Create Cost-Effective HR Processes Using Office 365

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Cost-effective and efficient automation of processes has become a necessity for businesses so that they can remain competitive in the market. Microsoft 365 is such a tool that helps companies to automate their processes with minimum cost. The user-friendly interface of Microsoft 365 requires minimum training and is one of the most-rich functionality tools available in the market. For the HR department, Microsoft 365 has helped them perform various tasks efficiently while minimizing the room for errors and delay commonly found in manual processes.

Let’s take a look at the HR department processes, to which Microsoft 365 provides cost-effective and smart solutions.

Employee On-Boarding

Onboarding employees using traditional methods is a complicated process that takes up a lot of time for both the HR department and the new hires. Microsoft 365 has made the process of employee onboarding so simple that the HR team and the involved departments can manage the process from their seats. The HR department can view the progress of the employee onboarding process on their screens, and because the information is on the cloud, it syncs automatically across all Microsoft 365 apps. Onboarding tasks can be created and assigned to the relevant departments by using Teams. Sway can be used to publish the schedule on a website online.

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Employee Training

Training employees can be a costly procedure, especially if they are located overseas. With Skype for business, employee training has become so simple and cost-effective that more and more companies are opting out for it. The HR department can make the most of Skype for business by using it other Microsoft 365 apps. They can schedule the training session with the relevant department, notify the employee, see the progress of the training session, test the knowledge gained by the employee from the training session by creating quizzes and view and share stats. All these processes are automated, so the HR manager has to create the task only, Microsoft 365 will generate and send emails on its own. Auto-sync will synchronize the data across all apps and provide real-time solutions, i.e., stats, progress reports, etc.

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Employee Evaluation

Employee evaluation is a critical aspect of the HR department’s job; they have to evaluate employees for promotion, raise, etc. Manual assessment can take up a lot of time and sabotage productivity; the HR team would have to gather data in black and white from different departments, compile and file them, scan them so they can be emailed to the employee. Microsoft 365 provides a convenient solution to this; the HR team can retrieve data from the Teams shared file folder and use Power BI to create infographics and get a clear picture of the employees' performance within seconds. Yammer can be used to post and announce out-standing performers and to celebrate the accomplishments of the employee.

Employee Separation

In the modern world, employee separation isn’t as simple as it used to be in the old days. The HR team has to perform several duties such as keeping track of the date, exit interviews, clearance, notify the departments, a farewell party if the employee is retiring, etc. The HR department can perform all these processes efficiently by using Microsoft 365; they can set up notifications, generate and send emails automatically, conduct the interview using Forms, or Skype for business. The HR department can announce the departure of an employee who has been long-associated with the company using Yammer.

Leave Management and Attendance

Leave management systems of Microsoft 365 are incredibly convenient. The HR department can define leave according to the requirements such as sick leave, maternity leave, etc., let the relevant department know about the leave and get it approved from the department, and keep track of all the employees that are on leave. This makes it easier for the department to manage the personnel; they can mobilize employees to accomplish the work more effectively using Teams. Various HR portal such as Time-off manager (the basic version of time-off manager pro), automates the process of leave management. It allows the HR department to track leave requests and automatically calculate the remaining leave.

Furthermore, the HR department can use the built-in time-tracking capabilities of Microsoft 365 or integrate HR portals to increase the attendance keeping capabilities of Microsoft 365. The Outlook Journal function can track employees' progress when enabled; it automatically generates logs of the work done on various Microsoft 365 apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Some HR portals are so advanced that the employee doesn’t have to do anything to mark their attendance. If they have the portal or app on their phone, the system will automatically detect the employee through their phone as soon as they enter the workplace.

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Employee Reimbursements

Even though the finance department handles employee reimbursement, the HR department has to be involved as well. Microsoft 365 allows employees to apply for refunds, the HR department to request and coordinate with the finance department and monitor the reimbursement process. The department can also gain insights and keep track of unnecessary expenses using analytics apps such as Power BI.

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Employee Directory

There are many built-in tools that the HR Department can use to create and manage a detailed employee directory. Delve, Contact Cards, Teams, etc., can all be used to create an employee directory. These directories can be shared or stored in a shared file folder using Teams to increase collaboration between departments. This feature of Microsoft 365 is cost-effective and saves a lot of time, especially if the offices are far from each other.

Conclusion

Microsoft 365 is a revolutionary solution that is a must-have for companies. It is cost-effective and offers several solutions for every department; that is why it has become the top choice for many businesses. Users can integrate portals such as HR Portals by Infowise and enhance the functionality of their Microsoft 365 for various processes, including recruiting and onboarding.