How Effective Leaders Manage their Employee Systems

A system is a collection of elements that interact together to form a whole. An employee system includes the processes used to hire, develop, and retain the best talent. Businesses invest in employees to grow and profit. An employee system maximizes that investment but one size does not fit all.

Many businesses that existed for multiple years have various systems and processes in place to manage employees. These include but are not limited to hiring employees that fit the company culture, administering benefits to retain employees, tracking and improving performance, tracking training and reward programs, and communication between employee and employer.

Within each of those systems, technology offers a plethora of solutions. For example, Workable is an applicant tracking system. Zenefits offers a full HR solution for hiring and employee data storage, benefits, payroll, performance, and time. 15Five is a tool to manage employee performance based on goals. Xyleme is an employee training program that is customizable to the company’s training needs. Hubstaff manages workforce productivity, attendance, projects, and payment. Desk Time manages productivity time tracking. Time Doctor also manages productivity. Gusto manages payroll and benefits. Paychex is a comprehensive tool that manages payroll, benefits, and insurance, and can help with hiring, onboarding, and insurance. And, Connecteam is designed with communication in mind. It combines time clocks, scheduling, forms, checklists, managing, training, and survey use.

Sometimes these technology tools can be cumbersome, confusing, or overwhelming. Prices range from low cost/employee to very high costs. There isn’t one tool to track all aspects of the employee cycle. Most of the time, technology systems aren’t integrated and it is difficult to have all data in one central location.  

How does a leader manage all the employee systems effectively? The first step is to identify all the employee systems currently in place and the processes within each system. Then, do a needs assessment. What is working? What is not working? How much is it costing to support the current systems? What is currently not being measured or tracked that should be? Establish a focus team to unpack the results and validate the findings. Use a process such as action-research to build an action plan to prioritize and improve areas in need. Select technology tools that will maximize the hiring, development, and retention of employees. And, create a dashboard or scorecard to manage the necessary systems that align with the business goals.