As a small business owner, managing HR-related tasks can be a daunting and time-consuming process. That’s where Zoho People comes in. This cloud-based HR software offers a comprehensive solution to help businesses streamline their HR processes, improve employee engagement and ultimately boost productivity.
To assist small business owners with selecting the best software to improve their HR operations, we spoke with the Zoho People Product Head, Raja Ramasamy, to get the full scoop on using Zoho People to solve common HR-related challenges.
What is Zoho People?
Zoho People is a cloud-based HR software designed to help small businesses manage their HR-related tasks more efficiently. It offers a range of features, including employee onboarding, time and attendance tracking, leave management, performance appraisal, and more. With Zoho People, small businesses can streamline their HR processes, improve employee engagement, and make data-driven decisions.
Launched in 2008, Zoho People has been in the industry for 15 years. The software originally served as an HR information system, which performed functions like tracking employee data and managing time off. As the market evolved over the years and industry trends changed, Zoho adapted the software to meet new demands, adding many additional features and functions.
What does Zoho People do?
Whether a company has five employees or 100, HR is a critical function of any business. They must track a variety of employee data points, while also engaging employees and motivating them to deliver superior results.
Small businesses, however, don’t have a lot of resources to dedicate to HR operations. Often, their entire HR team consists of just one or two people – or the small business owner themself!
Zoho People can be a game changer for small businesses with limited resources. It simplifies HR processes and frees up time for entrepreneurs to focus on growth. Zoho People helps with all sorts of HR operations, including:
- Onboarding – Zoho People’s onboarding module ensures a smooth and hassle-free transition for new hires. It enables businesses to automate paperwork, create custom induction programs, and assign tasks to relevant stakeholders.
- Employee management – Zoho People’s employee management module allows businesses to manage employee records, track attendance and time off, and monitor performance. This feature provides valuable insights into employee behavior, helping businesses make data-driven decisions.
- Employee engagement – Zoho People’s employee engagement module helps small businesses create a positive workplace culture. It enables businesses to conduct surveys and feedback sessions to gauge employee satisfaction and make improvements where necessary.
- Learning and development – Zoho People’s learning and development module helps small businesses build a skilled workforce. It provides businesses with the tools they need to create, deliver, and track training programs that improve employee performance.
- Performance management – Zoho People’s performance management module allows small businesses to set goals, track progress, and evaluate employee performance. It provides businesses with valuable insights into employee strengths and weaknesses, helping them make informed decisions.
- Exit management – Zoho People’s exit management module simplifies the offboarding process for businesses. It helps businesses manage employee exit interviews, generate exit reports, and track employee turnover.
Why should small businesses use Zoho People?
Small businesses face several HR-related challenges that can hinder their growth and success. Some common problems include:
- Employee data management – Small businesses often struggle to manage employee data effectively. This can lead to errors, duplicate data, and incomplete records.
- Attendance and time off tracking out of sync – Small businesses often rely on manual processes to track attendance and time off, which can result in errors and discrepancies.
- Hectic document collection and storage management processes – Small businesses often struggle to manage employee documents and store them securely.
- Increased employee dependency on management and HR – Small businesses often have limited HR resources, which can lead to increased employee dependency on management and HR for simple tasks.
- Compliance – Small businesses often struggle to comply with ever-changing HR regulations and laws.
- Managing performance and salary hikes – Small businesses often face challenges in managing employee performance and determining salary hikes.
Each of these problems can be time-consuming, frustrating, and costly for small businesses. Zoho People offers a solution to these challenges by providing a comprehensive HR management system that streamlines processes, improves accuracy, and ensures compliance.
How does Zoho People solve these various HR-related challenges? The following business operations can be enhanced by Zoho People:
- Candidate and Employee Onboarding – Zoho People offers customizable onboarding workflows that help small businesses ensure that new hires have a smooth and efficient onboarding experience. With Zoho People, new employees can complete all the necessary paperwork and get up to speed on company policies and procedures.
- Case Management – Zoho People’s case management system can help small businesses track and manage employee cases related to HR issues, such as complaints, grievances and disciplinary actions. With Zoho People, small businesses can ensure that they are handling these cases effectively and in compliance with labor laws.
- Time off, Attendance and Timesheets – Zoho People’s time and attendance system can help small businesses track employee hours, monitor attendance, and manage time-off requests. With Zoho People, small businesses can ensure that they are accurately tracking employee time and complying with labor laws.
