When we actually pick our heads up, we see so many people with heads down looking at something on their phones. Let’s face it – it’s a digital world! Imagine going on a trip to a new city and being offered a paper map. Even if you can navigate via a paper map, why would you when you can just reach into your pocket, boot up your map app, and have a nice AI tell you exactly where you are and exactly where you need to go to get to your destination? It’s just simply faster and easier.
Technology has revolutionized the way we live our personal lives, so why should your business life be any different? Employees now expect certain conveniences to be provided to them, and when it comes to HR-related functions, this is no different. The fact of the matter is that if you are not providing features like online access to pay history or benefits, employees may be more willing to leave for someone who does. The good news is that when it comes to HR, a great employee self service (ESS) portal can solve all your digitization needs.
What Is an Employee Self Service Portal?
If you are already using a payroll software, chances are you’re probably familiar with some form of an ESS portal. These online portals enable both employers and employees to handle various HR functions. While specific features may vary depending on the software your company has chosen, common functions like viewing pay history or requesting PTO are no longer luxuries but expectations from your employees. Without offering these options, your business is setting itself up with a competitive disadvantage, possibly leading to retention issues as staff look towards competitors who do offer these features.
While most ESS portals get the job done, rising above your competition requires more than the bare minimum. But what makes an ESS portal great? And at the end of the day, does it really make that big of a difference?
Accessibility for All
The answer to both of these questions lie in why ESS portals exist and have become such a staple to the modern working world in the first place: accessibility. Your ESS portal might currently be able to show employees the amount they received on the last few paychecks, but how accessible is this for your staff? Can employees access data via a mobile app, allowing staff without a computer at home to have equal access to HR functions as those who do? Is the user interface simple and intuitive, allowing employees that aren’t as technically proficient to spend less time aimless searching for the information they are looking for? Can employees change the language of your ESS portal, allowing them to navigate it in a language that’s comfortable to them and spoken at home? And does your ESS portal allow admins to share information with staff, such as open enrollment information, company policy documents, and tasks that need to be completed?
Ultimately, what makes an ESS portal great is how well it can increase the accessibility of your various HR functions to your employees. By reflecting on how accessible your current solution is, you may find that a change is necessary to enable everyone at your company to have the same benefits as everyone else.
Empowering Employees
Once the accessibility barriers of an ESS portal have been removed, the next most important trait to keep an eye out for is how well your portal empowers your employees to be able to handle HR functions independently. The common examples we talked about earlier were viewing pay history and submitting PTO requests without needing to reach out to an admin, but there are many more ways that you can elevate employees’ sense of independence via an ESS portal.
Hosting company policy documents in a centralized location so everyone can access the most up-to-date information helps cut down on common questions. This lets employees get answers faster and reduces unnecessary admin time. Needing to upgrade personal demographic information, like home address or marital status, can be as simple as the employee logging in, updating a field, and being done with it, rather than having to go through a whole song and dance with their manager. A great ESS that empowers employees to complete work independently is all about removing inefficiencies and error potential and just making the experience of interacting with HR feel good.
The solution becomes “Let me check my ESS portal,” instead of “Let me ask my manager tomorrow.”
A Solution for Everyone
At Viventium, we understand what it means to create solutions purpose built for everyone. That’s why our ESS feature solution is specifically tailored to enable caregivers to access HR functions in the most accessible ways possible. You can access the full functionality of the Viventium ESS portal whether you login via web browser or mobile app. Our intuitive system is purpose built to cut down on confusing and unnecessary clutter so even those who are unfamiliar with our system can learn it quickly. While we only covered the absolute essentials in this blog, our ESS portal is packed full of other features designed to make both admins’ and caregivers’ lives easier.
Your job is hard enough – make it easier with Viventium.
This information is for educational purposes only, and not to provide specific legal advice. This may not reflect the most recent developments in the law and may not be applicable to a particular situation or jurisdiction.