Case Study: How we've created Employee Management Software

Gone are the days when scheduling was done with pen and paper and payroll was done with a calculator. Today, all routine tasks can be automated and solved with ad hoc software. All employee data is stored in a centralized system.

You can access it at any time, make calculations, generate a report and monitor the process of interaction with each team member. All data is securely protected.

This approach increases your team's productivity and, as a result, your company's profits. Is this what you want? You can achieve it by creating effective, state-of-the-art employee management software.

But first, let's take a closer look at how we created employee management software for our client.

What exactly is Employee Management Software?

Employee Management Software (EMS) is an online tool that automates HR-related tasks in real time. Choosing or building the right EMS is crucial for overcoming challenges effectively.

What you need to know is that employee management aims to boost staff productivity, aligning with business goals. Properly configured EMS helps consider employee needs and strengths.

EMS is particularly useful for large companies, ensuring smooth operations by centralizing employee information and workflow data for quick and accurate processing.

By using EMS, you save time, resources, and money, leading to streamlined workflows, improved efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.

Challenges faced by an Employee Management System

Employee management systems can face challenges such as integrating with existing systems, securing data, getting employees to use the software, customization needs, scaling with growth, managing costs, and keeping up with technology.

Let's look at how to overcome these challenges:

• To overcome integration issues, work closely with experts to ensure seamless integration and prioritize user-friendly interfaces.
• Secure data with encryption and access controls, and train employees on data protection.
• Choose flexible software that can be customized to your needs with help from the provider.
• Select scalable software that can grow with your organization, and review it regularly to ensure it remains effective.
• Keep abreast of changes in technology and update the system regularly. Also, invest in ongoing staff training to keep them abreast of new possibilities.

Challenges solved by an Employee Management System

Creating employee management software isn't a spur-of-the-moment decision; it's a smart solution to the many challenges HR departments face.

From tight budgets to poor planning, tracking employee performance and retaining talent, HR has a lot on its plate. And it's not just internal issues; external factors such as politics and the economy add to the complexity.

But there's a silver lining: employee management software. It's not just about managing staff; it's a tool that helps navigate through tough times. By analyzing data, it shows where to grow and how to avoid problems. It's a way for both the company and its employees to succeed, even when times are tough.

What is the idea of the project?

Employees are the most valuable asset of any business. Instead of ignoring the process of their professional development and management, it is worth making this aspect a priority.

Employee management software is designed to optimize interaction with employees so that managers and supervisors can track their work time, analyze the performance of departments and employees, see connections between departments, and manage the progress of projects. Thus, with the help of employee management software, all crucial information about employees is available in a couple of clicks.

Nothing is lost here, moreover, the data is analyzed and structured. Employee management software makes the management of internal business processes more efficient and services better. With this in mind, we have developed the employee management software described below.

The development process of the Employee Management System

The employee management software development process traditionally goes from concept to production and launch, which is described in detail below:

Team

A team that included the following specialists worked on the EMS software:

• 1 project manager (PM);
• 1 business analyst (BA);
• 3 UI/UX designers;
• 2 front-end engineers;
• 2 backend engineers;
• 2 quality assurance engineers (QA).

Methodology

From the very beginning, we chose the Agile methodology to work on the project, because the principles of this methodology proved to be effective when working on our other projects. In particular, Agile allowed us to coordinate the team's work, meet deadlines, and achieve our goals.

Here is how we can describe the main advantages of using the Agile approach in our work:

• The team focuses on the customer's real needs rather than requirements. Thanks to the Agile methodology it is possible to find out the needs of the client and users, which allows us to get an effective product.
• Any changes along the way fit easily into the overall process.
• We managed to structure the system in such a way that the value of the work done was clear at the end of each sprint.
• All the work done took 18 sprints, which can be foreseen in advance to properly distribute the workload and tasks.

