Dynamics GP Portals: Pros and Cons of Using an Employee Self Service Portal for Human Resource Management

Seems like everyone is using the internet to conduct personal business such as pay bills online, manage insurance policy information, view bank accounts, or manage investment portfolios.  So, it only seems natural that employees would want to be able to use the internet to view and manage their employee benefits in a secure platform.  Microsoft Dynamics GP offers a HRM Self Service Suite that allows employees, managers and administrative staff greater access to information through a secure portal, while at the same time reducing cost for organizations and increasing service to employees without adding overhead. 

But what are the pro’s and con’s of offering a self service portal to employees?

Some of the benefits are:

• Improved employee satisfaction and empowering employees to update and maintain benefit information ‘on demand’ such as viewing benefit enrollment, adding dependants, submitting address changes, viewing paystubs, and submitting vacation request
• Portal becomes ‘virtual online benefits’ department 24/7 across multiple locations through a consistent, instant, anytime access environment
• Automated approval workflow handling and tracking the status of requests submitted
• Secure access with a  convenient single sign-on capability
• HR and Payroll staff can receive and facilitate employee requests at a faster speed than before
• Reduced costs and time to respond through uses of technology to integrate data and handle workflow rules
• Multiple Open enrollment periods can be facilitated through portals by providing employees with current enrollment benefits and providing options to choose and validate missing or incomplete information

 Some of the downsides are:

• Employees and managers that do not have access to computers, need physical accommodation, or ESL will need to be facilitated through either a kiosk or designated facilitator that is made available
• If employees have questions, companies who utlize portals need to have a support mechanism by  phone/email in place to support employee questions
• Lack of human interface can make some employee’s feel that the process has become impersonal.  Providing  initial up front training or recorded webinars can assist employees and managers with helping them feel more comfortable with the transition to self-service
• Employees may have privacy or security concerns viewing or updating very sensitive information over the internet..  The portal security and database has to be very secure to gain the confidence of users and meet government requirements.  New employees will need help becoming familiar with the self service portal and will need to get access immediately following their hire date.

Microsoft Dynamics GP portals for Human Resource Management enable organizations to empower employees, managers, and human resource departments in a cost-effective and secure environment.  With the HRM Self Service Suite, a browser-based application, it can be easily customized and is seamlessly integrated with MS Dynamics GP HR and Payroll series. 

By InterDyn – Remington Consulting, Microsoft Dynamics ERP Gold Certified Partner in Nevada

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