WordPress now runs nealy one third of all websites, so if you are looking for an employee portal or a simple HRM system to capture and retain staff information and manage some basic HR tasks like recruitment, assessments and attendance, then an integrated solution based on WordPress might be ideal for you.
WP-HR Manager is a free HR management system based on WordPress. It empower’s manager to track employee information and manage common HR processes such as monitoring attendance, authorizing leave requests, making employee announcements, recruiting new team members and more.
“You can mix and match the powerful free core plugin with paid add-ons to create a bespoke HRM system for your organization” explains plugin owner Paul Gray. “It’s flexible, versatile and much more cost effective than cloud or desktop based HR software” he added.
The plugin is also easy to set up. If you already have a WordPress website, then simply add it from the repository, click ‘Activate’ and a setup wizard will take you through a few simple questions to configure the basics and get you started.
A Free HR Management System with a Powerful Core Feature Set
The core plugin ships with an extensive employee information capability allowing managers to record contact details, education, salary information, educational attainments, etc. Plus there is a notification system to enable employee announcements and a leave/holiday request and tracking feature. There is also a performance management module to help teams set appraisal dates and record performance information such as the employees job knowledge, dependability, time-keeping, work quality and listening skills.
Built in to the core plugin is a feature that enables managers and employees to view information on the ‘front end’ of the website. Essentially this means users see their profile on a webpage that will look similar to the rest of the website and they don’t have to navigate the administrative or ‘back-end’ screens of WordPress. The front end screens will also display an employee directory and enable managers to view and manage some employee information. Effectively, this creates an employee HR portal through which logged in users can access and manage profile information – a so called ‘Employee Self-Service‘ feature that improves the accuracy of employee information and saves managers time inputting personnel details.
A paid upgrade to the core plugin, called ‘WP-HR Manager Pro’ adds a few nice additional features, including some reports which show head count, salary history, age and gender balance and employment anniversaries/years of service. The Pro version also includes an option to default logged in employees to the ‘front end’ view so they need never encounter the admin pages of WordPress. Finally, the Pro version has a data import and export feature.
Recruitment and Attendance Add-Ons
WP-HR Manager has also launched with two initial paid add-ons or ‘extensions’ a recruitment plugin and an attendance management plugin.
WP-HR Recruitment will add job vacancies to your website and enable applications online, including the submission of CVs and the creation of job specific application questionnaires. You can then track the applicant’s progress through your work flow – sifting, phone interview, 1st and 2nd round interviews and job offer. This workflow can be customised to your actual requirements. If the Pro version of WP-HR Manager is also installed, recruitment related reports can also be generated showing the number’s of applications for each role and where they are along the selection work-flow.
WP-HR Attendance is a time and attendance extension which gives employers the option to require staff to ‘check-in’ and ‘check-out’ when they arrive and leave work. This then enables the accurate monitoring of lateness and absence. The feature even allows manager to create shifts and allocate these to individual team members who can then check-in when they start their shift. This feature is also a useful staff planning tool as it easily enables managers to ‘drop and drag’ shift blogs for each staff member when planning rotas.
WP-HR Manager has been welcomed by the HR industry and a new and cost effective alternative to cloud and desktop based systems. Over 25% of websites are now using WordPress and WP-HR Manager is a quick and easy way for businesses to add an employee portal and HRM system to their site’s capabilities. Speaking about the advantages of WP-HR Manager compared to alternatives, Becki Clarke, editor of the UK based HRreview website said
“WP-HR Manager is a new approach to HRM software – neither a clunky old desktop application, nor a cloud system with expensive per employee pricing. An exciting new tool for HR managers.”
While Bill Banham, Publisher at the North American HR-Gazette said:
“A great tool for organisations of all sizes. The free version does all the basics things you need – and then you can customize with add-ons to get the exact mix of functionality you want. This one will just get better and better.”
You can download the free plugin from WordPress at https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-hr-manager/ or visit the WP-HR Manager website at http://www.wphrmanager.com
Paul Gray is an entrepreneur and digital publisher who creates online publications focused on solving problems, delivering news, and providing platforms for informed comment and debate. He is associated with HRZone and has built businesses in the HR and professional publishing sector. His work emphasizes creating industry-specific content platforms.
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