Which features should your mobile HRMS app prioritize?

Mobile HRMS has been a clear trend in the HR technology field for some time now. Certainly, most major vendors are now offering some form of mobile app to complement their products. However, many will emphasize some functions and features over others which begs the question: what should your priorities be? Which mobile features are going to give you the biggest impact, and savings, for your buck?

Access to Employee Self-Service (ESS)

In terms of which feature is going to have the widest use, the ESS portal is the one that the largest proportion of users will utilize at some point. In fact, you might say that the biggest driver behind the mobile HRMS wave is the need to provide employees with remote access to their own personnel data, including the capability to update that data, request time off, and check their pay. This is especially so with the increasing implementation of bring your own device (BYOD) policies, encouraging employees to use their own mobile devices in the workplace.

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Time and Attendance

One of the most commonly-used HRMS features is time and attendance, centralizing and automating punching in and out, monitoring hours worked, overtime due and then using that data to inform workplace scheduling and resource allocation. Traditional time and attendance technology is fine for an organization which has all of its employees on-site. However, if you – like many 21st century businesses – are seeing a rise in staff ‘in the field’ or working from home, then some form of attendance management from a distance is required.

Request Management

This is something of a combination point in that employees working off-premises are no different to their ‘home base’ colleagues in that there are certain requests that they need to get management approval for, including paid time off, booking training and learning, and reimbursement of travel expenses. It’s simply less convenient if these kinds of requests have to be saved up for the end of the day or month, whenever that employee checks in at the office. Many mobile HRMS apps will enable access to the same automated request functionality for all employees, no matter their location.

Key design features

On a slightly different tack, there are features of your mobile HRMS that are not directly connected to an HR process or procedure but that are nevertheless equally as important if you’re to get full value for money for your technology:

• Compatibility with all device platforms – Android, Apple, BlackBerry, etc. – according to the dictates of your BYOD policy.
• Being able to use the app offline. After all, coverage and connectivity isn’t universal and employees should be able to carry out their HR tasks even when offline, with the app synchronizing automatically once connectivity is restored.
• Push notifications that give your out-of-office employees real-time notifications of updates, replies to requests, and other necessary HR-related information.

And finally, an easy to use and intuitive interface is essential, especially for employees who might be tapping into the system while in transit or while waiting for a customer.