- Performance Management – Zoho People’s performance management system can help small businesses set goals, provide feedback, and track employee performance. With Zoho People, small businesses can ensure that they are maximizing employee productivity and engagement.
- Learning Management System – Zoho People’s learning management system can help small businesses manage employee training and development. With Zoho People, small businesses can ensure that their employees have the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in their roles.
- Integration with Payroll Solutions – Zoho People can integrate with popular payroll solutions, such as Zoho Payroll, to automate payroll processing and reduce errors. The product is looking to integrate with Zoho Payroll as they expand to other countries/regions. With Zoho People, small businesses can ensure that their employees are paid accurately and on time.
Zoho People Focuses
How has Zoho designed its HR software to best meet the needs of small businesses? Zoho People focuses on four primary areas to help small business owners solve common HR-related challenges.
Employee experience
Zoho People puts a strong emphasis on employee experience, recognizing that a positive work environment and engaged workforce are crucial for any business’s success. By providing tools for employee self-service, performance management, and training and development, Zoho People helps businesses create a more productive and satisfying work environment for their employees.
Simple HR Management
Zoho People makes HR management simple and easy, so small business owners can spend less time managing HR tasks and more time focusing on growing their businesses. With features like attendance management, leave tracking and time tracking, Zoho People streamlines many of the most time-consuming HR tasks.
Affordability
Zoho People is an affordable solution for small business owners who want to implement an effective HR management system without breaking the bank. With pricing plans that start at just a few dollars per employee per month, Zoho People offers a cost-effective alternative to expensive HR software solutions.
One-stop solution
Zoho People provides a one-stop solution for all HR-related needs. From onboarding to performance management and employee engagement, Zoho People offers a complete suite of tools to manage every aspect of human resources. By consolidating all HR-related tasks and data in one place, Zoho People helps small business owners save time and improve efficiency.
Who uses Zoho People?
You don’t need to be an experienced HR professional or a software wiz to benefit from Zoho People. In fact, 60% of Zoho People users are first-time software users, and they hail from companies with fewer than 100 employees. Since it launched, Zoho People has helped more than 6,000 organizations onboard 15,000 new employees, process 1 million leave applications and conduct more than 17,000 courses each year.
How does Zoho People handle security and compliance?
In addition to its primary focuses, Zoho People also places a strong emphasis on security and compliance, recognizing the importance of protecting sensitive employee data. Zoho People utilizes state-of-the-art security measures to ensure that all data is stored securely and in compliance with global security and privacy laws like HIPAA and GDPR.
To ensure maximum security, Zoho People implements the following measures:
- Two-factor authentication – Zoho People requires users to provide a second form of verification, such as a text message or app notification, in addition to their password when logging in.
- Encryption for sensitive data – Sensitive data, such as employee Social Security numbers, are encrypted both in transit and at rest.
- Geo and IP restrictions – Zoho People can be configured to only allow access from certain geographical locations or IP addresses.
- Identity and access controls – Access to Zoho People can be restricted based on user roles and permissions.
- Secure password sharing – Zoho People integrates with Zoho Vault for secure password sharing.
- Regular data backups – Zoho People regularly backs up all data to ensure it can be restored in the event of a system failure or data loss.
How can small business owners benefit from Zoho People’s analytics?
Zoho People’s analytics can help small business owners make informed decisions about their employees by identifying top performers, managing leaves, reducing turnover and improving employee engagement. The all-in-one solution save small businesses time and money in the following ways:
- Monitor employee performance – Zoho People’s analytics can help you track your employee’s performance in real time. You can get detailed reports on their attendance, leaves, and productivity. This way, you can identify the top performers and reward them accordingly.
- Identify skill gaps – With Zoho People analytics, you can identify skill gaps in your team. You can see which employees need additional training and provide them with the necessary resources. This can help improve your team’s overall productivity.
- Manage leaves – Zoho People’s analytics can help you manage your employee’s leaves effectively. You can see who has taken how many leaves and when. This way, you can plan your team’s workload accordingly and ensure that there are no gaps in the workflow.
- Improve employee engagement – Zoho People’s analytics can help you understand your employee’s engagement levels. You can see which employees are engaged and which ones are not. This can help you identify the problem areas and take corrective actions.
- Reduce turnover – Zoho People’s analytics can help you reduce employee turnover. You can see why employees are leaving and take steps to retain them. For example, if employees are leaving due to low pay, you can offer them a salary hike.
