HR Should get rid of Excel Spreadsheets

Many HR people rely very much on spreadsheets to help them record employee-related information. It’s an approach that works well when you are managing with a very particular set of data.

But the reality is that you will not get rid of spreadsheets once the business starts to grow and staff numbers increase.

The HR & Admin associated with tasks such as approving timesheet, leave and managing performance soon becomes unmanageable. In short, there comes a point where spreadsheets are no longer healthy to use and the HR team need to look at other solutions such as HR software that will help them save time, increase productivity and do their job more effectively.

Here are the most important reasons why it’s the right time for your business to step away from the spreadsheets:

• Spreadsheets are normally held on individual PCs or laptops, and commonly emailed back and forth between colleagues who need to update them or access information. It’s easy to forget to set the password and protect them, which leaves confidential information at risk.
• When a spreadsheet passes through various employees’ hands, it is all too easy for the information to get corrupted. Although it is possible for people to go in and intentionally change numbers or add wrong data, often data corruption occurs unintentionally and likely to becoming infected with viruses.
• HR data changes almost frequently, new joiners/leavers, changes to contact information, bank details; holidays, sickness … the list is never-ending. It’s almost impossible to key all of that information into spreadsheets as soon as you get it. With HR software, all the personal information can be updated by employee themselves and the processes are automated too…particularly those with modern employee self service.
• A spreadsheet-based system can take an excessive amount of time to manage. HR people often find themselves having to input the same information into more than one spreadsheet, or having to seek through one spreadsheet in order to extract information and put it to another.
• In an environment where HR information is housed on spreadsheets, a request for data from the senior management team can throw everyone into a fear. People are rushing around to establish which version is the current version, and making sure the latest information has been input.
• Spreadsheets slow the whole thing down. It takes time to input information, you have to carefully check the data to make sure it’s up-to-date, and extracting information takes time.

In a lively, fast-moving ambiance where HR teams are being expected to deliver more than ever before, it simply doesn’t make sense to carry on using spreadsheets when software offers such a fast, cost-effective solution for managing HR processes.  Spreadsheets don’t automate processes, they don’t send alerts, and they don’t provide vital information.