Cloud HR tools are very helpful in managing the human resource or human resource management process. A family or community living in a certain area is often referred to as the local area network LAN.Cloud HR tools are commonly used by small-sized organizations to follow the best practices of Human Resource Management, especially for managing the general employee records, filing employee insurance records etc. because of easy accessibility at all times adding to increased efficiency among employees.
Cloud HR tools is a cloud-based solution for managing and administering HR functions such as talent acquisition, performance management, payroll services and onboarding. A powerful user interface allows you to control all of your HR functions from a single location.
Kissflow HR Cloud
Kissflow HR Cloud is a comprehensive HR solution that automates every step of the hire to retire cycle. It comprises of an array of dedicated HR modules like applicant tracking, onboarding, performance management, leave management, timesheet management, and offboarding.
Unlike other cloud HR software, Kissflow HR Cloud offers the flexibility to customize HR processes to fit unique business needs. It combines agile core HR functionality with actionable insights and a seamless multi-channel interface. Best of all, organization can offer their employees a tailor-made employee experience with its built in employee collaboration module while toning down operating costs and improving retention.
Pros: Flexible interface, rule-based workflows, insightful reports, 360-degree feedback, seamless API integration, collaboration platform, and custom branding
Cons: Lack of benefits, payroll, and compensation management modules
Ultipro HCM
Ultipro HCM is the first HR provider to embrace the concept of HR in the cloud. Initially it was just a basic HRMS/payroll system, however, over the years, it grew to an end-to-end HR and talent management system which is a far cry from its initial version.
It caters to HR functionalities such as recruitment, onboarding, payroll, employee and manager self-service, benefits administration, succession management, talent retention, time and attendance, workforce scheduling, and analytics.
Pros: Payroll processing, recruiting gateway, robust onboarding process, customer portal, business intelligence module, and annual networking conferences
Cons: Lack of customization, long learning curve, and cluttered interface.
Sage HRMS
Sage HRMS is built exclusively for small to medium-sized organizations that aspire to optimize the end-to-end employee lifecycle. It includes modules for core HR, payroll, basic talent management, workforce management, and L&D capabilities.
Its analytics and reporting modules make performance management efficient and effortless. Additionally, it can be configured to assist in day-to-day payroll processing functionalities including taxation, benefits, compliance (OHSA), and reporting.
Pros: Excellent payroll and benefits tracking, recruitment management, self-service onboarding, and ability for the end user to make mass updates
Cons: Fluctuating attendance, database infrastructure, custom reporting limitations, and steep learning curve
Gusto — Best for Your First 50 Hires
- GREAT FOR EARLY-STAGE COMPANIES
- UNMATCHED UX & EMPLOYEE PORTAL
- MAKES PAYROLL A CINCH
- TIME TRACKING FEATURES
Gusto is all that a startup or small company needs for HR software in 2021. Employees love it, administrators don’t have much to worry about, and it comes at a price well within budget for even the youngest business.
I highly recommend it to people who don’t have an HR department. Someone with near-zero HR experience will be able to act as a competent administrator in Gusto.
Everyone we spoke to said implementation was quick and painless. All you need in terms of IT infrastructure is an internet connection.
The platform is continually improving and adding new features, but it’s remained incredibly simple to use across the company. It might be a little thin for the needs of larger organizations, but it’s more than enough for a startup or small business.
Here’s a quick view at what HR needs Gusto can handle:
- Employee database
- Payroll
- Benefits administration
- Onboarding
- Time off management
- Time and attendance
All of this is managed through the Gusto platform—you don’t need to integrate tools or sign into multiple accounts to track time, manage PTO, or change someone’s address. In fact, most admins are simply approving changes employees make themselves.
Gusto basically onboards your employees itself, collecting all the important tax and verification docs. Employees don’t have to download an app to sign an offer letter, Gusto has that baked in.
People are not intimidated by Gusto in the slightest. The users we spoke with said their employees were able to do virtually everything on their own.
