5 Things You Can Do to Improve Your HR Portal Today

Employees are constantly being told to ‘check the portal’ so why when they get there does it often feel so neglected? Old, dusty, confusing, are just some of the adjectives that spring to mind when we think of the bog-standard HR portal.

When we know that HR portals can foster engagement and according to Hay Group, motivated and engaged employees are 43% more productive than employees less motivated and satisfied.

In fairness, it can feel like an overwhelming project to improve a HR portal, and bring it in line with employee expectations so here are a few quick wins, easy to implement improvements you could action today that will have a big impact.

5 things you can do to improve your HR portal today:

• Prioritize the things your users need most often
• A portal in the palm of your hand
• Don't throw good money after bad
• Be down with the kids
• Join the dots

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1. Prioritize the things your users need most often

Just because you have a form for requesting a mortgage reference, it does not need to be on your homepage.

A well-designed portal gives people instant access to the information and services they really need day-to-day. Think about what your employees need most frequently and make those features easily accessible.

Whether it's requesting time off, checking benefits, or accessing training materials, prioritize these tasks for a seamless user experience.

“HR portals that are successful in surfacing most commonly searched information to their employees have demonstrated efficiency improvements in employees of up to 62%” - Forrester

2. A portal in the palm of your hand

With mobile use at an all-time high and remote/hybrid work here to stay, your portal needs to work where your people work. Mobile optimization is no longer optional—it's essential. Ensure that your HR portal is responsive and user-friendly on all devices. Employees should be able to access the portal from their smartphones or tablets just as easily as from their desktops.

Case study

A retail company with 100,000 employees wanted to streamline the team transfer process to make it fast and easy for employees and managers.

A key challenge they were facing was a lack of HR services available on mobile. With staff being based in retail outlets they had no access to laptops, resulting in a high manual workload for the HR department. This included offline spreadsheets and word documents, as well as a high call volume into service centers.

After implementing Applaud’s HR portal the company was able to offer a responsive system and deploy a new transfer process that integrated with Oracle to automatically populate employee information.

The increased HR efficiency thanks to the roll out of mobile access to HR services, combined with form fields being pulled from their existing HR system, translated to $4 million in savings.

Over a three year period the company also saw their employee and manager attrition rate decrease to 15%. .

3. Don’t throw good money after bad

Why spend thousands of dollars on implementing services, only to end up guessing which ones people actually use?

HR portals need to be supported by rich analytics to help identify what’s hitting the spot with your user base, and which services have more tumbleweed than a Steve Jackson standup comedy show!

Invest in analytics tools that provide insights into user behavior, engagement metrics, and usage patterns. This data will help you make informed decisions about what features to improve, remove, or add to your portal.

Bonus Content: Applaud's 2024 product roadmap (scroll down to continue article)

We are revolutionizing how employees interact with HR portals. Watch the webinar below to discover how our AI Assistant streamlines processes, answers queries, and offers a personalized touch to each user's experience.

4. Be down with the kids

Spend millions on B2C marketing and brand awareness… but put up with “slapping a logo” on your intranet.

Stop this nonsense - today!

Your portal should be the showcase of your employer brand.

Incorporate your company's branding, culture, and personality into the design and content of your HR portal. Make it engaging, visually appealing, and reflective of your company's values.

Remember, your portal is not just a tool—it's an extension of your employer brand and should leave a lasting impression on your employees.

5. Join the dots

In 2024, there is no need for your services and applications to be disconnected anymore.

Your portal should be where everything comes together and is taken to the next level with generative AI connecting your people to the information and help they need - wherever they work.

Integration is key. Your HR portal should seamlessly connect with other systems and applications used within your organization. Whether it's payroll, performance management, or learning and development tools, ensure that your portal serves as a central hub where employees can access all the resources they need to thrive.

It’s easy to make changes with the Applaud HR Portal

The Applaud HR portal has been designed so that it can be independently owned by HR. That means no more dependency on IT to make changes. The entire portal is ‘no-code’ so you can be in charge of executing your vision and deliver an experience to your employees that they love. 

In conclusion, your HR portal is more than just a tool—it's an essential part of your company's infrastructure. By prioritizing user needs, optimizing for mobile, leveraging analytics, showcasing your employer brand, and ensuring seamless integration, you can create a portal that truly enhances the employee experience and drives engagement across your organization. And if you’re ready for a total HR portal makeover, checkout Applaud.

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About the Author

Steve Jackson is the Head of Product Management at Applaud. He is an NNG UX certified UX professional focused on driving innovation that uses the latest technology whilst keeping the human user front and centre.