Effective HR Lays the Foundation for Success
Investing in your people’s experience brings great returns.
Does your small business need HR software?
When you’re putting so much of yourself into your small business, it can be easy to think of HR as a line item or fixed cost with few variables—once the HR box has been checked, it’s time to move on to more important things. But as your small business grows into a medium-sized business, great HR can have an enormous positive impact on your bottom line, as long as you can keep up with the exponentially-increasing amount of time, thought, and effort it takes to respond to employees’ HR needs.
When done right, HR leads to a host of long-term benefits, including faster communication between employees, improved employee engagement, and more successful recruiting as your business gains a reputation for professionalism and competence. These benefits far outweigh the cost of moving on from DIY spreadsheet HR.
There comes a point in the growth of every small business when it’s time to stop bootstrapping and invest in a ladder—and the right HR software can provide the boost you need to unlock the benefits of well-managed employees.
How do you know when your small business needs an HR software solution?
Your small business might not have 100 employees yet—it may not even have 50. But if your business grows beyond its current state, your employees will need structure and leadership, and you will need people who can support great managers, help define your company values, and maintain the effective, positive culture you value as a small business owner.
In short, you’ll need effective HR to grow—and great HR only happens when HR professionals have the time and the tools to make a difference for the people in your organization. Without assistance, HR can become so blinded by data management, compliance concerns, resumes, tax calculations, and mountains of paperwork that the work of keeping everyone together goes undone. In the end, HR software is not just about saving HR’s time and money by automating routine tasks—more importantly, it enables HR to extend those benefits to the rest of the business so your employees can spend their time and resources on progress instead of administrative tasks.
Choosing the right HR software for your small business
As you consider HR software from different providers, it can be overwhelming to match program features to every possibility that the future holds for your small business. It’s also unlikely that you’ve read up on the many intricate nuances of HR, so it may be difficult to understand which features make a difference and how.
Before you rush headlong into the HR software search, spend some time analyzing your current and future needs. Understanding how HR features align with key elements of your business (your budget not least among them) will help you select the right system for your needs, not just the best system a salesperson can sell you.
As a small business owner, it’s easy to neglect HR. It’s not as exciting as business functions that focus on growth or revenue, and it’s not a legal requirement to have an HR department.
But, even businesses with just a small number of employees have some HR duties. And these can quickly eat into your time if you don’t perform them efficiently.
HR software is a huge help. For a small fee each month, these tools help you build HR processes and automate key tasks. You’ll spend far less time on them and far more time on work you want to do.
And the tools are effective. 74% of companies surveyed by PWC in 2020 said they plan to increase spending on HR technology. The biggest benefits they bring are increasing productivity, providing workforce insights, and improving the employee experience.
This article will focus on 10 of the best HR tools for small businesses. I’ll also explain why you might need one and what to look out for when choosing.
The Best HR Software for Small Business in Nigeria
Here’s the list of the best small business HR tools that I’ll cover in this article. Each of the tools has all you need to get started.
I’ve included plenty of free options for small companies that want the basics at no cost. But there are also some paid tools that offer better support, a cleaner interface, and more advanced features.
- EddyBest all-in-one HR software for local businesses with deskless workers
- Open HMRSBest open source human resources software
- Bitrix24Best free web-based solution
- HR.MyBest completely free HR software
- SnapHRMBest free solution for businesses with under 5 employees
- FingercheckBest for HR automation
- Bright HRBest vacation planner & PTO tracker
- SaplingBest for SMB scalability
- GustoBest for freelance payroll accountants
- PaylocityBest for employee self-service