What to consider when buying an HR software in Egypt

Before choosing an HR software in Egypt, let's understand why your organisation needs one.

The easiest thing for business owners to do during the current financial crisis is to lay off employees. HR professionals made a concerted effort to avoid this conclusion: Saving money equals laying off people or that cutting costs means firing people. Some of them succeeded in confronting the decision-makers that such a move will not save profits. Some agreed to the decision-makers that the greatest moment to carry out lay offs is during a crisis.

Some HR professionals were rather successful in persuading the employees: "Every setback pave the way for a return." The others persuaded decision-makers to invest internally in preparation for the organisational growth and comeback.

The first challenge that surfaced for HR software in Egypt was, of course, decision makers' aversion to the realisation: HR is greatly aligned with the future of work. One finds resistance to adhere to hiring qualified candidates, effective performance management, setting objectives, and proper HR techniques — which took some of them out of their comfort zones, further empowering the organisation.

Thus, we're not going to talk about transitioning HR from operational to strategic, or HR as a business partner, because such subjects have already been covered by plethora of blogs and articles. I'll try to concentrate on the challenges that an HR software can solve rather than the HR software itself.

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Some common HR Challenges in Egypt

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#1. Employee appreciation: Do wages really matter over recognition?

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“Are salaries the only retention factor?” points out Jamal Suboh, the regional manager of Bayat, Egypt. He further defends that even though a huge salary is the first employee motivation factor, it has little effect on long-term job satisfaction.

Suboh explained that employees should be compensated fairly at market standards to perform at their best, and recognition is the second method of increasing the employees’ sense of belonging in the workplace. “It (recognition) is something small, but has a huge effect on employees’ psychology," Suboh said. “Unfortunately, a lot of managers take recognition for granted, showing no appreciation or encouragement.”

“The right formula for motivating employees is comprised of four factors: compensation, recognition, development and environment."

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#2. Leadership complexities: Being accountable rather than uncertain

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Javier Bajer, founding CEO of the Talent Foundation, throws light upon the fresh approaches being the “key enablers for promoting leadership skills and re-engaging the workforce.”

“There is a dire need to develop the skills of managers to listen and understand the mentality of the young generation, and to go from instruction to coaching and advising as well.”

Bassem al-Attar, a training and development consultant, believes that upgrading leadership skills is essential for the crucial phase Egypt is going through now.

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#3. Talent skill-gap: Is there a mismatch between recruitment and retention?

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A well-drafted report titled “The Impact of Globalition on HRM Policies and Practises in Egypt” found out that seven out of ten orgs said finding, recruiting or retaining skilled workers topped the lists of personnel problems. After skill levels, high turnover was selected as the next most serious personnel problem (by 14 per cent of orgs).

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A new ray of hope for skill shortage, recruitment and retention: An automated recruitment management system

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Firms after choosing an HR software in Egypt did not have an above-average tendency to select skilled labour shortages as their main business problem. Over half of the respondents in the study considered these two factors most important: 59% hiring qualified talent and 53% for training employees.

This points us towards the next, equally important challenge.

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#4. Training employees: Learning and development (L&D)

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The fact that hiring qualified employees was considered a more important factor than training employees indicate: Managers preferred to compete in the job market, for employees with desired skills rather than train current employees or newly hired ones.

Learn more about a learning and management system (L&D) and how it can cut down your recruitment costs and expenses to hire new employees.

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#5. The challenge of employment: Performance and talent management

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Having a hierarchy-based, biased appraisal structure and non-performance-based incentives leads to low employee self-esteem and job satisfaction. This gives rise to negative attitudes about participation in your day-to-day decision-making.

Engy Abdel Gawad, general manager of IMI, said Takkale’s session reflects the current stance of Egyptians, who need a change in performance management policies.

“Employees want to feel they have a choice in their future and participate in decision-making process."

What can be done: Existing HCM procedures must be restructured to focus mostly on performance appraisals based on real-time evaluation. Introducing incentive-based pay systems was considered important to improving business performance by about one-third of the respondents in the survey.

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The bottom line: Why an HR software is ideal to overcome the challenges?

