The CIPD’s annual HR Software Show takes place at London Olympia on 21-22 June. If the time has come for you to consider automating your processes or upgrading your current systems, the event draws together more than 50 suppliers ranging from fully integrated, web-based application suites to specialist tools for recruitment, time & attendance and policy management. In the run up to the event, HR Zone will preview some of the key product announcements.
HR leads the way on self-service software
“Self-service” business software has gone through the classic Hype Cycle, as described by US IT analyst Gartner. Getting employees, line managers and other stakeholders to take direct control of data entry and validation of their own records can cut costs by as much as 80%, if it is implemented as part of a wider HR transformation process, says PA Consulting Group.
Where self-service was once the preserve of large organisations, SMEs are beginning to see the advantages of web-based applications, stimulated by the arrival of the software as a service model, where the application is maintained by a service provider and users log on over the internet using web browsers. More than half of the exhibitors at the HR Software Show are displaying web-based e-HR and e-recruitment. Find out more about them here.
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HRM enhances performance suite with Cezanne artistry
In February, the UK’s HRM Software joined forces with Cezanne to establish a European powerhouse for human capital management. HRM Software managing director Nick Bolton claimed that the two companies shared a common and approach to technology and that there was a good fit between HRM’s succession and talent management tools and Cézanne’s expertise in e-HR and compensation planning.
Since the alliance was formed, the merged company has upgraded the HRM Connect Performance suite, which will be on show at the HR Software Show on 20-21 July. The new version will include improved support for online employee performance management and 360-degree assessment. HRM Connect Performance can be implemented as a standalone application, or integrated with SAP, PeopleSoft and other leading HR systems. Read more.
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CedarOpenAccounts introduces itself with new OpenPeople suite
A new name at the HR Software Show will be CedarOpenAccounts, an amalgamation of several well known financial software companies brought together by Jon Moulton’s venture capital group Alchemy Partners. Over the past year CedarOpenAccounts has zeroed in on HR as a key growth market and made two acquisitions in this sector – Grampian Software and Strata Systems. The results of this expansion programme will be visible in version 7.3 of OpenPeople, an upgrade to Grampian’s original code, a modular suite that brings together recruitment, time and attendance and analytical modules. “The OpenPeople product is central to our plans to become the leading player in mid-market Human Capital Management and we are confident we will achieve that in 2006,” commented Richard Fisher, general manager for the Open People software range. For more info, see www.cedaropenaccounts.com
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ImageNow promises to liberate HR from paper
For most HR managers, the paperless office could only exist in a fantasy world devoid of regulations, CVs and staff memos. But Perceptive Software’s ImageNow document management range is designed to make the fantasy a reality. ImageNow is a general purpose document management database that can capture and organise unstructured data from almost any system. The developer has industry-specific solutions that address the needs of customer service, accounts and human resource departments, where it can link into existing systems for recruitment, time & expenses, benefits administration, employee relations and records management. Find out more from www.imagenow.com.
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Get to grips with policy management
The HR Software Show will provide an opportunity to review emerging contenders in the market for HR policy and procedure manangement. Hitech , for example, will be introducing a new system called Conform to help ensure that everyone in the organisation has read and implemented companie policies, while Baronscourt takes a similar approach to computer security policies. Youmanage, meanwhile, offers similar facilities as part of its integrated suite.
