Is the salary planning process slowing your organization down? Is it time to drop the spreadsheets and switch over to a compensation management program? If you’re finding the time it takes you to complete the calculation of salaries and bonuses is abnormally long, then you may want to look into a compensation management program to help shoulder some of that burden. However, it’s of critical importance that you find the tool that best fits your organization. One of the key things to look out for when selecting a compensation management program is ease of use.
This should go without saying, as you’re ostensibly seeking out a program in order to streamline your workflow. But there are certain things to look for when choosing a compensation management program in order to make sure that it will provide you with the most benefit and the least hassle. The following are some important considerations to keep in mind during your search.
How is the program laid out? Fancy user interfaces can be pleasing to the eye, but can also offer unneeded confusion. A utilitarian layout, with the relevant information clearly marked and easily found, is ideal here. The more it resembles a spreadsheet in its layout, the better that is for you and the other employees in your organization who will be using it.
Which leads me to…
How much training will your employees require in order to learn how to use the software? Ideally you’ll want to find a program that’s straightforward enough so that the amount of necessary training is minimal. This will allow implementation of the software to be as quick and painless as possible. A straightforward UI can help with this also, as it’ll seem familiar to employees used to working with spreadsheets and thus nonthreatening.
How Much Maintenance will the system require? The less you need to worry about maintaining the software, the happier your system administrators will be. For this reason you will want to look into an SaaS program, or one where the onus of maintenance falls on the developers of the program itself. This way, any questions or issues can be directed to those who built the system, eliminating the need for combing the program in order to find the issue.
These are just a few considerations to keep in mind when looking for the right compensation management program for your organization. Remember that the most robust and comprehensive tools will be of little use to you if they just serve to further complicate the salary planning process. While a powerful system is good, simplicity is the key. You don’t want to overwhelm your employees with some new complicated bit of software; rather, you want to empower them by simplifying their workflows.