Like all departments, human resource professionals are under the gun to administer their processes with greater speed, scope and depth than ever before. HR managers need to run a tight ship — from streamlined human capital management to a comprehensive payroll system and benefits administration.

A sluggish economic climate has pushed organizations away from on-premises software that is expensive and time-consuming to implement and upgrade. The replacement is in the Cloud: Solutions delivered by a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business model are becoming a strategic asset within the HR industry. With new levels of security, hosting a wealth of information centrally has become a reality, and HR can finally take advantage of the Cloud’s flexibility, scalability and ease-of-use.

An Economical Model

Top of mind for HR professionals is cost management. An on-premises solution requires that organizations purchase and install copies of the application on each desktop. Annual maintenance fees can be up to 20 percent of the original license fee, in addition to costs for testing software upgrades with new features. The additional costs of maintaining multiple versions of software and per-seat licensing fees drive the total cost of ownership up. Because of high TCO, many departments are held back by costly legacy management systems that do not meet their needs.

On the other hand, SaaS is delivered to organizations via a subscription model, usually billed on a per-user per-month basis. Organizations do not face large upfront payments or annual license fees. They do not have to purchase new hardware or maintain and upgrade current hardware. The result of all this translates to lower capital and operating expenses. Additionally, since SaaS applications are hosted centrally, they can be updated more frequently than traditional software. These updates, including any related to new regulation or compliance concerns, are pushed directly to the user without delay and improve overall efficiency.

SaaS solutions also go one step further by offering additional operational cost savings on a daily basis. For example, Unicorn HRO, a solutions provider that specializes in fully integrated benefits, payroll and human resources solutions, eliminates the costs associated with printing payroll information, as well as HR support costs, because the system allows employees to access their personal information electronically.

A Central Data Source

Sharing general information on benefits and enrollment programs, holidays and job postings, and more via corporate intranet sites continues to grow. Even sensitive data like payroll data, retirement account information and employee records need to be shared, but in a responsible manner to ensure compliance with HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), and other government and industry regulations. With the right security, web-based apps allow HR to place relevant information securely in the Cloud, making the information easily accessible to all employees, regardless of their location. It also makes it easier to update on a regular basis.

The sheer power of SaaS allows vendors like Unicorn HRO to update their HR payroll application frequently throughout the year. In fact, Unicorn HRO once upgraded 42 clients in a mere 48 hours over one weekend. This speed and flexibility is particularly important when it comes to updating HR systems with new government tax forms and other regulatory and legal policies that typically change on a regular basis.

Additionally, real-time access to information that is kept up-to-date allows organizations to increase productivity within their IT departments, because IT staff no longer needs to post information updates or backup the data each night. Automatic backups and updates allow HR managers to focus on what really matters – their employees.

Stronger, Meaner, Leaner

Human resource management is largely focused on the productivity of employees. In the same vein, HR managers need to be productive themselves. Gone are the days in which HR staff spends time stuffing payroll envelopes and running reports for employees. With the SaaS solution, organizations are more efficient and can concentrate their efforts on more business critical operations.

SaaS solutions help organizations streamline payroll process so that daily tasks can be managed more efficiently without relying on an IT department to support the application. A user-friendly interface welcomes and empowers individuals within an organization who work outside of the HR department but need to contribute and interact with the system. Employees can leverage a self-service approach to accessing payroll information online, allowing a company’s operational departments to focus on other relevant activities, such as hiring, employee development and employee satisfaction.

Responsible for maintaining an efficient workforce, the concept of productivity should not be lost on the HR department itself. Simply put, SaaS-based technologies are a driving force behind improved efficiency, performance and profitability of the most competitive HR departments.