What’s new with Zoho People?
Zoho People’s latest updates and features make it even easier for businesses to manage their HR operations efficiently. Some of the new features include enhanced employee engagement tools, smart virtual assistant Zia and advanced analytics capabilities.
Employee Engagement Tools
One of the most exciting updates to Zoho People is the enhanced employee engagement tools. These tools allow managers to measure and improve employee engagement by conducting surveys, pulse checks, and feedback sessions. This feature helps to create a more inclusive and collaborative work environment, which in turn leads to better employee retention and productivity.
Zia
Another powerful update to Zoho People is the integration of Zia, a smart virtual assistant. Zia uses AI and natural language processing to answer common HR-related questions, automate repetitive tasks, and provide personalized recommendations to employees. With Zia, businesses can streamline their HR processes, reduce manual workloads, and improve overall employee satisfaction.
Analytics
Finally, Zoho People’s analytics capabilities provide businesses with the data they need to make informed HR decisions. The software offers customizable reports, dashboards, and analytics tools that allow managers to track key HR metrics such as employee turnover, attendance, and performance. With this information, businesses can identify areas for improvement, make data-driven decisions, and ultimately improve the effectiveness of their HR operations.
What’s brewing for Zoho People?
Zoho People is constantly evolving to provide innovative solutions to its users. The software is set to roll out new features that will further enhance its capabilities in the coming months. These new features will offer small business owners more advanced tools to manage their HR processes efficiently and effectively.
Compensation and benefits are two crucial aspects of any HR system, and Zoho People’s planned update is dedicated to addressing them. With this feature, small business owners will be able to manage employee compensation and benefits with ease. The feature will allow employers to create and manage multiple compensation structures, assign benefits to employees based on their roles and responsibilities, and generate comprehensive reports to analyze compensation and benefit trends within the organization.
Objectives and key results (OKRs) are a popular method for setting and tracking goals in organizations. Zoho People’s upcoming OKR feature will enable small business owners to set clear, measurable goals for their employees and track their progress in real-time. With this feature, employers will be able to align employee goals with organizational objectives, measure performance and provide feedback to employees on their progress.
Zoho People 5.0 is also set to focus on employee experience (EX) and user experience (UX) to provide an intuitive and seamless experience to its users. The software’s new UX design will enhance the overall user experience, making it easier for small business owners to navigate the system and perform various tasks. In addition, Zoho People 5.0 will leverage the latest technology to provide advanced features such as machine learning and predictive analytics, which will enable employers to make data-driven decisions and automate routine HR tasks.
Zoho People Integrations
One of the most significant advantages of Zoho People is its integration capabilities. The software is designed to seamlessly integrate with other Zoho applications as well as third-party tools, making it easier for small business owners to manage their HR processes.
Zoho People can be integrated with a wide range of software, including:
- Zoho Analytics
- Quickbooks
- Zapier
- Office 365
- MS Teams
- G Suite
- Zoho CRM
- Adobe Sign
- Docu Sign
- Zoho Recruit
- Xoxoday
- Vantage Circle
Zoho People Pricing
Zoho People offers small business owners an affordable and flexible pricing structure, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes. The software offers four pricing tiers: Essential HR, Professional, Premium and Enterprise.
The Essential HR plan is the most affordable option and is suitable for small businesses that require basic HR management features. This plan starts at just $1.25 per employee per month and includes features such as employee onboarding, time-off management and module-based reports.
The Professional plan is ideal for growing businesses that require more advanced HR management features. This plan starts at $2 per employee per month and includes all the features of the Essential HR plan, as well as additional features such as shift scheduling, overtime calculations and time tracking.
Zoho People’s Premium plan costs $3 per user per month, and it includes all the features offered in the lower plans, as well as extra options like performance appraisals, goals tracking and advanced HR analytics. This plan is a great choice for small businesses that have begun to scale.
The Enterprise plan is the most comprehensive Zoho People plan and is designed for larger businesses with complex HR management requirements. This plan costs $4.50 per employee per month and includes all the features of the Professional plan, as well as advanced features such as employee query management, course management, discussion forums, and even self and blended learning opportunities. .
In addition to these pricing tiers, Zoho People also offers a 30-day free trial, allowing small business owners a chance to test out the software before making a purchase. The software’s flexible pricing structure, along with its range of features, makes it an excellent choice for small business owners looking for an affordable and comprehensive HR management solution.
