Exaserv, Inc.

30000 Mill Creek Avenue, Suite 350 Alpharetta, Georgia 30022

+1 678 808-0400 www.exaserv.com

A Brief on

Self-Service Benefits and Requirements

What Is Self-Service?
Self-service software is a category of software that enables end-users to input, process, submit, and access information in a realtime setting. This process is accomplished in an automated and unassisted manner and serves to speed transaction times, eliminate human error, eliminate costly human assistance, and ensure data accuracy. There are two main types of self-service relevant to Human Resource Management: employee selfservice and manager self-service. Employee self-service (ESS) focuses on processes to be completed by an employee for personal use. Examples include updating personal information (home address, bank account information), viewing pay slips, registering for training courses, and completing performance management self-appraisals. The main benefit of ESS is that information is provided directly from the source (the employee) so the information is quickly gathered and accurate. Manager self-service (MSS) focuses on process to be completed by a manager acting in a supervisory role. Examples include approving time and leave requests, communicating corporate goals to employees, managing project budgets, and assigning compensation to employees.

The Benefits of Self-Service

There are several direct and indirect benefits attributed to self-service. The most apparent of these benefits include: Lower transaction costs eliminating paper-based, HR-processed transactions will help alleviate the time spent on tedious data entry (working hours) as well as the costs associated with paper goods, copies, and postage. 24-hour accessibility via the internet (or intranet) information can be gathered at any time from virtually anywhere. The ability to collect accurate, personal data data errors are almost eliminated when employees have the ability to enter in their own information to the HR system. Strategic alignment of goals employees across the organization are informed about the strategic goals and are able to work towards their completion. Increased manager involvement managers are able to take a hands-on approach to managing various aspects of their employees careers including verifying time, approving training, and assigning compensation amounts. This also relieves some of the burden from HR employees and allows them to focus on other areas rather than data entry and monitoring. Increased productivity employees typically spend less time completing the automated self-service processes than the traditional paper-based forms. Managers have access to real-time data and reports on which to base team decisions. HR employees are also more productive because they spend less time processing forms and doing data entry and can focus on other areas such as analytics, employee development, and workforce strategy.

Improved employee satisfaction employees are able to directly participate in their own career planning, growth, and development by registering for courses, planning career paths, and applying for internal positions.

Self-Service Requirements
There are various requirements for a successful self-service system and many of them differ company to company. There are always a few that hold true for almost all organizations: self-service software such as SAP to meet the needs of the business a needs analysis may need to be conducted to determine company needs; a software analysis should be conducted to ensure that all needs are met. hardware to support the requirements of the software a gap analysis should be performed to determine if additional hardware will be needed; this cost should be included in any return on investment (ROI) calculations. business processes with the potential to be automated spend time with internal HR business owners to determine which processes can be/should be automated (standardized, impact a large employee population, frequently occurring, etc). security profiles and roles to control system access determine user groupings and roles and make special assignments as needed; time should be spent during blueprinting to determine what different users will need access to and what special functions administrators will be performing. training materials and sessions for administrators, HR representatives, managers, and general employees training users on the proper use of the self-service functionality is crucial for its success; determine which mediums an audience will be receptive to and provide training through those channels (instructor-led live training, webinars, recordings, documentation, etc). computers and network access for the end-users ensure that end-users will have access to the systems needed to carry out their job functions. Kiosks may need to be utilized in areas such as factories where employees do not have access to individual computers. Network access may need to be expanded in some areas. ongoing support to keep the system up and running the longevity of a system's usefulness is directly impacted by its ongoing maintenance and updates; put a plan in place to account for staff, processes, update calendars, emergency responses, and other periodic activities.