In the 21st century’s fast-evolving business landscape, effective human resource management is essential to success in business. To manage tasks like payroll management, attendance tracking, and employee records, traditional HR departments of organizations have relied on manual processes.
After entering the era of automation, Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS) emerged as a lifesaver tool for businesses that operate all the HR functions through technology. It has a vast area of performance that will enhance productivity, saving time for HR professionals so they can focus on strategic initiatives.
Let’s compare between manual HR processes and HR automation software methods to know which can be more beneficial for your business.
Key Features of Manual HR Processes
In the traditional approach, manual HR processes have been used by all the offices and businesses. HR tasks are generally done by this process without using any specialized software, mostly depending on spreadsheets, paper-based systems, and face-to-face interactions. Key features of the manual HR method:
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Record Keeping on Paper
In the manual HR method, maintaining employee records, attendance logs, performance evaluations, etc., are done on paper. This method has been working for decades. Still, it brings some challenges like storage limitations, security risks, environmental impact, etc.
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Manual Payroll Processing
In manual payroll processing, HR professionals use spreadsheets or do handwritten calculations to calculate salaries, deductions, and taxation. It requires a lot of time, so the employees need to wait longer for their payment, and errors can happen naturally.
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Physical Document Management
In this method, important employee documents and files are stored in physical files. Which is a great risk of documents getting damaged, stolen, or lost. It doesn’t have a backup, which means no disaster recovery.
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Communication in-person
In the manual HR method, communication happens face-to-face between employees and HR personnel without using any digital tools like email, messaging platforms, or HR software. It is a better solution for handling conflicts, but manual HR makes it harder to communicate with the remote or off-site employees.
Challenges of Manual HR Processes
Here are the key challenges of the manual HR process:
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Time-consuming operation
The manual HR process is quite a time-consuming operation and takes more effort from HR personnel in any task due to the absence of digital tools. To sort and categorize employee attendance and leave records and tasks, organizing, storing, and retrieving paper documents takes time and space. Research shows that in labor, printing, and administrative expenses each year manual HR tasks cost an average of $4.78.
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High error rates
In the manual HR process, there is a high risk of error in manual data entry, document handling, and calculations. It can lead to legal issues when there are errors in attendance, performance records, or payroll. It lacks real-time information and data privacy, and there is always a risk of data theft.
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Compliance risks
Potential violation of employment laws and regulations due to manual HR error can cause compliance risk. It’s hard to maintain consistency and accuracy in a manual HR process. If there are no digital tools for workflow, then there might be a chance for discrimination.
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Limited data accessibility
Manual HR process limits data accessibility due to paper-based, in-person data recording systems. As data is stored in paper-based files, employees can’t get access immediately when they ask for it. Employees can’t access their own information. And there is no remote access as well if any employee wants to have any information while not being in the office physically.
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Employee dissatisfaction
Manual HR methods can cause employee dissatisfaction as this process takes a longer time to respond, and employees have to wait for days for their leave approval, benefits or payroll. Moreover, it lacks transparency, feedback mechanisms, and self-service.
What is HR Automation Software?
HRMS is a fully integrated software that is a digital solution that automates, streamlines, facilitates, and centralizes HR processes. HRMS eases different HR functions like payroll, recruitment, benefits, employee engagement, and performance tracking. These systems are powered by automated processes, cloud-based technology, artificial intelligence, and real-time analytics. It enhances the employees’ personal experience because it facilitates data-driven decisions.
This HRMS software automates repetitive and time-consuming tasks for HR personnel by optimizing and streamlining HR functions. The main focus here is to boost the business efficiency of operations through a common software. Key features of automated HR software are:
- Employee database management
- Payroll automation
- Time and attendance tracking
- Leave management
- Recruitment and onboarding
- Analytics and Reporting
- Compliance management
Advantages of HR Automation Software
Automated HR software has so many advantages in the business. Some of the key advantages of HR software are:
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Improved efficiency
The HR software system saves significant time and resources through its digitized HR tasks. It does not rely on only spreadsheets or paperwork, it handles so many other functions like attendance, leave tracking, and employee data updates with very minimal human effort. This saves time for HR professionals to focus on more productive work for the organization.
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Greater accuracy
Using HR software enhances accuracy as it tends to be precise and consistent in handling HR tasks by minimizing human error. Payroll calculating, tracking attendance, or making employee management records tend to be mistake-prone, but with the HRMS software, the risk of mistakes vanishes as it ensures all the tasks are done with accuracy.
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Centralized Employee Information
In the HR software system, an employee’s data is stored in a digital platform that only authorized users can access. Personal details, payroll records, job history, attendance log, performance reviews, benefits information, etc., are included in the HR software system that makes it easy to reach, update, and manage the data. It improves efficiency and data accuracy and makes decision-making faster.
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Employee Self-Service
The HR software system has an Employee Self Service (ESS) feature where employees can directly access and manage their own information without going through a manual process. Employees can view and update their information, apply for leave, track attendance, and review performance feedback online, which is more convenient.
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Real-Time Data and Analytics
HR software can capture, process, and display real-time data up to the minute. So as soon as an employee clocks in, requests leave, or updates details, the system adds the changes immediately. It is a lifesaver technology for both employees and HR professionals. It enhances the workflow and saves time.
