As your company grows, whether in complexity or number of employees, things can start to get complicated. This is especially true when it comes to compensation. Investing in a compensation software solution may be just what your organization needs to tackle this hurdle. The important question, though, is whether or not such a solution is right for your company.
Generally speaking, companies with a small numbers of employees can get by with spreadsheet programs. Once you start approaching 1,000 employees or more, things can get overwhelming for your HR or Comp department. Dealing with such a large number of people, especially if you add things like performance ratings into the mix, can be a nightmare to amass and organize into a single document.
Not to mention the fact that you need to wait for managers to send over the necessary information about their direct hires. Contacting and waiting can take a lot of time, and can potentially expose vulnerable data if sent unencrypted over email. And then once all of the relevant information has been collected, it has to be added to the rest of the necessary data collected from other managers and departments and then wrangled into something that makes some kind of sense.
Then, of course, there’s the potential for errors. As humans, mistakes are inevitable. And when dealing with a wall of information in a spreadsheet being complied by hand, they’re even more so. The more data that needs to be entered and calculated, the more variables you work with, the higher the chance that something along the way is going to go wrong. And when that happens, it means having to pick through all of that data to find whichever small mistake set everything off kilter. This is a very tedious task and, needless to say, can cause a lot unnecessary stress and wasted time.
What it all basically boils down to is this: how do you view the compensation planning season? Does the mere thought of it fill you with dread? Does thinking about it cause you anxiety or stress? And how much time does the process take? Weeks? Months, even? If any of these scenarios sound familiar, it might be in your best interest to invest in a compensation software solution. Something that can expedite the process, automating communications and the approval chain and minimizing errors. What that means is less time wasted fussing over minute details and more time focusing on making your business as successful as it can be.