Whether they sign in from their laptop or the mobile app, employees get a super-friendly interface and access to loads of self-help resources.
“I really had actually no complaints about it,” said the founder of a nine-person marketing agency. He received a lot of complaints about their prior system, describing it as “not as easy to use” and “a little bit more confusing.”
With Gusto, he said, “It’s been way better than expected as far as [the employee portal] goes.”
Gusto is welcoming to the point of almost being cheesy. There’s a dancing piggy bank and plenty of digital high-fives for tasks like completing your annual enrollment. But those tasks are incredibly important (ask any employee who missed the open enrollment window) and the tangible benefits of having an HR platform as engaging as Gusto cannot be overstated.
As a restaurateur told us, the simple design of the platform allows his employees to answer their own questions.
“You can get all the answers without having to send the flag up the chain,” he said. “That’s going to save a lot of unnecessary time that managers usually have to deal with week after week.”
And it’s more than just finding efficiencies. The restaurateur has seen a decrease in turnover, crediting Gusto in part for the high employee retention.
“They love the fact that if there is any discrepancy, it’s quickly resolved and processed,” he said. And errors are few and far between. “It just makes for a very consistent, steady atmosphere, even in the current social climate.”
The back end is just as good as the front end. You don’t need any formal HR experience to set up your company. Gusto walks you through the nuts and bolts, even sending the occasional timely reminder.
“I actually have someone starting today,” the restaurateur said when he talked to us. “And, sure enough, without even setting a reminder or anything, [Gusto] was like, ‘Hey, remember when she gets there, let’s go ahead and complete the I9, and that way you don’t have to worry about it anymore.’”
Without Gusto, he said he wouldn’t have thought to do it until his accountant hassled him at the last minute. He would have had to call his new worker at some random hour to make sure she could receive her first paycheck. Talk about avoiding a bad first impression.
Things like reimbursements are a walk in the park. You can set recurring reimbursements, bulk edit to do a bunch at once, or make it right with an employee who had to float a purchase on their own personal card.
“They can submit the receipt,” said the founder, “[and] boom, we reimburse them—nice and easy.”
One reason a lot of people chose Gusto was its time tracking capability. It used to be desktop-only, but now you can clock in and out directly from the app, which is a welcome improvement.
One manager who used the system told us it hardly requires any training, “maybe two to three minutes for someone who’s never seen it before.” She really appreciated the ability to edit hours easily, and that all edits were tracked.
Potential Drawbacks of Running HR with Gusto
Gusto is great at what it does, but there are some HR tasks that it just doesn’t handle. In the future, I could see more built-in tools for recruiting, performance management, and so on being added.
For now, you’ll have to rely on integrations to extend Gusto’s functionality. For companies that know they need more than what Gusto can do on its own, it makes sense to seriously consider whether they’ll still be able to centralize HR work for their department and employees.
You could wind up having to add tools to an ever-increasing stack. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great solution in its own right, it’s just that there are ways to handle a lot more of HR under one umbrella with Namely, Zenefits, and even BambooHR, to some extent.
But this wasn’t a pressing need for most of the people I talked with. They tended to have fewer than 50 employees and Gusto’s ability to deal with the basic back office stuff was more than enough.
“If I wanted to be really tough,” said one user trying to come up with a criticism of the platform, “some of the reports are hard to find and they’re not necessarily that pretty.”
For some of the other users I talked with, the limited reporting and lack of performance management would have made Gusto a non-starter. Generally, though, these users were at much larger companies or those that had become complex while keeping a lower headcount.
Your typical company just starting out is not going to hit Gusto’s limits for the first couple of years. And when they have to jump ship, they’ll be moving to a product that would have made no sense to use for the first few dozen hires.
