Top 5 Reasons Sage HRMS is an Ideal Fit for First Nations
Most First Nations use payroll, so why do they need a Human Resource Management System (HRMS)? For many First Nations payroll is handled by Accounting and Human Resources (HR) is either nonexistent, or completely separate. Human Resources is still a relatively new concept for many First Nations, but its value shouldn’t be underestimated. Sage HRMS gives First Nations the tools to manage both Accounting (including Payroll) and Human Resources in an integrated environment, providing all of the essential tools required to track members, hire and manage employees, payroll, time track and much more.
We discussed this with our HR expert, Amanda Scott, who has extensive experience with First Nations organizations, and she outlined the following top 5 reasons why Sage HRMS is an ideal fit for First Nations:
1) Integration of Payroll and Human Resources (HR)
The integration of Payroll and Human Resources in Sage HRMS means that data is more reliable and accessible. When information has to be manually added from one system to another, it increases the chance for information to be missed, incorrect, or added twice and can also cause issues such as employees not getting paid or HR approved raises not being applied, etc. HRMS reduces the workload and increases efficiency & accuracy for both Accounting and HR since they don’t have to spend as much time manually shuffling information from one system to the other.
2) Full Employee & Member Management Solution
Sage HRMS is more than just a tool to assist in hiring, it gives First Nations groups the ability to manage complete profiles to track both employees and members in one place. It aggregates detailed employee and membership information so First Nations are no longer faced with trying to locate information in multiple places. Everything from Status Number, Band Number, and Family number, to job titles and supervisor can be managed through profiles in Sage HRMS.
3) Tracking & Time Management
A huge challenge faced by First Nations clients is the need to track information about employees and members. For example, in order to get approval for certain government funding, members in certain departments or services are required to have specific skills and training. Through member profiles, Sage HRMS provides a way to track what training different members have and when that training has to be renewed. The HR functions can also be used more broadly to track the Numbered Treaties.
Additionally, Sage HRMS provides an efficient way to track member time, which has historically been one of the biggest needs for The Answer Company’s First Nations clients. Members can use time tracking features to, for example, account for vacation, time away at conferences or even Sweat Lodge ceremonies. Since this information is logged directly into the system, users can utilize the Self Service function to access their information (such as time off, training or paychecks) in the system. This has the added benefit of reducing the workload for Accounting and HR because they don’t have as many requests for information from members.
4) Customization
The terms and organizational structure in Sage HRMS can be customized which is extremely helpful for First Nations clients, who have such varying requirements. For example, in member profiles, instead of including fields such as ‘Job Title’ and ‘Supervisor’, First Nations can customize the fields to track ‘Status Number’ and ‘Training Certifications’.
From a business perspective, customization is specifically helpful for First Nations who have different services enterprises that need to be tracked separately, such as Health Services, Family & Child Services, or Housing Services. As opposed to organizing employees based on department, HRMS can be organized based on service enterprise. Customization allows First Nations to modify Sage HRMS to reflect their structure, instead of trying to fit into a mold that doesn’t fit.
5) Reporting
The reporting feature in Sage HRMS is powerful and easy to use. There are over 140 pre-loaded reports in the system that can be used as is or adjusted to meet the specific needs of First Nations. Reports can also be built from scratch based on fields in the system, including anything from Status Number, to training. Quick, detailed reporting ensures that First Nations always have accurate insight into financials, employees and members.
Sage HRMS is more than just a tool to manage payroll and finances. It provides First Nations with a comprehensive solution for accounting, payroll, and managing both employees and members. It allows First Nations to streamline time consuming processes, as well as structure and aggregate valuable member and employee information all in one place.