The 10 Best HR Tools For UK Organisations

HR tools are software and applications designed to facilitate, automate or simplify various aspects of the employee lifecycle or how HR is managed within an organisation.

Tools like these tend to offer a multitude of benefits, including: 

• Increased efficiency: HR tools free up your team from tedious administrative tasks, allowing them to focus on more strategic initiatives.

• Improved accuracy: Streamlined processes minimise manual data entry, leading to fewer errors and inconsistencies.

• Enhanced employee experience: User-friendly tools empower employees with self-service capabilities and a centralised platform for accessing company information and managing their benefits.

The fact is that HR tools come in various shapes and sizes, which means that your team needs to select the ones that are going to bring about positive change for your teams. We built the following list with exactly that in mind…

Now, let's delve into the arsenal of essential HR tools that equip your team for success.

You can think of your HRIS as the central hub for all of your HR data. This type of system stores and manages employee information, from contact details and payroll data to performance reviews and benefits selections.

When we talk about tools, everything comes from your HRIS. When you have all of your people data brought together, it makes it that much easier to run other processes that other features, tools or integrations can help facilitate. 

Quick tip: If you need only one HR tool, make it an HRIS or HR software. This is going to be one of the biggest single determining factors for the success of your team. 

Say goodbye to overflowing inboxes and lost resumes. Applicant tracking systems (ATS) help you attract top talent by streamlining the entire recruitment process, from job posting and candidate screening to scheduling interviews and managing offer letters.

It’s hard to talk about an ATS without mentioning a handful of helpful tools. Ideally, your ATS should also encompass tools like: 

• Sourcing tools

• Scheduling tools

• Interview feedback tools

• And more…

Managing leave with an HR tool is an underrated part of the process for many HR teams — and being able to manage it more easily can result in massive returns on time. 

Essentially, leave management tools completely eliminate the administrative headache of tracking vacation days, sick leave and other types of leave. 

This not only simplifies calculations and approvals but also allows employees to easily request and manage their leave time.

Gain valuable insights into project timelines, resource allocation and overall productivity. Time tracking tools provide employees with a convenient way to record their hours while offering managers data-driven reports to make informed decisions.

How are you currently running your performance reviews? Even in smaller organisations, running review cycles can be extremely cumbersome — juggling calendars, following up with managers and ensuring that conversations happen in productive ways. 

To take some of that load off, performance management tools can help automate review cycles to ensure that they happen. This way, your teams can focus more on development planning, promotion timelines and your overall performance strategy. 

They can also help with encouraging continuous feedback and growth. These platforms facilitate goal setting, performance reviews and development discussions, fostering employee engagement and building a culture of continuous improvement.

A happy and engaged workforce is a productive one. Employee engagement tools provide a platform for employees to share feedback, participate in surveys and offer suggestions. This fosters a sense of community, boosts morale and helps HR identify areas for improvement.

Leave a positive first impression and set new hires up for success with a smooth onboarding process. Onboarding tools streamline the process of gathering paperwork, assigning equipment and integrating new employees into the team through automated workflows and interactive training modules.

Invest in the long-term potential of your workforce by providing ongoing learning opportunities. Learning and development (L&D) tools offer access to online courses, training materials and skill development resources, empowering employees to grow professionally and contribute their best work.

Ensure fair and competitive compensation practices with compensation management tools. These tools help automate salary calculations, analyse pay structures, and manage bonuses, ensuring compliance and a sense of fairness among employees.

Proactive HR teams anticipate future needs. Workforce planning tools provide insights into skill gaps, succession planning, and potential talent shortages, allowing you to develop strategies to attract, retain, and develop your most valuable asset – your people.

Given the sheer amount of options, selecting the best HR tools for your company can feel overwhelming. Here are some key factors to consider:

• Ease of use: Seek out tools with intuitive interfaces and minimal training requirements to ensure seamless adoption by your team and employees.

• Quick implementation: Get up and running quickly with tools that offer smooth implementation plans and minimal disruption to your workflow.

• Helpful support: Choose a vendor with a responsive and knowledgeable support team to address your questions and troubleshoot any issues.

• Seamless integrations: Ensure your chosen tools can integrate with existing software, such as payroll systems and accounting software, to avoid data silos and maintain a unified platform.

• Employee self-service (ESS) capabilities: Empower your employees with self-service features like accessing pay stubs, requesting leave and updating personal information. This not only saves HR time but also fosters a sense of ownership and autonomy among employees.

• Scalability for growing businesses: Invest in tools that can grow with your company. Look for solutions that offer flexible pricing models and can accommodate an expanding workforce and evolving needs.

• New features and innovations: Stay ahead of the curve with tools that continuously update and offer new features to address emerging HR trends and best practices.

In a sea of potential options, it helps to have a little bit of guidance. When it comes to HR tools, Personio is an HR software that can help manage each and every stage of the employee lifecycle — without needing ten different tools to do it. 

Using Personio, you can recruit, hire, onboard, develop and pay your employees. At each stage, we offer features that can automate processes and gain back time to focus on far more strategic matters. 

This kind of approach offers a multitude of benefits: 

• Streamlined workflows: Stop juggling multiple logins and jumping between different platforms. All-in-one software centralises your HR data and processes, allowing your team to manage everything from recruitment to performance reviews with ease.

• Enhanced data security: Centralised data storage simplifies security protocols and minimises the risk of data breaches. Robust all-in-one solutions prioritise user access controls and data encryption, keeping your employee information safe.

• Improved cost-effectiveness: All-in-one solutions offer a host of features to save you from investing in disparate and disconnected systems. Your return on investment is not only higher, but is realised far sooner. 

The future of your organisation can be streamlined, data-driven, and empowers your people to focus on what matters most – fostering a thriving company culture and a successful workforce. Speak with an expert today to see how Personio can help.