Many small and medium-sized businesses discovered they can operate more efficiently with a remote workforce as the pandemic forced most people to work from home. And even as workplace restrictions have started to ease, many business leaders are considering making the change to the remote model permanent.
To do so successfully requires efficient digital workflows and a strong online presence to reach your customers. Both require robust front-end applications backed by resilient and secure IT infrastructures. In this blog, we discuss some of the recommendations to take on this challenge as provided during a recent PulseOne Tech Talk with Chad interview with Michele Holmes, a Payroll Territory Manager for Heartland Payment Systems.
Recruiting Requires Integrated Applicant Management Platform
One particular area that must operate smoothly is recruiting new employees. This has been a top struggle for many SMBs as the pandemic has shrunk candidate pools considerably across many sectors.
“It’s vital to have a robust and easy-to-use applicant management system that allows you to post a job once and automatically list it on multiple job boards such as Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor and Facebook,” says Holmes. “This removes the need to manage each platform. Services like these, where candidates have already created profiles, also give them the option to quickly apply to any jobs you post.”
Holmes adds that when ready to hire, the leading applicant management platforms enable you to paperlessly onboard new employees for payroll set-up. It’s also important to look for a platform that can process Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) screening to identify any hirings of individuals from targeted groups that qualify for federal tax credits.
In addition, the ideal platform will integrate with other functions that enable you to manage people throughout their entire employment lifecycle. This makes it possible to manage people from the point of first contact to hiring and eventually to when they no longer work for the company.
Core Infrastructure plays Key Role in Connecting with Customers
Beyond the need to establish efficient digital workflows, Holmes also points to the importance of a smart IT infrastructure that enables SMBs to make all processes digital. “Invest in an infrastructure that lets you build a strong online presence so customers can avoid face-to-face interactions when they prefer,” Holmes says. “Your customers and internal staff will also need more tech support than they used to in order to help them use the online systems and interact with each other efficiently.”
This is a key point raised by Holmes because in every industry, customers research products and services online and make buying decisions based on the online presence of the providers they consider. They typically choose to do business with companies that make it easy to purchase products and services. So that core infrastructure that Holmes emphasizes will thus play a key role in enabling your online applications to run properly and achieve these objectives.
To learn more about building an IT infrastructure to establish a strong online presence and efficient digital workflows, check out the Tech Talk with Chad podcast. You can also contact us to find out how we help businesses solve many IT challenges and work with specialists like Heartland Payment Systems to maximize your success.
