How an HR App Improves the Employee Lifecycle

Mobile apps have become useful for brands to keep in touch with internal and external stakeholders. They can be used to great effect to achieve strategic effect, including revenue growth, brand strengthening, as well as data gathering. In the case of employee apps, also referred to as HR Apps, they can fulfill multiple purposes at the same time. However, it requires great intent, consistency, and precision in execution. For instance, an app meant to shape organizational culture through curated articles should have new pieces released regularly over an extended period.

Apps can be used to influence and improve every stage of the employee lifecycle at an organization. Here are 10 ways to leverage a HR app to improve the employee lifecycle.

1. Attracting New Talent to the Organization

Your employee app can act as a tool to help you attract the best talent out there. The app should be available on public app stores and if it is, it is likely that people who want to work at your company in the future will download it. You can use the app as a way to communicate what it looks like working at the company. What do current employees say? What are the benefits? By answering questions that potential recruits are likely to have, you increase the chances that the best talent will want to come and work there.

2. Onboarding through the HR app

A HR app can be a great tool to standardize, quicken, and ease the onboarding process. It often involves a lot of paperwork, but an app can help break down the process into chronological steps. New recruits can go through the process at their own pace and a portal can serve as a repository for all the documents.

The onboarding portal can serve a way to teach new recruits a bit on the company history. They also get to understand the company structure in terms of departments and reporting hierarchy. The onboarding process can also be set up such that team members get to send a welcome message to new employees via the portal.

3. Sharing Important News

Your HR is a powerful tool for sharing news simultaneously to all your employees. In fact, it’s better way compared to emails that may never be opened. The senior management can write blog-style articles to communicate new projects the company is undertaking and new targets they are setting. They can also share thoughts on developments in the sector that will affect the company’s future.

These articles are a great way to help employees think about their own future relative to that of the company. When the management takes such an approach to transparency on future outlooks, they are likely to win the employees’ support.

An open communication culture is essential in times of crisis too. If the company’s future is bleak, the senior leadership can communicate to employees the steps they intend to take to navigate the situation. This helps employees in personal planning too should they be laid off or have certain benefits taken away.

4. Training through Content on the HR app

Not all training needs to happen away from the company or through onsite day-long seminars. Micro-content is quickly becoming a popular way to deliver training to employees. The content can be shared through the app, whereby employees can consume it at their own pace and as many times as they wish.

Training through such content makes better financial sense for the company. More resources can go into producing high content that remains useful for a few years. Training on such things as emerging regulatory issues reduces the risk of company employees contravening new laws.

5. Proper Documentation

As indicated, during onboarding, a HR app can act as a portal to upload important documents about the employee. Throughout their time at the company, the portal can serve as a place to quickly update personal information as it changes. Instead of every employee going physically to the HR department to update personal details. Such details include their next of kin, emergency, and insurance beneficiaries, such things can be done through the app.

Employees should also be able to request and download their payslips and other financial statements regarding their time at the company.

6. Rewards Management

Recognition of effort is a big part of HR management in the world today. The younger generation today, values appreciation for their efforts in driving company growth.  The lack of recognition is a great cause of attrition in companies. The HR app can be used to stem this.

A company can introduce such things as badges on the app to make employees feel recognized for their efforts. In situations where employees are working towards quantitative goals, a progress bar can help to fuel motivation to meet targets more quickly.

At a team level, senior management can send open letters through the app often to celebrate notable achievements.

7. Safety Communications

HR apps came in handy at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing companies to disseminate information to their employees. Company leaders were able to share verified information from the government concerning lockdowns and curfews.  Later, companies were able to instruct employees on the measures they had undertaken to ensure safety for everyone as people came back to work.

The app can serve as an avenue to disseminate other information such as the company’s stance on social issues. For instance, at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, several companies in the world shared their support and position on the discourse. The HR app can serve as an avenue to give direction on whether employees may express themselves on behalf of the company on that matter.

8. Sharing Opportunities

One way to increase your employees’ engagement level with the company app is to use it to share growth opportunities. When vacancies are about to arise, your company ought to share such the recruiting information internally. Internal recruiting sends positive to your employees and is a great factor in talent retention.

Besides vacancies, the company should also share upskilling opportunities as they arise.

8. Investing in a HR App

If your company wants to build a HR app, you must set clear objectives. That is much more important than the UI of the app. There must be enough utility in order for it to gain affinity among your employees.

NS804 is a leading mobile app development company helping businesses build applications to improve internal workflow. Reach out to us for consultation on your HR and business app needs. We will take you throughout the journey from making the case for the app to building and launching it in a real-work environment.