From Offer Letter to Exit: Avoid HR Slip-Ups with Task Management Software
Managing the employee lifecycle involves a series of critical tasks. Sending offer letters, handling onboarding steps, ensuring compliance, and processing exits, to name a few. Each step plays a vital role in shaping the employee experience. Hence, slip-ups in these tasks need to be caught early and handled with care.
But it is easier said than done. When you have an HR team handling most of these processes manually using basic tools like sticky notes on the monitor, calendar reminders dinging non-stop and a fresh to-do list layered over yesterday's unfinished one, mistakes are bound to happen. But turning this around won't cost much; all it takes is a task management software.
This blog explores the hidden costs of unmanaged HR tasks and guides you on why and how to choose the right task management system tailored for your HR employee lifecycle events.
How Much Are Disorganised HR Tasks Costing You?
Until you start to use a task tracking system for HR processes, you won’t really know how much it is costing you. Let’s take a rough look at some of the hidden costs that build up when these tasks aren’t handled through a structured HR project and task planner:
Wasted time at Work
HR task management software is primarily designed to save HR professionals time they spend on numerous monotonous tasks. In an ideal workplace, you'll see them handling things ranging from:
- Having to keep calling and emailing employees to get things from them.
- Trying to find updates by looking through tons of different emails.
- Keeping a manual list of who's sent what and who hasn't.
- Answering the same questions over and over from different employees.
The Risk of Errors and Non-Compliance
When employees forget to submit their experience certificates, sign their contract documents, or provide tax-related paperwork, it lands squarely on HR’s desk. Even if the action is expected from the employee, it's HR who’s ultimately accountable for making sure everything gets done on time. And they’re managing these tasks for dozens of employees simultaneously.
In any workplace, there are countless moving parts to manage and compliance standards to meet. Failing to meet those standards risks the company losing its legal right to operate. That’s why a growing number of companies choose HR task automation software to reduce errors and stay compliant.
Employee Dissatisfaction
In addition to hiring and managing daily HR tasks like attendance, leave, and shift schedules, HR professionals in modern organisations are also tasked with activities that are supposed to lift employee satisfaction.
When frustrations arise, whether from poor processes or delays, both management and employees often place the blame directly on HR. Here are some common reasons that lead to employee dissatisfaction in this regard:
- Taking too long to set up the new employees
- Lack of timely communication about important HR policies
- Failure to resolve employee complaints or concerns promptly
- Disorganised documentation and missing paperwork
- Inefficient onboarding and training programs
- Poor tracking and management of performance reviews
- Inconsistent application of company policies across teams
An ideal task management software with compliance tracking features and built-in reminders can help slash most of these hitches.
Why Generic Task Management Falls Short for HR?
When you hear "task management software," Jira or Clickup typically spring to mind. Though these tools tackle general project tracking, they miss the mark for HR needs.
What HR departments truly crave is a dedicated HR task management software that handles everything from prodding new hires to turn in signed contracts to guiding departing employees through exit questionnaires.
So, what keeps coming up is the fact that human resource teams don't need another generic task delegation software that lacks:
HR-Specific Context
An ordinary task management software fails to understand the nuances of HR processes, such as document signing workflows or training modules. They offer limited to no integration with employee data and may not necessarily have built-in templates or workflows for common HR tasks. Their reporting capabilities would also fall short of HR-specific metrics (e.g., completion rates for mandatory submissions).
Employee Interaction
As for employee task tracking concerning their onboarding or engagement, or performance, a non-HR team productivity software would often lack features for direct employee communication. When they want to know the status of their submission within the system, employees will require HR to act as a middleman. Here, the very goal of HR workflow automation is undermined, and the experience becomes far less intuitive for employees trying to understand and meet HR requirements.
Security and Compliance
Scores of free task management software options fail to provide the necessary security protocols for handling sensitive employee data. When it comes to personal information, such as banking details, social security numbers, or medical records, standard security measures simply aren’t enough. An additional layer of encryption and access control is non-negotiable.
What Will An Ideal HR Task Management Software Include?
To help you carry out the fundamental HR tasks related to events in the employee lifecycle, you will require an ideal HR workflow management tool with the following essential features.
| Feature | Description | Benefit for Employee-Related Tasks |
|---|---|---|
| Employee Self-Service Portal | A dedicated area where employees can view and complete their HR tasks. | Empowers employees and reduces HR's direct involvement in following up submissions. |
| Automated Reminders | System-generated notifications to employees for incomplete tasks | Removes HR's frequent and manual follow-up efforts. |
| Document Upload & Tracking | Securely collecting and tracking employee-submitted documents (e.g., contracts). | Ensures all necessary paperwork is received and accessible. |
| Training Enrollment Modules | Managing employee enrollment in training programs and tracking completion. | Streamlines training administration and ensures compliance. |
| Digital Signature Integration | Allowing employees to digitally sign documents within the platform. | Speeds up document collection and gets rid of paper-based processes. |
| Progress Dashboards | Visual overview of task completion rates for employees or teams. | Provides HR with insights into roadblocks and areas needing attention. |
How to Implement HR Task Management Software Across Your Employee Lifecycles?
Implementing task automation for HR should begin with identifying key employee-related tasks. Here is a structured approach you can follow to optimise implementation.
Identify Key Employee-Related HR Processes
Look over your HR tasks and pick out the ones that take the most time or cause frequent mistakes, so you can start sorting them out with higher priority.
Map Out Your Workflows
Lay out each step of your process, breaking down what needs to happen, who does it, and when.
Choose The Best Task Management Software
Check out different free task management software for small HR teams, compare features, and pick one that matches your team's needs. Look for software that’s easy to use and fits your workflow.
Pilot with a Small Group
Try out the new system with a few team members first. Work through any problems, gather thoughts, and sort out issues before using it company-wide.
Gather Feedback Before a Full Rollout
Ask the pilot group to share their experience about what worked and what didn’t. Use their input to smooth things over and make better decisions before going big.
Communicate Clearly with Employees
Talk to employees about the new system. Point out how it helps them, clears up confusion, and makes their workday easier.
Provide Training and Support
Set up training to walk people through the system. Back them up with help when needed, so they don’t get stuck or give up.
Monitor and Optimize
Keep an eye on how the system runs. Spot problems, fix them, and think of ways to make the process better as you go along.
What Makes Mewurk the Best HR Task Management Software?
Task management is often an overlooked feature in most HR software solutions. Mewurk sets itself apart by integrating employee lifecycle task automation into its comprehensive workforce management platform.
When you subscribe to Mewurk, you get to enjoy it along with 10+ essential HR functions, including attendance, leave, shift scheduling, document management, core HR, payroll, biometric attendance integration, and more.
Final Thoughts
HR tasks may seem minor, but when they pile up, they quickly become a major source of time drain and administrative burden for both HR teams and employees. These delays pull focus away from your team’s core responsibilities and result in a drop in their overall productivity. The fix is quite simple: an intelligent cloud-based task management software like Mewurk that automates these processes and frees up time for your folks.
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