Development process

From the beginning of the project, we gathered as much information about the client's request as we could. To do this, the business analyst discussed the client's request and asked clarifying questions, which allowed the entire team to move on. The answers, insights, and requirements received from the client were documented and shared with the technical team.

Based on the information gathered, we compiled technical specifications, which described in detail how the product should work, what functionality it should have, and how users should interact with the product.

Thanks to teamwork, we successfully equipped the employee management software with the following features:

• Multi-tenancy;
• Time tracking;
• Project management;
• Reporting and analytics;
• Scheduling and so on.

Once the technical specifications were drawn up, the project manager created a project roadmap and provided the client with a preliminary estimate.

After it was approved by the client, the backlog - the scope of work - was created and divided into sprints. In the end, it took 18 sprints (9 months) to get the system up and running.

Working in sprints allowed us to keep control over the development process and make changes in a timely manner. Each intermediate result was presented to the client for feedback and, if necessary, changes. When we were sure that the system was error-free, we could hand it over completely to the client.

User roles

There are three access levels to the system: Admin (system owner), Manager, and Employee:

1. Users with the Admin role can view and edit all information in the employee management software.

2. The Employee role allows users to log into the employee management software, but they can only see and manage information related to themselves.

3. The Manager access level is set up so that users see only direct/indirect subordinates. They can view employee information without being able to change it.

You can also provide a custom access level (depending on your plan). This option is useful when you need to give a group of employees (IT specialists, recruiters, etc.) additional access to change information in the employee management software.

Admin Dashboard

On the page where the Administrator enters after logging in, there is a top menu, which can be used to go to such sections as Home, My Profile, People, Documents, Reports. On the top right there are icons for quick access to Inbox, Settings, a profile picture and a logout button.

Home

Use this screen to see all the most relevant information for the user with the Admin role, namely - what is new in the company, what project has been launched, who the new employee is, who is absent today, what the next event in the company is planned and so on.

Also on the left side of the screen, under the name and photo, you can see key information for the Admin about the number of available vacation days, days off, sick days, and so on.

My Profile

When you go to My Profile, tabs such as Personal, Job details, Time off, Notifications, Permissions, Security, Questions, Documents, Benefits, Other are available. Below the user's photo, this page displays information such as status (available, not available), department, phone number, email, etc.

The main screen displays the user's full name, date of birth, the department he/she belongs to, his/her role in the department and position in the company, and other editable data.

People

The People section contains tabs such as All in Company, Org chart, Directory, Departments, Hiring, and the Add team member button. In this section, you can search for an employee, and their entire list will be displayed in alphabetical order under the above tabs, so you can see their position in the company, links to social networks and Skype to reach a specific employee directly.

Documents

This section gives you access to all documents related to the company as a whole or to individual departments, employees, and events.

Reports

In the Reports section, you can view the reports of any department and manager or request a report by sending the appropriate email to the person in charge.

Settings

The Settings button in the upper-right corner of the screen gives you access to an extensive set of tools for managing not only your account, but the entire employee management system.

You can also manage access to the system for each individual employee by assigning him or her the Employee, Manager, or other roles, specifying appropriate permissions, features, options, and other data that may or may not be available to him or her.

Manager Dashboard

A user with the Manager role can navigate to Home, My Profile, People, and Documents from the top main menu. In the top right corner of the screen, you can also go to the Inbox with a single click, or log out by clicking on the profile picture. Let's take a closer look at some of the available sections.

Home

When entering the Home section, the Manager can see on the left his/her photo and links to his/her social networks, Skype and phone number, job title and department, as well as the number of vacation, holiday, and sick leave days available.

The center section of the screen contains widgets and options available for use (these are defined by the Admin user). These can be Benefits, Vacation requests, New employees, Directory, Notifications, and so on.

My Profile

The Personal, Benefits, Job details, Time off, Notifications, Permissions, Security, and Questions tabs are available here. By clicking on the Job tab, you can see the details presented in the table, such as date of hire, department, job title, who the employee reports to, work format (part-time, full-time, something else).

