Understanding HR Software in Healthcare
What is HR Software?
Human resources (HR) software is designed to help streamline processes and improve employee management by centralizing all HR tools in a single solution. Many companies end up managing their HR through multiple software solutions and Excel files in tandem, which can lead to confusion and data inaccuracies, especially when multiple HR professionals are working on the same tasks from different solutions.
With HR software platforms, companies can complete HR tasks from a single solution, streamlining workflows and improving data accuracy.
Why is it Essential in Healthcare?
Human resources hold an essential role in any company, but there are certainly higher stakes in the healthcare industry. When managing HR for a healthcare organization, managers have to ensure they are hiring qualified healthcare staff, processing payroll for a large number of employees, and ensuring all required certifications are up-to-date. If any of these processes fail, then the healthcare practice is at risk for potential staffing shortages or compliance issues with state and federal laws.
The right HR software solution can support HR professionals in managing these tasks, automating certain processes, and keeping important information in a centralized location. Multiple users can access the same information from this solution, keeping everyone on the same page and reducing the risk of human error.
Key Features and Benefits of HR Software in Healthcare
With a custom HR and payroll software solution, healthcare organizations can decide what features and workflows are included. Let’s review some of the key features that are included in most HR software solutions in the healthcare industry.
Recruitment and Onboarding
Due to staff shortages and employee turnover in the healthcare industry, recruitment and onboarding are a constant process at most healthcare facilities. With an HR software solution, managers can easily track applicants throughout the interview process, logging resumes, qualifications, interview notes, and background checks.
Companies can improve their talent acquisition process with healthcare HR software with streamlined workflows and applicant management. With reporting tools, users can also identify trends in previous applicants, providing valuable insights to improve recruiting efforts.
This can also spill over into talent management and the onboarding process, allowing managers to track where healthcare employees are in the onboarding process. This allows managers to easily identify what training is still required to determine an accurate timeline until the employee is fully onboarded.
Payroll Management
Payroll management is an essential process for all HR departments. HR solutions can simplify and automate payroll processes, reducing the workload for HR professionals.
In a healthcare organization, payroll will be processed for employees with multiple pay rates, overtime shifts, varied contract lengths, and different deductions based on benefits. This can all be easily managed in a single software solution that allows users to make changes as needed.
Learning and Development Tools
In the healthcare industry, continuous education and professional development are essential to keep up with the constantly changing field. If a healthcare organization has common certifications that are provided for its employees, that information can be easily stored in an HR software solution.
This will help healthcare staff receive professional development from a verified source that is approved by their employer and identify the different paths they can take. HR systems can also track various certifications and professional development efforts, building out notifications when required certifications are expiring. By proactively monitoring these certifications, employers can ensure all employees are in compliance with state and federal regulations.
Benefits Administration
With a large workforce of healthcare professionals with different contracts and benefits available to them, having a portal for an HR manager to manage benefits will help streamline workflows.
By managing employee benefits with an HR solution, users can easily view and manage which benefits an employee is eligible for and which they are enrolled in. If an employee needs to change their retirement plan contribution or add dependents to their health insurance plan, an HR manager can quickly find the relevant information and make the necessary changes.
Employee Self-Service Tools
Building employee self-service tools will help reduce the number of questions and requests directed to the HR team. By giving employees access to their own HR information, they can manage PTO requests, view upcoming schedules, and view information regarding their current benefits.
Through user access roles, an HR solution can create a PTO request workflow. When an employee submits a PTO request, it can go through their supervisor or manager to be approved. This creates a streamlined process that reduces errors and confusion.
Regulatory Compliance
In the healthcare industry, all employees and organizations must comply with federal privacy regulations, such as HIPAA or GDPR. Medical organizations manage sensitive information daily, and they must have security measures in place to protect patient and organization data.
Employees will also be required to go through regular training to be in compliance with HIPAA regulations. By providing healthcare employees with free HIPAA training, healthcare companies can ensure employees have all the necessary resources available to them.
Workforce Management
By having a centralized location to store and manage employee data, HR teams can easily access and update employee information, knowing it’s the most up-to-date and accurate data. This data can include education, certifications, licensure, and general demographic information.
HR management software can also be built to include audit logs, keeping track of who made changes in the system and when. When managing important employee data, being able to audit all changes is essential.
HR Software In Healthcare
With the complexities of being HR experts in the healthcare industry, having an HR system to manage all of the daily HR processes will streamline workflows and lead to quick turnarounds on requests.
If you’re ready to elevate your HR department with a custom software solution, contact Geneca today! We have a team of software development experts with experience in the healthcare industry who are ready to build your organization’s HR management system.