A company owned by a local couple with experience in payroll services is offering a new online human resources management system to small and medium-sized businesses.
Waukesha-based HR Technology Solutions (HRTS) was founded two years ago by Steve and Peg Janecko to offer companies an opportunity to enhance and streamline payroll and human resources processes.
Since its inception, HRTS has worked closely with Waukesha-based MRA-Management Association Inc., which offers management information and trends to more than 2,400 companies in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa.
“We are a membership-based organization with the mission to help the management of businesses with all of the different people issues they might be facing,” said Pat Staaden, vice president of business solutions for MRA. “For about the last two years, we have not only been a user of HRTS internally, but also promoting this technology to members.”
HRTS is located in the MRA building at N19 W24400 Riverwood Drive and plans to open a second location in an MRA office in Palatine, Ill., Steve said.
HRTS is an application service provider (ASP) and licenses the Web-based application it has branded as HRTS Online from a national vendor.
Companies pay a monthly subscription fee to use HRTS Online. Once initial employee and payroll information is entered into the system, it can be updated and accessed at any time, in any place that has an Internet connection.
HRTS Online enables a company’s human resource management, which was once manual and consisting of file folders, to become streamlined and paperless. Using HRTS also saves a company 20 to 30 percent on costs compared to national human resources software competitors, Steve said.
“From an online application (for employment), to hiring, accessing a W2 and W4, handbooks, government sheets, training activities, certification… all can be pulled via the computer,” Steve said.
The Wisconsin Humane Society in Milwaukee implemented HRTS Online about six months ago, taking its human resources processes from completely manual to completely electronic, said Matt Witte, operations manager for the Humane Society. Witte served as human resources director up until the implementation.
“HRTS is going to free up the solo human resources practitioner to do more things when it comes to recruitment and incentives, data tracking and payroll processing,” Witte said. “Payroll processing sometimes took up 30 percent of the job because it was manual. Now, it takes up 10 to 15 percent of the job.”
The Payroll and Human Resources modules are the main components in HRTS Online, but additional modules are available for an additional price, including Self Service, Time Management, Benefit Management and Application and Recruitment.
By automating the system and having employee access, HRTS Online eliminates the risks of human error from manual input.
“Payroll is one of those processes that just because of the nature, there can be so many people who have different rates of pay for different jobs, then benefits issues on top of that… there are so many ins and outs for one person’s pay that there is so much room for error,” Staaden said.
Every payroll period, the Payroll module will print secure and sealed checks and direct deposit through Automated Clearing House (ACH); keep current and year-to-date registers, labor distribution reports and payroll deduction reports; retain digital signatures; offer a choice of 580 standard reports; new hire reporting; workers compensation reports; and 401(k) calculation and remittance. HRTS Online performs complete tax filing for federal, state and local governments on a deposit period as well as quarterly and annual basis.
The Human Resources module is a suite of services including: applicant tracking, employee training and development, communications programs, wage and salary administration, performance measurement and evaluation, disciplinary and termination policies and procedures, compliance reporting and record keeping.
The Self Service module enables employees to access their own information, which saves time for the human resources director.
The Time Management module downloads directly to the Payroll module and enables a company to electronically track information including: hours each employee worked; locations, departments and jobs and variable pay rates.
Benefit Management gives employees the opportunity to view their benefits packages at any time with online enrollment options, offers links to third party carrier Web sites, automated rollover processing and will generate COBRA letters.
The Application and Recruitment module tracks the entire process of recruiting and hiring, from an online application through interviews and follow-up and an automatic transfer of applicant data after a hire.
“With the open database compliant system, the insurance broker, marketing professional, accountant, can immediately access information so the employer can concentrate on what they do best,” Steve said.
The Humane Society currently uses the Payroll and Time Management modules and plans to roll out the Application and Recruitment module in the next few months.
“The return on investment is payroll processing is more time effective for human resources, but also the cost of cutting paychecks has decreased,” Witte said. “We have a third party accounting service that included payroll service. HRTS provides payroll service that is cheaper than the accounting service, which specializes in working with non-profit organizations.”
Elizabeth Hockerman is a reporter for Small Business Times. Send technology news to her at elizabeth.hockerman@biztimes.com or by calling her at (414) 277-8181, ext. 121. Technology news can also be sent to: Elizabeth Hockerman, Small Business Times, 1123 N. Water St., Milwaukee, WI 53202.
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