People

The People section contains tabs such as All in Company, Org chart, Directory, My team, and the Add team member button. By default, the page displays a list of employees in alphabetical order with their contact information, so you can quickly get in touch with them.

Employee Dashboard

Once the Employee user is logged in, the Home, My Profile, People, and Documents sections are available to him/her. Let's go over some of these sections.

Home

The main screen displays key blocks such as Goals, Tasks, and Say Thank You. In the first two blocks, the user specifies their goals and objectives, as well as the status of their achievement, and there is also an option to leave comments on each of the blocks.

The Say Thank You box allows you to mention any user of the employee management software and thank them for something specific. For example, you played tennis together or went to lunch, or perhaps your colleague helped you with a work issue. Once you mention them, he or she will be notified by email of your thank you.

My Profile

In this section, a user with the Employee role has access to tabs such as Personal, Job details, Documents and Benefits. For ease of use of the employee management system, brief information about the user, such as first and last name, links to social networks, Skype, email, phone number, work format, job title and department, is displayed on the left side of the screen below the user's photo.

People

The People section has the All in Company and My team tab, but there is no Add team member option. All company employees are displayed as a list in alphabetical order, but without contact information. Only when you click on an employee can you request his/her contact information.

Key features of Employee Management Software

The main features of the employee management software we developed for our client include the following:

• Targeted management of employee information. This software solution offers extensive options for collecting, processing, and storing data about each employee. Structured reports can also be exported or imported.
• Employee self-management. You can use the system to apply for time off or vacation, issue sick leave, manage company expenses, and track payroll calculations, including compensation and discounts. All of this makes the employee management process and its various tasks more transparent and manageable.
• Administrating. With the employee management software as a central repository, the company can store all the data critical to the company's operations in one database: documents, certificates, insurance policies, NDAs, corporate declarations, etc. Conveniently, the system notifies of document expiration dates.
• Onboarding. With access to the system, both newcomers and managers can monitor the onboarding process and the completion of specific tasks.
• Performance management and analytics. Employee management software allows you to set goals and objectives, track progress, measure employee performance, and generate reports. With this data, you can make predictions for the future and plan for specific results or HR issues.

Also, you can read our Case Study: How we've created an HRIS system

Benefits of the Employee Management Software

Now that you know what employee management software is and how it was created, it's time to talk about the benefits of this system. Here's what the benefits of workforce management software for businesses look like:

• You can control your assets. Employee management software is effective in any business environment, but it is especially useful in the remote work environment that is becoming the norm these days. How can you make sure your remote employees are on line and doing their best to grow your business? With employee management software, you can track when your employees are in and out, how much time they've spent working, and what results they've achieved in that time.
• EMS saves you time. Such systems automate routine and time-consuming tasks, freeing up time for more strategic tasks necessary for business development. Everything that used to be done on paper and constantly required effort is now digitized and stored in a centralized database.
• Improved decision-making. With important data at your fingertips, you can easily solve business problems, keep track of employee performance, current events and more, keeping your business ahead of the competition.
• Your data is more secure. Increased security is a significant benefit that workforce management software provides. Not only does it allow you to securely store and process your data in a tamper-proof environment, but it also ensures compliance with GDPR and other requirements.
• Continuous employee training for the long-term success of your business. With the system, you can implement and track employee meetings, coaching sessions, and subject courses, which in turn will contribute to the professional development of your employees. And, as you know, qualified staff means the success of your business.

Why should you start using Employee Management Software?

In short, creating an employee management system improves the efficiency of employee management, which directly contributes to overall business performance.

Now, why it's time to get started:

1. Your business is getting automated, saving you time and money

By 2030, up to 30% of HR work is projected to be automated. These systems are simple, reliable, and fast. They process data, organize it, and provide it to you conveniently, reducing the risk of losing important information.

