How Customized HR Reports Empower Your Organization (and Wow Your Boss)

The phrase “Knowledge is power” may sound cliche, but it doesn’t ring any less true since Sir Thomas Bacon first said it in the late 16th century.

If you manage your organization’s payroll or HR, you run reports. Maybe your C-Suite wants a clear picture of your employee retention or you have to submit customized census forms to your benefit providers. You need accurate data and often you need it fast.

What Can Customized Data do For You And Your Organization?

Carefree compliance

Local, state and federal ordinances require you to cull and report employee data. For example, all U.S. employers with at least 100 employees are required to file a survey annually with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEO-1 survey collects information on the racial, ethnic, and gender composition of your staff by specific job categories. If you have the right payroll and HCM software, you can have this report with just a few quick clicks.

Not only does easy access to meaningful data help you meet requirements, but reports about compensation, health benefits, and labor distribution can identify compliance issues before they become a problem.

For example, consider the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A search of your employees can quickly help you identify changes to their status and determine your ACA compliance.

Better budgeting

Looking back helps us plan forward. Reviewing data on salary increases, changes in benefits and bonuses paid can help you anticipate your compensation costs for the upcoming year and make adjustments as necessary.

Smarter staffing

If you’re a restaurant owner, anticipating how to staff your busy seasons can be daunting. Overstaff and you’re paying people to stand around. Understaff and your customer service tanks. But what if you could easily use your staffing patterns and hours from the same period last year to plan your future schedules? (For more information on how smarter staffing can help you retain your earnings, see our blog on "How to Keep Payroll From Consuming All of Your Profit.")

Rockstar Retention

Studying information such as which departments and managers have the lowest turnover or, conversely, common denominators among employees who have left will help you spot trends in both staff loss and retention. You and your management can use this information to address your deficiencies and learn from the departments who are retaining their top talent. (For turnover rates by industry, check out this information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.)

Human Resources Hero

We’re looking at you. HR is becoming increasingly strategic and data-driven. Providing your leadership with intelligent reports that can save them money and inform their decisions increases your value as an employee.

“...when HR data is used to improve decisions, make employees happier, and optimize processes, it adds value to the company.”

Bernard Marr, author and business influencer

Who’s the rockstar now?

Why Gathering Customized Data Can be Time-Consuming (But it Shouldn’t Be!)

If you weren’t already, now you’re sold on the fact that customized, intelligent data is essential to your organization’s success. But maybe you’re rolling your eyes because compiling that data has given you multiple migraines.

Gathering the information you need shouldn’t require an Act of Congress, but if you have to run four different reports in separate systems, it may feel like it.

An HR technology survey by Systems, Applications and Product (SAP) provider itelligence revealed that nearly half of respondents say they spend the bulk of their time on HR analytics and reporting. More specifically they spend time on:

• Building custom reports for ad hoc requests (45.2%)
• Validating data accuracy across reports (37.1%)
• Merging data from multiple sources (27.4%)

What started out as a seemingly small request from your CFO can feel like a big, time-sucking pain, but it doesn’t have to be. If you’re currently depending on several platforms to manage your payroll, employee data, and benefits, it’s time to bring it all together.

Storing your payroll and HCM data in one, simple system means you are just a few clicks away from having a report that will “wow” even your most demanding leaders.

And you can compile it in Usain Bolt-like speed which means more time and less stress.

In Your Corner
Not only do we make running reports a breeze, but if you ever need a hand we’ll run reports for you in the way you need it, when you need it. For free. To learn more about how our simplified payroll and HR solutions can make your job easier, schedule a free 30-minute consultation here.