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Better Compliance Management
With automated tracking, documentation, and reporting systems, HRMS methods help organizations to stay aligned with labor laws, taxation, and internal policies. The manual compliance error rate is higher; it often misses deadlines, and records are inconsistent, which leads to penalties and legal issues. But with HR software, these risks are taken care of by the software, and the error rate is almost zero.
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Cost effective
Automated HR software provides long-term financial benefits to the organization by replacing manual HR systems. It reduces labor, minimizes errors, and works quickly, so you save both time and resources. It also cuts down the budget on paper, printing, files, and storage.
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Enhanced security
HR software systems are more secure as only the authorized person can perform specific actions or access important data. All sensitive data is encrypted, so even if any third party gets access, it can’t read the important data that is stored. To prevent data loss, it takes data regularly.
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Employee satisfaction
The improved convenience, transparency, and responsiveness of the HR software system enhanced employee satisfaction. It simplified everyday tasks for both HR professionals and employees of organizations. For its faster issue resolution, transparent process, and regular feedback, employees found easy solutions for all the HR tasks.
Manual HR Solution vs. HR Software
Manual HR solutions and HR software are both very popular methods for HR tasks in organizations. Automated HR software is a revolutionary discovery for HR personnel. It has made tasks easy for both HR personnel and employees, so HR can find more time to work for the company and employees’ growth. Let’s compare some basic features between manual HR solution and the HR software method :
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Data Management
In a manual HR solution system, data is stored, processed, and managed through spreadsheets or physical files. It is time-consuming and error-prone, and it has risks of data duplication.
HR software is quite advanced. HR personnel don’t need any physical files as it has digital storage, which is easy to access and more likely to be accurate, not error-prone at all.
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Efficiency and Scalability
A manual HR system is a very time-consuming process, and it requires manual follow-ups. If an organization grows, that means HR personnel get more workload, more paperwork, and complications.
In the automated HR software method, no time is wasted, and everything is processed fast. When an organization grows, it does not affect the workload as it is easily scalable and can handle large amounts of data.
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Cost effectiveness
A manual HR solution does not need an initial investment; it seems like a lower cost, but it has a cost on labor and other things in the long run.
The HR software is a bit expensive, it will need investment initially, but its work efficiency and all the services are worth the money, and it will be cost-effective due to time savings.
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Accuracy
Manual HR systems have a high chance of human error, it lack accuracy. But HR software is more accurate, it does not have a chance of human error.
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Employee Experience
In the manual HR solution, data is personalized, but an employee can’t access their data easily; it is time-consuming and an on-site task, self-service is limited, and response is quite slow on this method.
HR software method is a self-service method; it has faster response, personalized data, and any employee can access their data within a minute from anywhere.
Why HR Software is Better Than Manual HR Solution
Human Resources (HR) software can be a better choice for your business as it aims to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and compliance. Manual HR tasks like payroll processing, employee records management, handling leave requests, etc., require a large amount of time, and these tasks are prone to delays. With HR software, you can complete all these tasks within a minimum time, and it’s error-free.
Studies say you can save up to 800 hours annually with an HR software system, which equates to approximately $25,000 in payroll savings for a company with 120 employees. 69% of HR software users report that this software enhances operational efficiency for real.
Moreover, manual HR solutions have an error rate from 1% to 8% which leads to employee dissatisfaction, whereas HR software is almost error-free and has no risk of such costly mistakes.
Why Should You Choose TaskFino as Your HR Software
If you evaluate HR software, TaskFino can be your top choice because it is a comprehensive, all-in-one office management platform. TaskFino is designed to operate all the HR tasks and enhance your business productivity. Here is why TaskFino is the HR software you need for your organization :
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Comprehensive HR Management
TaskFino offers multiple HR solutions that are operated through the software, such as leave management, where employees can apply for leave directly through the app, attendance tracking, where daily attendance is monitored through a visual calendar, and payroll processing.
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Integrated Business Operations
TaskFino integrates critical business functions like finance management that track the budget of the projects, expenses, and invoices, and makes financial reports as well. The software will help to manage and monitor project progress. It will keep company assets records and ensure accountability and efficient utilization
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User-Friendly and Scalable
TaskFino is specially designed to improve user experience for all employees. And it has great capacity to work with more users, which means that when your company grows, it can handle the extra load to accommodate increasing demands.
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Enhanced Compliance and Reporting
TaskFino HR software has tools that can maintain compliance with labor laws and regulations. The automated compliance process centralizes employee data and automates updates to reduce the risk of non-compliance.
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Proven Efficiency Gains
TaskFino can save over 20 hours per week for HR personnel by reducing manual data entry and paperwork time. It has a higher data accuracy rate as it is fully automated, and the self-service system gains employee satisfaction.
Conclusion
A manual HR system is a traditional, human-centric HR process. Though it is error-prone, but globally used. But with the time shifts, there is technology used everywhere, so the HR system has also been digitized. HR management software has taken the place of traditional methods as it is time and cost-effective and more accurate. And it is adored by every organization nowadays for its robust performance.
