If you’ve fully embraced hybrid or remote working, your team might revel in the freedom and flexibility it provides, but also face hiccups along the way.
Picture this: you’re orchestrating time-off requests for your team, only to find that your spreadsheet has become outdated and you can’t help but chuckle (or sob). Or maybe you’ve just onboarded a fantastic new hire, but welcoming them remotely makes it difficult to track their progress, leaving them feeling isolated.
Navigating these challenges may seem like a Herculean task, but, from employee self-service portals and automation to reporting and compliance management, the right HR software will streamline your processes and reduce your workload.
In this article, we look at the main reasons for implementing HR software, discuss the key features you’ll need from your solution, and make seven fantastic recommendations, including which HR system also offers award-winning customer support.
| Reduce your workload and empower remote teams. Replace manual tasks with self-service and automated processes, and benefit from our award-winning customer care team. |
A successful HR system touches every aspect of your employee lifecycle, including recruitment and onboarding, training and development, performance management, and reporting.
Here are some key benefits. The best HR software:
Mundane tasks, such as tracking employee hours and managing leave requests, are time-consuming and repetitive. The best HR software includes a self-service portal that empowers employees to submit time-off requests and allows managers to approve them within the platform. Plus, everyone gets real-time insights into who’s off, making it easier to maintain an up-to-date record.
A complete HR solution includes document management features that let you categorise and store information like labour laws, employee benefits, leave policies and taxation laws. It can also automate compliance-related tasks, like generating reports, managing digital signatures and tracking employee hours.
Integrating an HR system into your workflow allows you to easily store and access the handbook from anywhere. This means current and new hires won’t have to wait for physical copies to arrive in the mail or spend hours searching through folders of out-of-date documents on their hard drive. You can also better protect the business and your team with the intuitively simple management of contracts and agreements.
The best HR solutions support performance management and training and development initiatives, which enable employees to set goals, track their progress, and access resources for continuous learning. This helps combat burnout as managers can better understand their teams’ needs. Plus, communication and collaboration among remote team members help break down silos and promote a sense of camaraderie.
When choosing a good HR solution for your remote team, we recommend looking out for these features:
Here are our top seven recommendations of HR systems for remote working and hybrid teams. You’ll find an overview of each with key features and pricing.
HRLocker’s self-service portal lets employees request time off and gives real-time visibility into leave balances and accruals.
HRLocker is a cloud-based all-in-one solution for remote and hybrid working teams that need core HR processes, including leave management, performance management, recruitment and onboarding, and training and development.
The platform also offers 24/7 customer support that resolves any issues quickly, so you can focus on your core responsibilities without worrying about technical problems or system downtime.
What sets HRLocker apart is its integrated human resources information system (HRIS) database that allows you to store and manage employee data in one secure, cloud-based system. The platform is also available for iOS and Android devices.
HRLocker has been awarded the ‘All-Star HR Software Company of the Year’ three times in a row and is an honourable mention in the All Ireland Business Foundation (AIBF) Register Of Irish Business Excellence, a national body that accredits outstanding companies.
Pricing starts with the HR Essentials plan at €4 or £3.50, or $5 per employee, per month. You can also opt for the HR Professional plans at €6 or £5.50, or $7 per employee, per month.
If you have a team of 250+ employees, you can request a custom quote. And if you’re a charity or non-profit, you can get a substantial discount on any plan.
BambooHR’s timesheet tracks employee check-in and check-out times.
Source: BambooHR
Like HRLocker, Bamboo HR simplifies processes like hiring and onboarding, payroll, and time-off management. It’s ideal for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). What sets this platform apart is that it lets you run three types of performance review: manager and self-assessments, peer evaluations and goal appraisals.
While some users appreciate the platform’s ease of use, some say they wish the BambooHR app had more features, such as employee scheduling and messaging capabilities. Without these, it makes it less effective for teams that work on a shift-based system.
Complete an online form to contact the sales team for a quote.
BrightHR gives a complete overview of employee data.
Source: G2
BrightHR is another cloud-based solution for small and medium enterprises that want an intuitive and user-friendly platform to optimise their HR processes. While this platform offers features like leave management, performance tracking, and document storage, it’s best known for its rota-planning solution.
