Making important decisions about employee benefits, like choosing health insurance packages, can be stressful and overwhelming—for employees and managers alike. New hires may know far less about their benefit options than their HR departments. In modern workplaces, HR leaders have to maneuver different needs and priorities from four generations of employees.

Read part 4: How an HCM system can improve productivity for HR, part four: Payroll

If you hear “performance review,” it may cause some fear and anxiety—for managers and employees alike. Many people encounter stumbling blocks when performance reviews comes around. Overworked HR managers may handle too much responsibilities with little time to guide employees in the right direction. This is where effective performance management enters the picture.

Read part 3: How an HCM system can improve productivity for HR, part three: Training

To many of us, payroll is a blessing—but it’s also an HR professional’s heaviest strain. As exciting as payday is, managing payroll continues far beyond processing paychecks.

We know handling payroll can be extraordinarily complex: it must be accurate, it must be efficient, and it must comply with regulations on a local, national, and international level. On top of coordinating day-to-day business operations, recruiting and hiring candidates, and managing growth, HR leaders must follow compliance, and get the numbers right for various taxes and payments.

 Read part 2: How an HCM system can improve HR productivity, part two: Onboarding

So you’ve onboarded the best and the brightest. Now what? Your job as an HR leader is not over. A great manager helps employees shape the future direction of their careers.

Yet, some managers neglect sustainable training and development practices. As a result, organizations pay the high price of losing top talent. When you’re short-staffed or overtasked, the burden seems all too real. HR managers face the pressure to take care of essential day-to-day operations, and are often left without time to carve out a long-term plan.

With a lot at stake for effective training and development, HR leaders bear the responsibility of laying the foundation for employee success. But training doesn’t have to be elaborate; it’s a matter of assessing employee skills and needs and guiding them to fill in the gaps throughout their career. If it’s done well, the payoff can be substantial for management and teams alike.

Read part 1: How HCM system can improve HR productivity: recruiting + hiring

As an HR manager, onboarding new employees means you’re responsible for creating the landscape for newcomers. You’re also setting the course for an organization to succeed and thrive. All that can feel like an arduous task. In a desperate attempt to manage the weight of your work, it may be tempting to pass some responsibilities off to the next busy middleman, or let them fall to the wayside altogether. It’s a story fraught with frustration and inefficiency.

Unfortunately, this inefficiency happens too often when management lacks established processes and the right technology, and instead rely on manual processes or outdated systems. In reality, there are solutions that don’t cost an arm and a leg. With a Human Capital Management (HCM) system, you can effectively manage the employee lifecycle from pre-hire to retire. As new hires enter the mix, it’s crucial to establish a sustainable onboarding experience that contributes to positive performance and productivity.