2. Employee management software reduces the risk of errors

It ensures accurate and compliant data and counts by centralizing employee information and automating processes. Employee management software promotes fair and data-driven employee management, ensuring compliance with labor regulations and laws, reducing legal issues and errors.

3. Communication is key

Engaged employees lead to a 21% increase in profitability and a 24% decrease in turnover. On the other hand, disengaged employees are more likely to leave quietly. It's critical for employers to measure employee engagement and alignment with company values, as well as identify communication issues. A modern employee management system can help address these issues effectively.

4. Employee performance at your fingertips

Well-organized workflows produce measurable and transparent results that can be achieved with employee management software. Implementing EMS ensures high employee engagement and structured reporting. Visual dashboards allow tracking of hours worked, time off, and available holidays, fostering punctuality and responsibility, ultimately boosting productivity.

Also, you can read our Case Study: How‌ ‌We've created‌ Employee Onboarding Platform

When to implement Employee Management Software

It's time to consider implementing or developing an employee management system. Let's explore the clear signs that indicate this need.

1. Ensuring regulatory compliance is critical for you

In any industry, it's important to keep up to date with labor laws, regulations and rules. Failure to comply can result in fines or legal problems. On the other hand, having an EMS with compliance features can help you avoid such consequences. EMScan help you audit records, track hours worked, monitor holidays, and manage other important business issues.

2. Your business is growing

As your business expands or your workforce grows, more tasks arise that are difficult to manage with current methods. Implementing workforce management software during periods of growth is a life-saving solution to prevent problems and maintain smooth operations.

3. Getting things done well has become harder

If your teams are overwhelmed and your customers aren't happy, it's a sign that your operations need a fresh look. Another sign that it's time to consider developing an employee management system is a decline in motivation among your top performers. This could be due to communication breakdowns, unclear goals and disorganized projects. Implementing an EMS can help systematize tasks and clarify responsibilities, bringing transparency to your processes.

4. You have a need to find out the true workload and productivity of your employees

Trying to manually monitor every employee's work processes isn't feasible. The solution? Implementing an employee management system allows you to effectively structure the tracking of processes and productivity. This system provides access to accurate data, eliminating guesswork. With EMS implementation, workload distribution becomes more efficient, preventing overwork or downtime.

How to choose an Employee Management System

Choosing which employee management system to create isn't easy. You'll need to assess your current situation to build an employee management system that meets your expectations. We suggest following the checklist below.

Know what you need. Before you dive in, take a moment to think about what your team really needs from the software. Do you want time tracking, payroll, or something else? Knowing this will help guide your search.

Stick to your budget. It's tempting to go for all the bells and whistles, but don't forget your budget. Decide how much you're willing to spend and make sure the software fits within that limit.

Check reviews and ratings. Don't just take the software's word for it - see what others have to say. Reviews and ratings can give you a good idea of what to expect and whether the software is worth your time.

Make sure it can grow with you. You don't stay the same forever, and neither should your software. Make sure it can handle your current needs and any future growth or changes in your business.

Keep it simple. Complicated software can lead to frustration and wasted time. Choose something that's easy for everyone to understand and use, so you can get back to doing what you do best.

Try it first. Before you commit, give the software a try. Most vendors offer free trials or demos, so take advantage of them. That way, you'll know for sure if the software is right for you before you make a commitment.

Are you ready to build a new employee management software?

Managing your employees' attendance, training, and performance isn't just about improving operations – it's about increasing profits too. With streamlined processes and smart employee management software, you'll have full visibility into what your team is doing, even if they're working remotely. Plus, you'll be able to track every detail, big or small.

As remote work becomes more common, investing in employee management software isn't a choice – it's a necessity for future success. Ready to take the leap? Our experts are here to help you get started and ensure your system fits your needs perfectly, keeping your specialists productive and your budget intact. Let's make your business thrive!