Executive Summary

With the corporate bonus culture under fire and productivity top of boardroom agendas, effective performance management is once again a business priority across the public and private sector. Yet many organisations measure and manage performance in a piecemeal way, often held back by inadequate infrastructure and the limitations of their performance metrics.

This Briefing Paper assesses the practicalities of effective performance management in HR and payroll, and argues that:

• There’s a gulf between management theory and common practice. In principle, performance management is a top-down discipline where board-level objectives provide the framework for activity across the company. In practice, it’s more often run as a series of discrete, disjointed activities
• Taking a coordinated approach requires a reappraisal of your metrics; a coherent infrastructure to manage individual processes and workflows; and a vision that sees performance management as one component of an overall talent management strategy
• A performance measurement system is only as strong as the metrics that underpin it, and many organisations continue to rely on yardsticks that are inward-looking and narrowly focused. For example:
  • In HR, conventional recruitment metrics focus on factors such as ‘days-to-hire’ – which is important in its own right for trend analysis, but serves only a limited purpose unless it’s supported by metrics such as direct and indirect costs, quality of hires, or first-year retention rates
  • In payroll, cost analysis varies widely, accuracy metrics sometimes fail to assess the cause of errors, and assumptions around metrics such as quality of service can be misleading
• While HR and Payroll functions rely heavily on benchmarks, they should be approached with some caution, taking account of a wide range of contextual factors that can make it hard to compare like with like. In addition, it’s not always worth making the investment to pursue ‘world-class’ benchmarks: in many cases, ‘industry standard’ may be enough
• The IT infrastructure that supports effective performance management needs to scale from individual employee assessment to enterprise-wide planning. Vendors’ capability varies in areas such as the richness of products and services they offer; how easily they can be adapted to meet customers’ specific needs; the ease of integration with other HR software or services; and the extent to which they’ve embraced the software as a service (SaaS) model

Download our free Performance Management Briefing Paper now.

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We’re just about to launch our all new Online Support area, to better support our Clients in using their systems, and we wanted to give you a quick sneak preview of what’ll be included when it launches!

The Online Support Homepage

The new Online Support homepage contains the most recent Training & Support articles that CIP have published, updates on the latest Training & Support news and acts as a hub to access all our “How Can I?” articles, Interactive Training Tutorials, Training Videos, Training Calendar and Report Downloads.

Built into the Online Support site is a helpful footer toolbar that contains links to frequently access pages and tasks:

The toolbar can be minimised/maximised whenever you need it (and it remembers your preference!).

Online Support Articles

Each Online Support article is structured for ease of use, with breadcrumbs so that you know your location within the site, relevant images and diagrams — and automatically generated ‘related articles’.

To ensure our articles are of a high quality, we’ve also added the ability for visitors to rate the articles & comment on them.

Interactive Training Tutorials

In order to provide more advanced support for some of the more complex areas of the systems, we’ve created a series of interactive training tutorials that can be viewed and interacted with online.

Download Free/Paid Reports

Another new feature of the Online Support site will be access to free/paid custom Ciphr reports. These can be quickly and easily imported into your system for immediate use. For our initial launch there will be a set of reports available for download - entirely free. There will also be a selection of paid reports that can be paid for and downloaded immediately via the Online Support site.

View Upcoming Training Dates & Course Outlines

The new Online Support site also has a Training Calendar, displaying upcoming Training Courses — linked through to the relevant Course Outlines.

These are just a few of the features that will be included in the Online Support site at its launch. If you have any questions or ideas for content, please do not hesitate to contact us!

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On this free event for supported Clients, we’ll look at how you can produce valuable management information directly from Ciphr and exploit the full potential of your system.

Following the success of our November 2009 event, Computers In Personnel will be running another free Managers Overview event following a similar theme. The aim of this event is to enable you to view the full extent of the system’s capabilities and understand how the solution can best be exploited, thereby supporting you and your team in a more effective manner. This will enable you to gain the maximum benefit from your solution and add true value to your organisation.

Event Agenda

10.00 am: Open and Introductions – Carina Jordan

10.05 am: Meet the Helpdesk team – Alex Ashley-Roberts

10.20 am: Getting the most out of Ciphr – Rob Oehlers

Covering – Year end, Reporting, Compliance, Business Continuity, Decisions, Notifications

12.30 pm: Lunch and refreshments

1.15 pm: Getting the most out of Ciphr Questions and Answers session – Rob Oehlers

2.15 pm: OrgPlus

2.45 pm: Quiz – Suzanne Munro

Close – Carina Jordan

Register your interest in attending this event by contacting your Account Manager on 01628 814 060 or emailing CM@Ciphr.com.

This event will be hosted at the Intellect Offices in London, please find address details below:

Intellect Offices
Russell Square House
10-12 Russell Square
London
WC1B 5EE
0207 331 2000 (Intellect Office Reception Number)

View this address on a map

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Endemic talent shortages, challenging economic conditions, the rapid growth of web-based recruiting and opportunities in social media are combining to bring about significant change in the way organisations go about recruiting. From adopting techniques used by sales and marketing teams to assessing the business case for investment in web and other technologies, HR managers face a wide range of issues as they look to build an effective talent acquisition strategy.