Gusto Pricing
There are three packages offered by Gusto, as well as add-ons for things like Workers Compensation Insurance , 401(k) plans, and so on. Each package includes a base price, and a cost per person:
- Core — $39 per month + $6 per person
- Complete — $39 per month + $12 per person
- Concierge — $149 per month + $12 per person
Core is very good for the price, as it covers payroll, benefits administration, and Gusto’s best-in-class employee self-service portal. One notable thing it does not cover is PTO policies. For a really small business, this will be fine.
Upgrading to Complete gives you the PTO, tools for onboarding, and some better reporting and organization tools that become important once you have more than a handful of employees.
Even if you think you can get by with one of the other plans, my recommendation is the Concierge plan. This is where you get a dedicated customer support rep, phone service, and a number of other HR resources to help you steer the ship. You also get access to domain experts in compliance, tax law, and employee relations.
Yes, it’s a steep jump in the monthly base price compared to Complete, but the added customer support is worth it for companies just starting out.
There’s a ton of ways to screw up basic HR tasks at a new company. I can back that up with personal experience. Getting timely answers can prevent fines, touchy paycheck problems, and save you hours of re-doing things the right way.
We found a range of comments about Gusto’s customer service in the public reviews. Some people were really frustrated. In our interviews, though, we encountered only happy customers.
“They get back to you real quick,” said one user of Gusto’s support team.
Another said that she wished Gusto’s customer service could handle everything in her life.
“Every time I have had an issue or been confused,” she said, “they have been so patient and helpful.”
The simple explanation is that these folks were getting the premium customer support on the Concierge plan. I recommend you do, too, unless you’ve got the in-house experience to deal with thorny issues on your own.
Key Features of HR Software
How your company manages HR can be highly individual, but there are certain key capabilities and features you should look for in any solution to make sure your pick can grow and change along with your organization’s needs. We’ve described key capabilities below:
- Applicant Tracking (AT). Includes the ability to manage job postings, apps, and even onboarding of new employees.
- Benefits Administration. Is critical for most HR operations and what HRMS software makers offer here can vary from simply managing employee enrollment all the way to offering specific benefit plans to customers.
- Scheduling and Shift Planning. Is often dedicated tools though the capability can show up as part of larger HRMS platforms or those that focus on businesses where this capability is important.
- Performance Management. Might be the ability to simply keep a record of employee goals or it can track goals down to the task level and tie success directly and automatically to compensation and payroll.
- Online Learning. Can be another offshoot of performance management, letting managers provide the training employees need to achieve their goals and also keep the company in compliance if certifications are required for certain jobs.
- eLearning Authoring. Can let your company build its own training materials to be offered internally or on a publicly accessible learning hub.
Regardless of its target audience, here are some other key features to look for in any HRMS system:
- Integration. Most of these players (though not all of them) offer either canned integrations or open APIs. For example, Zenefits offers integration with platforms that include Expensify, Google’s G-Suite, Microsoft Office 365, Salesforce, and Slack. Canned integrations are simply a list of partner apps with which the HRMS vendor has built direct integration capability that you can opt in to by either paying extra or downloading a connector. Open APIs allow you to build your own integrations between whichever systems you like as long as they both support the API and you’ve got some programming talent in-house.
- Mobility. This still isn’t a must-have feature for a successful HRMS implementation, but it’s getting there. HR data tends to be data that employees need to access on the fly, especially things such as benefits information and time-off requests. Providing the ability to do that easily and securely on mobile devices means making sure the solution offers client software for both Android and iOS devices at a minimum.
- Security. Be sure to investigate how the solution protects customer data. Most of these systems are cloud-based, which means your employee data—including personal information and financial data—will wind up stored online somewhere. So, ensuring that the solution’s adequately protected with role-based access controls and at least the option to encrypt data is critical.
Conclusion
The Best Cloud HR Software Should offer a great user experience, reducing or eliminating training required of the users. It should automate repetitive tasks and data entry to save you time and money. It should integrate with your other business systems, so you don’t need to maintain extra data in different places. And it should be easy to use–simple enough that all employees can run reports on their own, or be taught how to do so by an external consultant with minimal training.