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Any organization's performance and growth is determined by how well its employees are handled and treated. And so, a number of companies are experimenting with new ways to improve their employee management and experience. This is where an HR software in Egypt, as any other country, lights up the setting.

Employee management becomes less about mundane procedures that can be automated when HR software is used, and more about providing an outstanding experience that keeps employees engaged and satisfied. HR software allows you to manage all aspects of your HR operations, from onboarding to offboarding, from a one spot. It handles all of the administrative tasks so you can focus on your staff.

HR software is one of the most essential investments you can make in your business, and it is a necessary for any organisation looking to take the next step forward.

There's a reason that most firms now integrate HR software in their workplace because of its combination of efficieCncy and efficacy. Payroll, benefits, attendance data, performance data, internal business communication and a variety of other activities can all be handled with HR software.

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6 things to consider before choosing an HR software in Egypt

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1. Suitable HR modules and features
2. Mobile functionality
3. User experience (UX)
4. Customer support: Training and onboarding
5. HR data and analytics
6. Employee Self-Service (ESS)

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1. Suitable HR modules and features

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Before choosing an HR software in Egypt, make a list of what are the crucial modules to the company. Criteria should address both technological and non-technical aspects, such as the ability to meet globalised workforce requirements.

Outline a plan for evaluating HR tools. Define the organization's most pressing challenges and requirements in terms of HR tools. Recognize the company's requirements and objectives for acquiring new technology.

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2. Mobile functionality

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HR software in general gives your employees the ability to track and manage their duties with self-service capabilities. Employees can mark their attendance, track the time they spend on various jobs, apply for time off, submit enquiries and requests, and see their attendance records, among other things. All of these activities can be done in a fleek using the HR system's mobile app. This allows your staff more liberty while also reducing their reliance on HR. The extra benefit is that this open approach demonstrates your company's faith in its employees.

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3. User experience (UX)

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A streamlined UI - What you need to consider is an intuitive platform that is simple to grasp and uncluttered, with only the information that an employee requires. Many HRMS solutions, in their pursuit of data openness, overwhelm individuals with an abundance of data, which is ultimately counter-productive.

Consistent user interface through devices:  Look for an HR platform that gives you the same experience whether you're on the web or on your phone.

Unified View– The best SaaS HR software in Egypt will provide you with a single window of data that you can access without having to log into several systems.

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4. Customer support: Training & Onboarding

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This is the best feature that HRMS in Egypt should have in order to manage attendance & leave, and basically all of the employees' activities are tracked through it. It is the most significant issue once the purchase is made and the implementation is completed, because appropriate customer support is required to ensure that the work is not harmed and completed on time.

We know that our clients are the most important to us, so the peopleHum holds pride in the best customer success team. Global organizations have recognised our support executives on several occasions for software recommendations. We make every effort to respond to the client's general and technical questions as quickly as possible.

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5. HR data and analytics

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HR data is becoming increasingly important, and reporting solutions are in high demand. HR professionals are frequently bewildered by big data in this age of data revolution. HR software with comprehensive reporting and analytics tools can assist professionals in finally eliminating administrative responsibilities, allowing them to focus on strategic leadership and decision-making.

HR professionals' benefit from a good HCM with advanced reporting capabilities since they can manage employee data more efficiently and have a better understanding of their work profile.

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6. Employee Self-Service (ESS)

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HR executives can save time and money by allowing employees to alter their personal information and beneficiaries. Vendors have worked hard to get these ESS features onto employees' personal devices, but there are still limitations. Look for the support for other devices, like smartphones or home computers with the same user experience as your workplace device.

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Looking forward with peopleHum

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As an end-to-end HCM solution, PeopleHum, the winner of San Francisco Codie Awards 2019, offers a one-view integration with its Al-driven tools like employee engagement, recruitment, performance management, HR analytics, learning and development (L&D), core HR, among the others. It is a unified HR software solution that takes care of your workplace processes from Hire to Retire.

Keeping change management in mind, peopleHum benefits its users by offering ease of use, multi-device support, tools to motivate and engage employees on regular basis, while also creating a learning culture with clear metrics for individual and team progress.

Get in touch with us to know more. We would love to hear your organisational needs, and concerns about choosing an HR software in Egypt.