Why is self-service in HR insignificant compared to employer statutory compliance?
Business owners who are afraid to implement employee self-service portals for payroll and benefits are often afraid of employer statutory compliance violations. These unfounded worries are preventing huge savings from being realized and prevent businesses from improving workplace morale. Put fears aside and look at statistics to judge whether or not a self-service program is right for you.
Self-service portals for employees make financial sense in 2014. The vast majority of businesses have moved over to automated payment plans like direct deposit. Other techniques for automation have not been left far behind, and yet we haven’t seen a mass wave of problems resulting from these programs. If anything, business owners have seen the cost savings and the potential in automation, keeping business on a tight schedule.
Increased Regulation Fueling Automation
Automating payroll and benefits tasks remains one of the top ways to ensure you never miss a deadline, and consequently, are not penalized, incurring steep interest and fines. Businesses may be concerned about employees making mistakes when using a self-service program, but self-service programs do not offer total access.
For instance, workers at a company would be able check their remaining vacation hours, put in time-off requests or change their addresses. They would not be able to stop taxes from being automatically deducted from their salary. Your liabilities don’t increase with the use of a self-service hub.
On the contrary, your liability is lowered when you automate tax and benefits activities, and will allow employees an easy way to fix paperwork errors. You can immediately change an incorrect social security number instead of waiting for someone in another department to do it for you. Your HR professional may have too much work to complete the changes before the next pay cycle. By delaying tax payments, you could incur massive fines in the long term.
Businesses Already Enjoying Financial Savings
Your staff can lower your company’s costs and increase productivity by handling basic HR functions on their own. An estimated 58 percent of employees are currently enrolled in self-service programs. Businesses using them save up to 80 percent in HR tasks alone. Allowing workers to manage tasks, such as time sheet review, saves time and gives workers a greater sense of control.
Another form of savings is found in boosting your staff’s morale. Happy, confident workers who feel in control of their roles have heightened performance. They utilize more of their time on the job, resulting in higher profits compared to depressed or deflated staff. HR professionals get a break from a lot of work and get a boost from swapping out busy schedules with time spent on tasks that require thoughtful decision-making.
Self-service aids automation and greater automation increases profits while protecting your business against violations. Do not be afraid of missing big deadlines or getting held up because of typos.
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