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Have you ever felt that working smart is harder than working hard? And do you work hard because it is a lot more visible and you care too much about what others see?
 
As per the Talent Analytics 2017 study published by People Matters, “75% of the organizations still use spreadsheets. Going forward, organizations would increasingly need to shift to cloud-based or dedicated offline analytics software for HR, just like they are doing for their core business functions.”
 
Spreadsheets may be acceptable for a team or even a small department. It quickly reaches its limit when used for decision making functions of HR like Compensation & Benefits and Performance Management, which involves collaboration with multiple stakeholders.

Introducing RemLink, an automated end-to-end compensation management solution powered by Aon. RemLink aims to automate the salary review process and eliminate the dependence on spreadsheets and manual interventions. It enables end-to-end compensation analytics, management and administration right from budgeting, matrix calculations, salary increase deployments, workflow tracking to letter generation and communication.

But why do we really need to pay homage to spreadsheets for compensation management and embrace new tools and technologies? Let’s find out!

• Spreadsheets: Ineffective for team collaboration or easy communication

  Ask a Compensation & Benefits Manager on how it feels to collaborate and communicate frequently with multiple stakeholders to collate compensation information for employees from different departments. To convert the disorganized information to a single destination and meaningfully communicate with stakeholders is a herculean task.

  Excerpt from a conversation between an Aon Consultant and a Comp & Ben Manager who still uses Spreadsheets to process Comp & Ben data
  
  Aon: Wastage of time?
  Comp & Ben Manager: Yes
  Aon: Isn’t it just hard work and not smart work?
  Comp & Ben Manager: Yes, you are right…
  Aon: But why?
  Comp & Ben Manager: Is there a solution…?
  Aon: Yes
  Comp & Ben Manager: What?
  Aon: RemLink

• Version Control and Audit Trail

  When there are multiple stakeholders who contribute to build a single repository of information, and when multiple files are received in your inbox (in IT jargon, termed as a “version control” problem) it is hard to know which data to accept and which one to ignore. Moreover, if someone feeds in wrong information, identification of the source is also not possible (IT jargon: audit trail issue) leading to lack of accountability.

  Excerpt from a conversation between a Head HR and a Comp & Ben Manager who still uses Spreadsheets to process Comp & Ben data
  
  Head HR: Which file and data is to be accepted?
  Comp & Ben Manager: Don’t know?
  Head HR: Who provided the info?
  Comp & Ben Manager: Have to check.
  Head HR: How long will it take?
  Comp & Ben Manager: I need some time.
  Head HR: Can’t you change the way you work?
  Comp & Ben Manager: Yes, but is it possible, is there a solution?
  Aon: Yes!
  Comp & Ben Manager: What?
  Aon: RemLink

• Confidentiality of sensitive data

  Even if spreadsheets are password protected, in these times of advanced technology, it is easy to decode the password with free tools available on the internet.

  Excerpt from a conversation between a Head HR and a Comp & Ben Manager
  
  HR Head: Are you serious?
  Comp & Ben Manager: Yes, spreadsheet passwords can be easily decoded
  HR Head: Oh no! Any solution?
  Aon: RemLink
  
  Another risk is that a spreadsheet containing sensitive information can be easily emailed out of the company’s network or printed or callously left on a work desk.

After understanding the disadvantages of this, do you still want to continue with spreadsheets?
It is time to explore modern technological tools made for HR systems, offered on “Software-as-a-Service” platform that can take care of all the risks mentioned above.

 RemLink will eradicate the stress on Rewards Managers of performing repetitive, yet important HR tasks such as handling salary revision cycles and allow them to spend their time on business critical priorities.

This transition from Spreadsheet to RemLink may seem overwhelming, but once you move your Compensation& Benefits operations to RemLink, you will never go back to using spreadsheets.
 
To understand this a bit better, speak to our consultants and we will be happy to show you the way forward.

Gaurav Gupta
Senior Consultant
Aon India Consulting
gaurav.gupta.33@aon.com

Nakshatra Bhatt
Consultant
Aon India Consulting
nakshatra.bhatt@aon.com

Nishtha Sharma
Consultant
Aon India Consulting
nishtha.sharma.2@aon.com