Making data-driven decisions, improving workforce performance, increasing employee productivity and empowerment, and minimizing human-powered grunt work is in a business's best interest. What may be less obvious, however, is the all-in-one solution that encompasses all of these benefits without creating more work for HR. By adopting cloud-based HR services, businesses can improve operations, productivity, and employee satisfaction in one fell swoop.

Cloud-based HR services fall under the Human Capital Management software umbrella, and HCM software is a booming industry. The HCM market is projected to grow by nearly $4 billion by 2024. Being a late adopter of HCM software services puts any firm at a disadvantage.

Is Your Business Well Positioned to Adopt Cloud-Based HR Services?

If you’re ready to streamline your HR services, it’s essential to have an organized system in place first. HCM programs will not magically create structure, policies, and workflow patterns where none exist. Before investing time and money in cloud-based HR services, ensure that

• Your current HR processes have been standardized and approved
• All necessary paper-based HR templates exist
• An approval flow is in place
• A transparent, fully approved HR policy and regulation guide exists
• Each HR process has an accountable owner

When you have all of these basic HR systems in place, you’re ready to choose a cloud-based HR service.

6 Features Every Cloud-Based HR Service Should Offer

With so many options for HR software, how do you choose the best fit? Every possibility must be thoroughly explored, but there are a few must-have features, regardless of your software choice. Any cloud-based HR services program a business adopts must have, at minimum,

• Rule-based, conditional workflow control for regulatory and policy compliance
• Multi-channel accessibility that allows access to view, manage, and approve or reject requests
• Employee self-service capability for onboarding and management of sensitive employee data
• Digital forms that capture, approve, and track requests
• Integrated reporting capabilities that generate data-driven insights
• API integration that connects the HR cloud with software such and benefit and payroll systems

Beyond the Basics: What Else Should Cloud-Based HR Services Offer?

When most software makes the cut as far as basic capabilities are concerned, there are additional features that may be “must haves” for your company. Check whether potential cloud-based HR services program offers

• Scalability, allowing additional features as your needs evolve, upscaling as employee numbers increase, and access allowance from multiple devices.
• Universal employee access to their own personal data (as opposed to strictly providing HR access).
• Security, including encrypted data storage, forced secure connectivity (HTTPS), access-based authorizations, tracking an audit trail of data changes, periodic forced password changes, and web portal integration for single sign-on.
• Integration that accommodates upload and download of multiple forms of data in formats including spreadsheets, docs, HTML, and PDF, plus standardized API that allows integration with existing internal systems.
• Customization and configuration capabilities that force the software to adapt to existing processes, and not the other way around.
• 24/7 support for HR professionals.

Cloud-Based HR Services: Don’t Fall Behind

As cloud-based HR services become the industry standard, exploring and adopting a system that works seamlessly with your existing infrastructure is essential. Discuss your options with different vendors and explore software that offers a free trial before you commit to a system. Eventually, once you have found the best-fit program for your business, HR systems will run more smoothly, and the day-to-day grunt work of HR management will disappear into the cloud.

For further integration, use a single source Administrative Services Organization from H2H Enrollments, and integrate your HR, benefits, compliance, and more with a single, secure, user-friendly resource. Get in touch today to learn more about H2H’s cloud-based HR services.