{"id":7363,"date":"2020-08-08T06:57:33","date_gmt":"2020-08-08T10:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=7363"},"modified":"2026-02-12T05:03:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T10:03:20","slug":"hr-self-service-tools-save-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/hr-self-service-tools-save-time\/","title":{"rendered":"How HR self-service tools can save time for small businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/category\/people-leadership\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">People &amp; Leadership<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHow HR self-service tools can save time for small businesses\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2020-08-08T06:57:33-04:00\">August 8, 2020<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"How HR self-service tools can save time for small businesses\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/hr-self-service-tools-save-time\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/author\/sabuhigard\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/09\/Sabuhi-Gard-150x150.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" height=\"40\" width=\"40\" fetchpriority=\"high\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Sabuhi Gard<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>As an employer managing HR tasks or someone working as an HR professional, it\u2019s likely that your duties can often be quite a challenge. There are many everyday tasks you must fulfill, from inputting new hire information to dealing with paid time off (PTO) requests and entering performance data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No doubt you\u2019re often time poor \u2013 and that\u2019s where self-service <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/products\/cakehr\/\">HR tools<\/a> can come in, helping to streamline your everyday processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, we look at how self-service tools can help with everyday tasks, from arranging interviews to requesting shift changes, so you can focus on tasks that add more value to the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-self-service-tools-can-help-to-streamline-processes\">How self-service tools can help to streamline processes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Using HR self-service tools can save money, empower employees and improve productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to a recent trends study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), every time a business replaces a salaried employee, it costs six to nine months\u2019 salary on average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Employee self-service and manager self-service tools can be used effectively to streamline paperwork, emails, tickets, and requests that HR professionals deal with on a daily basis, therefore reducing the processing time of an admin task from a very lengthy one to a short time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Employee self-service tools can also be used for the following, among other essential tasks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Onboarding new hires<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reviewing documents<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Updating personal information<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Performance-related information<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Not only will employee self-service tools reduce your admin, they\u2019ll improve your efficiency and that of the HR team, while also increasing the productivity of your workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<a\n\t\tclass=\"button button--primary gate-862070cb-71e9-4e95-9bd8-ddaafdadab39\"\n\t\trole=\"button\"\n\t\tdata-button-location=\"content_area\"\n\t\thref=\"#gate-862070cb-71e9-4e95-9bd8-ddaafdadab39\"\n\t>Download guide<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-you-self-serve-in-their-everyday-lives-and-how-hr-professionals-can-follow-suit\">How you self-serve in their everyday lives \u2013 and how HR professionals can follow suit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You self-serve in your everyday life without even thinking about it, be it at a self checkout at the supermarket or by using your online banking to move funds from one account to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And take booking a vacation, as another example. Once you\u2019ve decided where to go on your break, you can personally do the following online using individual company websites or global aggregators, such as Expedia:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Book the hotel online<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check in at the airport<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check in to the hotel<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rent a car<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make restaurant reservations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book sightseeing tours<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>However, in the past it wasn\u2019t that simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You would have to make an appointment with a travel agent or pick up brochures before booking your summer vacation or winter break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then when you got to the airport, you would need to manually check in and show your passport before going through security and boarding the plane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you had arrived at the hotel, you would need to check in at the front desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the same way you can self-serve to book a vacation, you can use self-service tools as part of your HR processes to speed things up and remove laborious admin processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-benefits-to-the-entire-workforce\">Benefits to the entire workforce<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Employee self-serve tools don\u2019t just benefit HR teams. They can benefit the entire workforce by allowing employees to manage their time off and have direct access to their employment records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This control gives employees a greater sense of responsibility and trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gone are the days where PTO forms were submitted, only for them to be rejected two weeks later because another member of the team got there beforehand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s all about putting the power into the hands of the employee; allowing them to manage their time off accordingly gives them a greater sense of accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The higher the morale, the higher the productivity rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-self-service-tools-can-empower-employees\">How self-service tools can empower employees<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Research from <a href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/sponsored\/2020\/05\/the-new-decision-makers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Harvard Business Review Analytic Services<\/a> highlights the link between empowering <a href=\"http:\/\/hrnews.co.uk\/nearly-90-of-organisations-say-success-depends-on-empowering-frontline-employees-to-make-decisions-in-the-moment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">front-line employees<\/a> such as doctors and banking relationship managers, and organizational performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report \u2013 The New Decision Makers: Equipping Front-line Workers for Success \u2013 analyzes the sentiments of 464 business executives from 16 industry sectors in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study found organizations will be more successful when front-line workers are empowered to make important decisions in the moment \u2013 but the reality is few are equipping their workers with the resources to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Only one-fifth of organizations say they currently have a truly empowered and digitally equipped workforce, while 86% agree their front-line workers need better technology and more insight to be able to make good decisions in the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Front-line employees stand to benefit the most from resources such as communication and collaboration tools, and self-service analytics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Respondents across the board strongly believe that both work quality and productivity will increase as more data-based insights are made available to such workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Specifically, 92% say the quality of work of front-line employees in their organization would improve in the long term, and 73% say it would improve in the short term as well, according to an article in HR News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-key-areas-where-self-service-tools-can-help\">Key areas where self-service tools can help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>HR self-service tools can be beneficial when managing time sheets (especially if a company has freelancers and contractors on their payroll), filing expenses and the recruitment of individuals. Here are other areas where they can help your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-payroll\">Payroll<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Completing payroll duties on a monthly or daily basis can often be time-consuming and stressful \u2013 due to the potential of inaccuracies while manually inputting data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If payroll is not completed effectively and employees are not paid on time, a company could lose valuable staff, contractors, or part-time employees essential to the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The value of a good payroll has a wide-reaching, long-term impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-benefits-administration\">Benefits administration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Managing standard benefits such as health, dental, life, and disability insurance, retirement plans, tuition reimbursement, and tax-advantaged flexible spending accounts is a long-standing function of core HR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In recent years, many companies have begun to move these functions off premises to software as a service (SaaS) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/human-resources\/\">employee benefits providers.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>New health insurance platforms and wellness portals take healthcare beyond these basics to provide online access to fitness communities, medical advice and providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-compliance\">Compliance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>HR departments are responsible for keeping an organization compliant with the many regulations affecting employment, from anti-discrimination laws to workplace health and safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some HR self-service tools can now enable employees to conduct their own health and safety assessments on anything from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/employee-engagement-working-remotely\/\">remote working<\/a> to social distancing measures on a construction site or in a factory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This allows employees to collect information and identify issues, quickly and at scale, saving HR professionals a huge amount of stress and admin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-employee-self-service\">Employee self-service<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Enabling employees to change their personal information, benefit choices, and beneficiaries instead of asking a member of the HR team to do it can save time and money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-employee-engagement-and-recognition\">Employee engagement and recognition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Employee surveys are a popular tool for measuring and boosting employee engagement. The most helpful software solutions have a large selection of pre-made surveys with cross-tabulation capabilities. Ease of use is again key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-well-being\">Well-being<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As remote working and social distancing become the new normal, it has become more important than ever to look out for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/employee-engagement-working-remotely\/\">well-being of employees<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This can be done via the creation of a well-being hub, which can feature information and guidance on a range of financial, mental, and physical well-being topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-hiring-and-onboarding-new-employees\">Hiring and onboarding new employees<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The average cost to hire a new employee is $4,129.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That figure doesn&#8217;t include the time spent on onboarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The onboarding process equips new employees with the required information, knowledge, tools, and resources to understand an organization\u2019s culture, people, processes, and practices. All of which takes time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On average, the process of onboarding an employee can take <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accountsandlegal.co.uk\/small-business-advice\/average-employee-cost-smes-12-000-to-replace\">four hours.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adopting self-service tools in the onboarding process can save your company time and money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-conclusion-on-self-service-tools\">Conclusion on self-service tools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the biggest pains that employers and HR professionals have is dealing with too much admin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They can save time by getting employees to self-serve and input their own information into an HR portal rather than the HR team doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of businesses still rely on paper as the main source for capturing information from their employees, resulting in hours wasted on labor-intensive, morale-destroying data entry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>HR self-service tools that populate employee information remove the requirement for data entry (and verifying) and eliminates the need for bulky filing and wasted paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From banking to supermarkets, almost every industry has seen a shift towards technology that enables customers to serve themselves, providing flexibility for customers and cost reduction for companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, by having an easy to use self-service HR tool, freelancers, employees, and contractors can review documents in the comfort of their own home, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/understanding-payslips-help-employees\/\">avoid misplacing pay stubs<\/a> or employee handbooks, and inquire about low urgency but important personal matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Reimagine your HR process<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>When your people perform at their best, so does your business. Download our free guide to discover how you can transform your small business workforce.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-862070cb-71e9-4e95-9bd8-ddaafdadab39\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download guide<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1314039604-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"2 women discussing at work\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1314039604-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to our Sage Advice Newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Get our latest business advice delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-ab515c6e-7e90-4c2f-a67e-113872516e8b\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"Working from home with tea in hand\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how self-service tools can help HR professionals to save time, while empowering employees, meaning there&#8217;s more time to focus on value-add tasks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":333,"featured_media":2628,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[348,47],"tags":[334,346,17],"business_type":[40],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[411],"persona":[99,97],"imagine_tag":[215],"coauthors":[735],"class_list":["post-7363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-free-guides-templates","category-people-leadership","tag-automation","tag-cloud-technology","tag-hr-payroll","business_type-small-business","industry-human-resources"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-us","author_name":"Sabuhi Gard","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/09\/sagesmallbusinesssurvey-copy.jpeg","imagine_tags":{"215":"HR and Payroll"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice 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