1. Centralise your important HR information

When you use a dedicated human resources management system (HRMS), you instantly have all of your critical HR data in one central place, with one single source of truth. That means if you update an employee’s information in one system, it automatically updates across all records.

Dealing with sheets of paper, like physical forms and photocopies, is not just wasteful, it’s also a massive headache. And further to this, you’re not in a great position to show auditors that you’re in full control of your employees’ data. And data security is more important than ever with cybercrime continuing to rise every year across the Asia region.

The same applies to the countless spreadsheets or multiple systems you are using to store different sets of HR data. Ideally, you want a single HR system to serve as your central point of truth – less administration, and crucially, more accurate data management.

2. Instantly pull useful reports

Even if we forget about the fact that your HR system will serve as a single point of truth to ensure more accurate data, there’s another huge plus to having all your HR information stored in one central location. When you need to deliver information, you know exactly where to find it.

There are a lot of reasons HR might need to find and deliver particular sets of information:

• The board might want a quick breakdown of employee turnover for the last financial year.
• Maybe you’d like to quickly get a list of employees where right to work information is about to expire.
• Gender equality reporting.
• Any information that is set up to be provided at the time of onboarding i.e. local compliance requirements.

When somebody in the business asks you for HR information – whether it’s a complex report or a quick individual fact – they don’t consider how difficult it might be for you to compile or find that information. They just want to know.
That’s why we sometimes like to call the People HR query tool, the “can you just tell me” tool – it lets you build reports on absolutely anything you like, that can be quickly run and exported in a matter of seconds.

3. Thrive in a remote environment

Normally, when we talk about HR systems, we’re talking about SaaS products – i.e. cloud-based HR systems like People HR, which you can access via your desktop browser, smartphone app, or any other device. And one of the biggest benefits of a truly mobile-optimised cloud-based HR system is that it helps you thrive in any environment – office-based, home-based, field-based, café-based, wherever you may be.

The last three years have seen organisations us make the biggest shift ever towards a remote working environment, and it was SaaS products like cloud-based HR systems really came to the rescue for many organisations. And the year 2023 looks set to continue that trend.

With a sophisticate cloud native HR system, not only can you manage HR admin from anywhere, you can also engage your employees through self-service apps on their smartphones. This helps you in many ways – from cutting out the need for more physical or manual processes (such as emails or paper forms to handle holiday requests), to helping employees feel more connected with their employment, their colleagues, and yes, even with HR – despite their physical distance.

4. Improve your data security

The ongoing shift to remote working presents a new set of challenges for HR, though none more potentially damaging than data security gaps and poor protection for remote systems.

Based on the recently released Malaysia Cyber Security Strategy 2020-2024 report, current and new cybersecurity threats have the potential to cause up to RM51 billion in economic losses in Malaysia alone. And according to the Digital Crimes Unit of Microsoft Asia, an average of 720 people fall prey to cyber criminals every minute across the globe, which translates to more than 1 million victims every day.

This means it’s more vital than ever for organisations to keep their personal and company data protected at all times. Having a powerful HR system that protects the security of personal – and often sensitive data – of your employees is more important than ever. You'll also have peace of mind that you're complying with current employment legislation across Asia.