This Free Briefing Paper assesses the challenges organisations face, arguing that:

• Whether they’re filling new positions to support an expansion drive or plugging vacancies in their existing workforce, most organisations will find themselves competing to acquire high-performers in 2010. Success will depend on a combination of HR philosophy, how effectively they embrace the web, and how far they can drive through operational efficiencies, particularly in cutting costs and streamlining internal recruitment processes
• While the balance of power may shift towards recruiters in times of high unemployment, talented individuals typically still have a choice of employer, and the onus falls on HR to promote its value proposition to candidates as much as on candidates selling their skills and experience. HR managers are encouraged to seek advice from their colleagues in sales and marketing about techniques they can use to extend their reach, promote their brand and proposition, and close deals
• The shift to web-based recruitment – classified by Webster Buchanan as either informational or transactional - is irreversible, and organisations will fall behind in the race for talent if they fail to embrace it both for marketing purposes and to improve efficiencies (for example, by eliminating paper job applications)
• The ability to beat competitors to hire high-performing candidates will depend in part on internal efficiencies. As restrictions on IT spend are tentatively eased, organisations should weigh up the business case for automating their internal recruitment processes, either by extending their existing HR management system, using third party software, or outsourcing. Software as a Service, an IT outsourcing model, is particularly suitable for standalone business processes such as recruitment
• Even if talent acquisition is automated as a single HR discipline, the
  greatest benefits come when it’s addressed in the context of a broader
  human capital strategy, particularly in relation to performance
  management, employee development, succession planning and contractor management.

Download The Changing Dynamics of Talent Acquisition Paper.

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Online Demonstrations

The Ciphr family of HR, absence and recruitment solutions are a popular choice amongst leading UK museums and galleries.

Join us for an online demonstration of our solutions designed to meet your specific needs. Our online demonstrations take just 30-45 minutes, and include the opportunity to ask any questions you might have.

Nov 25th @11am - Click here to join us on this session!

Product Information PDF’s

Core HR - View Solution PDF

Absence Management - View Solution PDF | Download Our Absence Cost Calculator

Recruitment - View Web Based e-Recruitment PDF | View Applicant Tracking Management PDF

Employee Self-Service - View Solution PDF

Contact Us for Further Information

If you have any questions at all, or would like to speak with a member of our team, please call 0870 366 2300 or email info@ciphr.com.

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If you’d like to discuss the integration of HR systems, or any of the article information below, please call 0870 366 2300 or email info@ciphr.com

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UK organisation’s are currently operating on minimal staffing levels, but the need for compliance and efficiency will still be as critical as ever. However, most will admit that they persevere with systems that have been inherited or changed over the years, resulting in a poor level of integration between critical business applications.

Often, each solution will operate entirely standalone, with no simple means of exchanging important information with other systems. This naturally increases the workload on departments such as HR and Payroll, who must duplicate data entry - leading to great losses in both time and effort.

An organisation’s core HR system is usually their primary source of people-related data; as such, it is essential that it has the in-built ability to communicate that data with other applications that require employee information, such as employee self-service, recruitment, training, payroll and active directory systems.

In addition to maintaining that key employee data, it must be simple for relevant individuals within the organisation to effectively maintain its integrity. The ability for employees, line managers and HR to update certain aspects of employee information (based upon their specific privileges) online is the most effective method of outsourcing the validation of data.

The information below briefly outlines the type of systems that can be adopted in order to tackle the issues highlighted above, together providing fully integrated HR systems.

Employee Self-Service

A web-based solution that allows employees, line management and HR to update information relating to the organisation’s employees, such as personal details, qualifications, training and development, annual leave, absence, performance reviews, etc.

Once data has been entered into the employee self-service application, the core HR system is immediately updated.

Recruitment

A web-based e-recruitment solution will allow an organisation to publish its vacancies, capture applicants, track their progress, communicate with all parties during the hiring process and, eventually, transfer the successful candidate’s information into the HR system automatically - confirming their status as an employee.

The integration with an organisation’s core HR system allows them to retain information on all successful/unsuccessful applicants; their CV’s, documentation, applications, etc. whilst the e-recruitment solution builds up a talent pool of potential employees for future use.

Training

A system for recording data on training requirements, courses, learning and development needs, qualifications and competencies, based on an individual or company basis. The core HR system data can allow the organisation to tie any training information to an employee’s record.

Also, records are kept of essential training requirements, e.g. first aid courses with their expiry dates - an essential solution handling health and safety requirements with full tracking and compliance.

Absence Management

Full absence capture, notification, triggers and reporting can also be achieved and linked to a core HR solution.

Most HR solutions and self service offer the means to record any absences notified, but require manual data entry. It is possible to implement an absence solution which will start with the absence call from the employee.

This type of system will offer an organisation full absence reporting facilities and full compliance. The legal impact in the case of a disciplinary or grievance dispute to an organisation is negated due to the consistent and auditable processes within the system.

Payroll

Critical to efficiency, the integration of employee-related data between HR and Payroll can remove duplicate data entry, while maintain data integrity. In addition, a fully managed service can also deliver employee pay slips and payroll forms via a secure website. The cost saved against producing and distributing pay slips is typically considerable.

