee data accessible to workers and managers, it must be kept at a central location. This brings transparency and accuracy between teams, departments, and workforce management.

3. Saves HR time

Understanding how an employee self-service system can save valuable HR time is not complex. Employee time and attendance systems like Truein can dramatically improve time and attendance recording for any industry. It is a cloud-based, face-recognition attendance system that updates data in real time at a central location.

HR managers can easily see employee attendance, overtime, leave requests, and absences, create attendance policies, and put GPS and geo-fencing based on rules. Truein integrates with most payroll software, saves a lot of time, and minimizes the scope for any human error in salary calculation.

4. Easily manage remote employees

Employee self-service systems are entirely decentralized and often use cloud-based infrastructure, making them accessible from any device and location. This is why it can be used for managing remote as well as in-house employees with equal ease. As employees can access the ESS system from anywhere, there is no need to manage a different system for remote employees.

5. Compliant with government laws

It is challenging for companies with large workforces spread across different states or even countries to comply with several local and state labor laws. An employee self-service system can help be compliant with government laws. Several government regulations, such as EEO, OSHA, and FMLA, have stringent reporting requirements.

With an ESS system, you can help reduce human mistakes and easily avoid penalties, fines, or potential lawsuits. Some systems also come with the ability to generate reports in the required government format for easy reporting.

Conclusion

If, as a manager, you are struggling to manage the workforce’s leave and attendance, consider implementing an ESS system. With centralized attendance management system like Truein, you can implement a successful employee self-service system increasing your company’s productivity and efficiency.