Communication may be the hardest thing for companies to execute, but it has to improve to help the company as a whole, especially when it comes to employee benefits. Employees don't want to be kept in the dark when it comes to their perks, whether it's group health insurance, paid time off, paychecks or W2's.
Every HR department must ensure that the staff can access all necessary information regarding its benefits, and the easiest way to do that is to offer a web-based Human Resource Information System and mobile portals. The fact is that many professionals spend all day online in some capacity, be it at a desktop or via a smartphone. Let's look at three reasons why you should post benefits data online and on mobile.
1. What's ahead
It seems like every device has network connectivity these days, including some types of watches and glasses. Benefits communication needs to evolve alongside this proliferation of mobile gadgetry to ensure that workers can access information on their preferred hardware.
It's not difficult to go mobile, but some options are easier than others. The first route is to use a responsive design for your company intranet so that the site will automatically adjust to whatever device it's on. The other path is to develop a mobile app, but this can be somewhat tricky, and you'd need to develop at least two (one for iOS and another for Android) and possibly a third (if you want to cater to Windows Phone users).
2. Easy Access leads to workplace satisfaction
An effective HRIS application is essential for providing employees a web-based channel on which they can review company benefits. Part of workforce management is maintaining workplace satisfaction, which is almost impossible if HR or benefits information isn't readily available. Think about it from an employee's perspective: would you be more or less happy if you couldn't find anything on how vacation days have been accrued or what the claims limits are? You'll upset a great many staff members if you don't have all the data online somewhere. Uploading company handbooks, providing detailed benefits plan information and departmental manuals are now the norm for most organizations. Also, providing forms to fill out, upload and store is efficient, eliminating time-consuming administrative work which would be better spent on other tasks.
What's more, storing online forms should prove to be more efficient along with storing the completed document within your employee's private profile. This ensures that all information is kept in a single location, making it easier for both staff members and HR representatives to find it whenever necessary.
3. It'll save the HR department time
Imagine how many questions workers will ask of their HR departments if they can't read about their benefits on their own. In most cases, HR representatives will have to spend large portions of their day talking about perks instead of focusing on other important tasks and procedures.