Like many other aspects of business, technology has been integrated into the human resources department of most businesses of all sizes. Human resource software allows companies to streamline the management of their workforce and, with programs that include the functionality, can even assist in growing that workforce and nurturing the abilities of current employees. There are many options for these programs, some focus on individual aspects of the department, while others are a unified option that covers the entire range of human resources responsibilities. Following are the three primary aspects of human resources, followed by an examination of the unified option.

The Types of Human Resources Functions

1. Core HR: This is the image most will call to mind of human resources tasks: benefits administration, personnel tracking and, of course, payroll. Managing employee benefits alone can force a growing company to search for human resources software solutions, understandable given than 99% of full time employees are eligible for health insurance, while 98% of those are able to receive paid sick leave. Core HR functionality is vital when a company reaches a point in size where these tasks are no longer a viable option.
2. Workforce Management: This type of program can create schedules and track employee absense and lateness, ideal functionality for a shift based workforce. Human resources software that includes this area are often capable of also alerting employees to changes in their schedules and send an alert about an insufficient staffing level. Payroll is not a rare inclusion in Workforce Management focused programs, or at least are easy used in tandem with Payroll software.
3. Strategic HR: The responsibility for growing a business by drawing new talent and developing the current workforce lies in Strategic HR. Program functionality for this department includes applicant tracking systems, which stores and sorts applicants for the entire hiring process. Also, Strategic HR includes employee evaluation and learning and development.

The Unified Options

The various areas of this department easily overlap, which, when divided, can cause an array of programs that might have dual functionality on some issues and, perhaps, insufficient options for other tasks. What may result in a a disjointed mess with multiple programs is a more organic process in a quality option that unifies the individual areas of hr software solutions. At this point, the estimate is that only 13% of businesses employ a single human resource software option. The amount of programs these programs employ for HR is actually an average of three or four. Most people know how easy it is for a program to suddenly stop working, whether the cause is operator error or a virus or any other option. With each program added, the potential for a break down of the system increases. Given all of this, the most responsible decision, as well as the most beneficial for a company’s future, seems to be a unified human resource software choice.