Active Directory

Active Directory is an IT application that manages employee network access, etc. and thus it is essential that the employee data contained within it is up to date and relevant. Failure to keep active directory up to date can result in issues such as unauthorised network access and inaccurate data across multiple IT systems.

Summary

Strategic HR system integration avoids disconnected Human Resources applications, saving time, effort and cost. Integration encourages organisational interaction between different departments, with employees and line management taking more responsibility for their data. Reporting across the business rapidly improves, aiding compliance and efficiency, and naturally leading to cost-savings and organisational growth.

For further information on the integration of HR systems, please see our website: http://www.computersinpersonnelhr.com or call us on 0870 366 2300.

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Download Employee Self-Service Papers

“The Business Case for Implementing Employee Self-Service” PDF

This Briefing Paper explores the business case for investing in employee and manager self-service, from the widely-anticipated efficiency gains for HR functions, line managers and individual employees to the broader business benefits that come from better access to information. It also addresses the challenges organisations face as they attempt to roll out self-service.

Download Employee Self-Service Paper Now

“Ciphr Net Employee Self-Service Solution” PDF

The role of HR is changing and diversifying on an almost daily basis. The only way you can hope to keep up with growing demands on HR time is to pass on some of the work that can effectively be done in other, more time-efficient, ways.

Ciphr Net helps to ease some of the administrative burden in HR by enabling employees to perform some update functions for themselves. This includes amending all kinds of non-sensitive personal details, such as notifying change of address or emergency contact, adding qualifications or requesting leave of absence.

Read about Ciphr Net now

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View an Employee Self-Service Demo

Join one of our free online demo sessions to view our Employee Self-Service solution - register below to attend:

• September 16th - 11am: Click here to enrol
• September 16th - 3pm: Click here to enrol

The demos will be kept brief - and there will be an opportunity to ask questions on the area of Employee Self-Service.

Alternatively, if you would prefer a personal demo, online or at your own offices, contact us on 0870 366 2345 or email info@ciphr.com.

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Product Screenshots

Click image to enlarge

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Contact Us

If you have any questions at all, or require further information, please don’t hestitate to contact us on 0870 366 2345 or email info@ciphr.com.

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Download Absence Management Information:

CIPD Absence Survey: This absence survey, published annually by the CIPD, highlights in detail the most common and problematic sources of sickness absence recorded throughout the UK - and includes information on the best means to tackle these.

Ciphr Absence Manager PDF: This brochure details the functionality provided by Ciphr Absence Manager, and how it can reduce, track and monitor your absence levels and costs.

Free White Paper: 4 Step Guide to Managing Absence:

Download our free white paper on “The Truth About Managing Absence“, including a 4-step guide to tackling your absence issues!

Absence Cost Calculator:

Use our absence calculator to determine the cost of absence to your own organisation, and the potential savings that could be achieved using Ciphr Absence Manager. 

Online Ciphr Absence Manager Demonstrations:

Simply click on the links below to enrol - it only takes 30 secs to sign up!

September 16th - 1pm: Click here to register for online demonstration

See Ciphr Absence Manager & Address Your Absence Challenges Onsite!

Email info@ciphr.com with your name, organisation and contact details - and we’ll be in touch to arrange a personal demonstration at your offices, including guidance on reducing the absence cost at your organisation.

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These instructions are only suitable for use by System Administrator users of Ciphr, with extensive knowledge of setting up security/user roles.

For the purpose of this example, we will look at a Ciphr People system to which three Further Information fields have already been added for storing Keycard information, in the Personal Details screen:

In this example, we will demonstrate how to restrict access to the two fields, ‘Keycard Category’ and ‘Keycard Number’ to only certain users.

In order to achieve this, we will firstly place these two fields into a Field Group to which not all users will have access.

To the right is a list of the available Field Groups (Field Groups icon within the Security menu):

In this demonstration system, the ‘Secure Personal’ field group has been set up to store fields relating to an individual which hold more sensitive data, so whereas fields like Name and Job Title are allocated to the ‘Personal’ field group, fields like Bank Account Number, Sort Code etc have been allocated to the ‘Secure Personal’ field group. This has been done in order that users can see certain Personal Details related information without necessarily having access to all the fields in this area of the system.

In order to place our Further Information fields into the ‘Secure Personal’ field group, we will need to access the ‘Table and Field Admin’ menu item within the Security Menu. Selecting ‘PERSREC’ in the list of tables then selecting the ‘Fields’ tab will display a list of all the Personal Details fields in Ciphr.

The two Further Information fields ‘Keycard Category’ and ‘Keycard Number’ are listed as ‘PersrecClientFieldText1′ and ‘PersrecClientFieldNumber1′ respectively. Clicking on one of the fields in the list displays its properties in the lower part of the screen. The ‘Group’ field shows the field group to which this field is attached, so we will change this to ‘Secure Personal’ and save the change:

Then make the same change to the second field as required.

The below image shows how the Personal Details fields will then appear to a user who has access to all field groups with the exception of ‘Secure Personal’:

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