This solution offers a visual interface where managers can easily assign shifts, make changes, and view staffing levels at a glance. However, some users say they wish the platform would let them create rotas directly from Google Calendar and have the flexibility to calculate annual leave entitlements. The lack of these features makes it less effective for part-time and casual workers.
You can request a quote by answering an online survey.
Personio lets you maintain employee data and documents centrally.
Source: G2
Personio caters to three major aspects of a business: HR management, talent management, and payroll. Like BambooHR, it offers an ATS that simplifies recruitment, allowing you to post job openings across 600 job boards and create a dedicated career page. A dashboard lets you easily review each candidate’s application status and streamline the hiring process.
While Personio enables you to generate customised reports, some users share a common pain point in that the platform has a steep learning curve and is not very user-friendly for someone without previous technical expertise.
You can request a quote by answering an online survey.
Cezanne lets you customise dashboards.
Source: G2
Like HRLocker, Cezanne’s core features are built around people management with its self-service portal. Ideal for mid-sized companies, Cezanne lets you personalise the HR system to reflect your brand and lets your team earn badges whenever they’re appreciated or given a shout-out.
What makes this tool different is that it translates up to 11 languages and lets you create portals specific to your team’s or department’s region or country.
Complete an online form to contact the sales team for a quote.
BreatheHR lets you assign shifts, make changes, and view staffing levels at a glance.
Source: G2
While BreatheHR offers similar features to Personio and Cezanne, it has three core elements: leave and absence management, people management and reporting. However, due to its location management capabilities, the software works best for small businesses with remote and hybrid workforces.
You can easily set up locations and see who’s working from home or in the office, and staff can also book the days they want to visit the office, so you can manage capacity.
While BreatheHR offers a 14-day free trial, the paid plans depend on your team size. Starting at £22/month for teams of 1-10 employees, rising to £525/month for teams of 151-200. The cost increases if you want to add optional features, such as the rota, time and attendance, the learning module, expenses management, or recruitment and tracking.
Oyster lets you send automated emails to new hires.
Source: G2
Oyster is ideal for SMEs that want an international global contractor management tool. Its self-service portal helps you onboard contractors and make payments in 120+ currencies across 180+ countries. You can also automatically generate 1099 and W-9 tax forms for US-based contractors. Plus, you can send reimbursements in your next pay cycle.
Oyster’s basic Contractor plan starts at $29 per contractor per month, which lets you hire, pay and manage contractors worldwide in 140+ currencies. If you want to hire full-time employees, you can opt for the employee plan starting at $699 per employee per month or request a custom quote if you want dedicated support.
Whether you’re dealing with distributed remote teams, a hybrid or flexible working arrangement, or a traditional office setting, dedicated HR software contributes to a more efficient, engaged, and high-performing workforce.
All the tools in this article provide essential HR functionalities around recruitment and onboarding, leave management, document management, and performance tracking, which improve the employee experience, productivity and satisfaction.
If you want a cost-effective solution that scales as your organisation grows, HRLocker is an all-in-one solution that’s intuitively simple to use, cuts down your workload with automation, and provides fantastic customer care.
Whether you’re an SME, enterprise, non-profit or charity, HRLocker lets you tailor a plan that fits your HR needs—from automated compliance management to people management with a self-service portal and free tools for fast calculations.
| Reduce your workload and empower remote teams. Replace manual tasks with self-service and automated processes, and benefit from our award-winning customer care team. |
HRs can work remotely by using HR software to manage employee records, track performance and automate processes. These tools also enable HR teams to communicate with employees, handle time and attendance, manage benefits, and oversee recruitment and onboarding. HRLocker, BambooHR, and BrightHR are popular solutions for remote and hybrid teams.
Some HR challenges with remote work include:
The best way to resolve these issues is by investing in HR software like HRLocker that helps you with processes including leave management, performance management, recruitment and onboarding, training and development, and allocating TOIL.
Yes, HR is extremely important to remote working teams. Key HR responsibilities in a remote work environment include: