Many businesses have now realised that antiquated paper-based HR administration tasks are costing them time and money. That realisation is generally the trigger for them to start to look at the market for HR software. HR software has evolved over time to offer comprehensive solutions for everything from recruitment and onboarding to performance management and employee engagement.
The marketplace is crowded with a whole host of solutions available so businesses must make the right decision in choosing the HR software which is most suitable and affordable for them and the needs of their company. In order to facilitate the decision-making process lots of HR software providers offer free trials. These free trials allow companies to test the system features and functionality of prospective solutions before making a final commitment.
So if you’re thinking about implementing HR software into your business, keep reading as we share four tips to maximise the benefits of your free trial. Let’s dive right in.
1. Establish clear objectives
Before getting started with the free trial, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of what you actually want to achieve. Ask yourself; what features and functionality are essential and what are nice to have? What processes am I looking to streamline by implementing the software? Defining your objectives will help you focus on the features that matter most to your organisation. Some tips to help you establish your objectives:
- List the specific problems you have in your HR administration and which you are trying to solve with the software.
- Detail how you are going to evaluate the software’s effectiveness.
- Involve key stakeholders so that everyone has a voice and everyone’s needs and wishes are met.
2. Test core features
HR software can be packed with features. Sometimes you’ll need these features, and sometimes, depending on what you want you might find, that some features are superfluous. During your free trial, it’s critical to focus on the core functionalities that will be most beneficial to your team and your business. That might be recruitment, onboarding, sickness absence management, holiday bookings, payroll, compliance, performance management, employee engagement or HR data reporting. Some tips for getting the most out of testing core features:
- Create a checklist of essential features and test each one thoroughly.
- Simulate real-life HR processes to see how the software handles them. Do what you can to break the system.
- Involve your HR team and line managers in testing to get different perspectives on usability and functionality.
- Compare how long the process currently takes against how long it takes when using the HR software. Does the software save time and effort?
3. Evaluate User Experience
The best HR software should be intuitive and user-friendly. During your free trial pay close attention to the user experience. Software that is overly complicated or clunky will be a pretty quick turn-off for your employees and if they don’t enjoy using the system or they find it to be too complex, then engagement will be low and it won’t solve the problems you want it to. It might even end up creating new ones. Some tips for evaluating user experience:
- Assess how easy it is to navigate around the system. Does it work logically? Do you have to click through multiple screens to get to where you want to go?
- Review any user instructions, guides or other learning resources. Do they make sense and are they easy to follow to help users if they get stuck?
- Check the availability and quality of customer support. Is there a telephone helpline or chatbot?
- If you want to integrate the HR software with any other systems, you need to make sure that those systems will all interface with each other smoothly as well.
4. Get Feedback
Your HR team isn’t the only staff group that will be using the software. Employees and managers across your organisation will also use it for things like reporting, checking information and self-service functions such as booking annual leave. Gather feedback from these stakeholders to ensure the software meets their needs and expectations. Some tips for gathering feedback:
- Encourage employees and managers to explore the software and provide feedback.
- Use surveys, focus groups or informal meetings to collect and analyse their experiences. Look at what works well, what could be better, and what, if anything, they expected the software to do that it doesn’t.
- Address any concerns or suggestions they might have regarding the software’s usability and features. If necessary, involve the software provider in meeting staff and providing expert input.
Sign up for your 30-day free trial with HRX today
A free trial is a golden opportunity to test HR software without the financial risk. By following our 4 step approach, your business will ensure that you get the most out of your free trial and choose a solution that enhances your HR processes and supports your overall business goals.
Why not sign up for your FREE 30-day trial with HRX today? Test our HR system to your heart’s content and if you have any questions about our software, or you’d like to book a demo instead, don’t hesitate to contact our friendly team today.
