HR or HRM systems can significantly increase the efficiency of a business, saving countless hours of manual tasks, not to mention paperwork! When HR information systems first were first introduced, there was a general reluctance to shift from a paper-based HR or excel record-keeping model (which up to 80% of businesses in the UAE still use to some degree!) to a cloud-based HR system, as they were seen as too technical, expensive and not user friendly. However, all that has changed!
Modern HR systems can now automate a large majority of HR processes, enabling (1) employees to self manage many of their HR requests, (2) HR managers streamline processes and easily track requests and (3) businesses to have a cost effective, secure, easy to use HR system – and form the back bone of a good HR department. HR systems should be user-friendly, cost-effective and affordable. By automating laborious HR processes, systems are streamlined and can provide up to date, relevant strategic management data at the push of a button. That said, not all HR systems are equal and it’s important to ensure that the HR system that you are considering is providing you with the most value and features that support your workplace.
UAE Specific HR Systems
There are many options available, however not many HR systems are built specifically for the UAE market and our specific HR needs. As a business, employees are sponsored by you and therefore the company is ultimately responsible for employees whilst they reside in the UAE.
With this, comes a unique set of challenges and datasets that an HR department needs to meticulously monitor.
These include items such as:
- Passports & expiry date
- Emirates ID copy & expiry date
- Labour Card copy & expiry date
- UAE residence visas & expiry date
- Visas, passports, and medical insurance copies for dependants, i.e. Children, spouses, maids & nannies
- Medical insurance policies for all employees
In places such as Europe, South Africa, or Australia, HR departments wouldn’t have to deal with things like this on such a large scale across their workforce and therefore a lot of international HR or HRM systems are simply not equipped to deal with such a comprehensive list of data & documents.
The consequences of not effectively managing these processes can be huge, with employees potentially missing out on medical insurance if it expires (which by law Dubai companies have to provide), expired residency visas and associated potential fines, expired passports so employees are unable to travel and so much more.
The Beneple HR system is able to offer all of the above and is free of charge (with options to upgrade to a premium service, and also offers set up assistance too if required).
Features you should look for in an HR system.
Any HR system that you use or are planning to use should have these 7 key features for successful implementation into a business in the UAE.
1. Accessible on the go
By now your HR system should be web or cloud-based and from anywhere – regardless of where you are working around the world – be it a coffee shop, home, train station or on holiday. With the rise in remote working, this is an essential feature of HR systems. HR Systems also need to offer both employee and HR log in and access to enable employees the ability to log holiday requests, sick leave and more.
2. Attendance Management
One of the biggest inefficiencies in business performance is absentee employees. Your system should enable you to easily record, track, calculate, benchmark, and report on sick and holiday leave. and allow HR managers to quickly highlight problem areas and take action. It should also enable both employees and managers to log sick leave as well as holiday requests.
3. Self Service
Your system should provide employees with a secure login to update and maintain their details on the system. Employees should have the ability to submit leave requests directly in the system and automate time-consuming manual processes.
4. User Friendly
To enable employees and a business to get the most out of an HR System, it has to be easy to use – for both employees, HR and management. If your system is not easy to use, you simply won’t get the return on investment.
5. Powerful Reporting
Your system should make life easier, by automating reporting for you . Most systems provide a library of easy to use template-based reports and should also offer custom built reports on key HR metrics such as attendance, leave, performance, staff turnover etc and provide illustrations to graphically represent this.
6. Notifications and Alerts
It can be hard to keep on top of expiring documents for things such as employee passports, Emirates IDs, medical insurance and so much more. Whilst this may be manageable if you have a handful of employees, once those numbers increase it can be extremely hard to stay up to date with these. Given the consequences of forgetting something like renewing a residence visa, it’s essential that your HR system tracks and notifies you automatically of any expiring documents. Beneple’s system has a great function that enables you to track and get notified of all expiring documents for both employees and their dependents.
7. UAE specific
As explained previously, the HR environment in the UAE is very different from places such as Europe therefore it’s essential that your system is able to cater to and support the functions required of a UAE HR department such as calculating gratuity, sudden public holidays, employee sponsorship, residence visas, NOCs and so much more.
Hopefully the above helps you with researching and implementing an HR system for a UAE-based business. If you need any further help or would like to find out more about the Beneple HR system, which is free to use then please get in touch at www.beneple.com/hr/