Tech boost for a more streamlined HR

SINGAPORE - Unlike most people who look forward to payday, human resource director Ms Amy Liow, who is in her 40s, used be a little apprehensive whenever that time rolled around.

Days before her colleagues are paid, Ms Liow, who works with maintenance & engineering contractor Kim Technology, had to go through rims of paper as part of payroll processing, manually looking through time sheets to calculate the work hours clocked in by each employee in a different projects and locations. Oftentimes, she had to check and re-check her work and those of her subordinates to ensure its accuracy.

These days, she and her team of five simply login to payroll software system iSuperSuite to process all 200 employees' salaries in a day.

This technological upgrade is the latest push by Kim Technology to boost productivity through streaming of their HR operations.

iSuperSuite (below), which is now used by over 1,000 companies worldwide, is developed by Singapore-based company i-HRMS.

The software helps monitor attendance, auto-calculate overtime, track project costings, keep HR records organised and up-to-date, and controls access to personnel files.

Non-HR employees can also use the software to apply for leave, submit their claims and medical certificates, perform work appraisals for themselves and others and even plan work rosters for a team. The all-in-one-software substantially cuts down on the amount of paperwork that would otherwise be required.

Ms Liow said: "iSuperSuite is a powerful software that gives us the flexibility to use it to meet our needs. It is also useful in helping to generate flexible reports that are error-free."

The cost of the system, at $30,000, can be offset by the Productivity Innovation Credit (PIC) given out by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). Companies can opt for either a 60 per cent cash payout or 400 per cent tax deductible under the PIC scheme.

Small, medium enterprises can also claim up to 70 per cent of the cost of iSuperSuite under iSPRINT, an integrated grant scheme led by Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore in collaboration with SPRING Singapore and the IRAS. With that, it can cost as little as $4,000 for an SME to purchase the system.

i-HRMS business manager Wyman Poon, in his 40's, said companies should aim to use technology to help them do their work more efficiently. He said: "Many of us are programmed to think that work involves sitting in the office, staring at the computer monitors and hammering away at keyboards, but productivity is more than that, and robust technology can help you achieve it."

To find out more about iSuperSuite, visit http://i-hrms.asia/isupersuite/.