How to Benefit from Employee Self Service

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Human Resource technology adoption is often driven by small projects aimed at specific business problems that, when solved, provide a very clear return on investment.  As an example, Employee Self Service technology, or ESS, has evolved as a fantastic solution for an HR staff that is burdened by the repetitive administrative task of responding to routine employee requests.   In this article, we’ll take a look at ESS, explore the benefits it offers, and briefly introduce the ESS module for Sage Abra HRMS.

What is ESS?

ESS technology provides a central location for company personnel to view and update important personal data and company information. As the name suggests, ESS enables employees and managers to “self serve” (rather than contacting the HR department) for routine tasks or inquiries such as time-off requests, review of current benefits, updating dependents, review record of attendance, and more.  ESS access is typically delivered over the internet or company intranet.

The Benefits that ESS Offers

By automating employee activities such as time-off requests & approvals or dependent/beneficiary changes, companies can save considerable administrative time and expense associated with paper-based forms and manual processes.  Other benefits of ESS include:
Elimination of Duplicate Data Entry and Better Accuracy – By allowing employees to enter    routine record changes themselves, you eliminate the need to have HR staff re-enter the same information on a paper form or into an HR or payroll system.  This also helps to reduce errors.
Reduced Transaction Costs – Partially or completely replacing paper-based processes reduces (or completely eliminates) the time and costs associated with copying, routing, printing, mailing, filing, and storing paper.

Improved Focus – ESS technology allows HR staff to focus on more strategic initiatives, such as employee retention strategies or developing competitive benefits packages, rather than getting bogged down by routine administrative functions.

Introducing Sage Abra ESS

Sage Abra ESS will streamline your company’s HR processes and give employees ownership of their personal information.  Employees can request time-off, review benefits information, access performance reviews, update specific fields, and review payroll information.  Managers can view a direct reports’ personnel file, view and post employee notes, review attendance information, and approve time-off requests.  Companies can also post important documents and messages for employees to review.  Perhaps best of all, submitted and approved changes are automatically updated from ESS to the Sage Abra database which eliminates duplicate data entry and possible errors.

Contact Us to discuss whether Sage Abra ESS can save you money.