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5 Cool BambooHR Tricks You Might Not Know About in 2024

bmBambooHR is one of the systems where you can hardly cut the edge of capability. Instead, most users go on familiarizing with their features for months, if not years. You may believe you’ve mastered the craft of ‘bambooing’ workforce, but just like with missing basic shortcuts on your keyboard; it is likely that you still have to learn plenty about this platform.

Well, that’s not entirely your fault: BambooHR is a tireless team that is constantly improving its product. Most of their efforts are directed towards simplifying HR management, and missing them would be a pity. This is why we decided to share few interesting hints that can help you make the most of this system. You can also check our detailed BambooHR reviews to learn more about the sofware’s capabilities.

Why is BambooHR a popular choice for HR management?

BambooHR has become a popular choice for HR management due to several compelling reasons:

  • User-Friendly Interface: BambooHR is known for its intuitive, easy-to-use interface. Users with minimal technical knowledge can quickly navigate its features, streamlining HR processes and minimizing the learning curve. The system is designed with simplicity in mind, offering easy access to employee data, performance tracking, and other key HR functions.
  • Automation and Time-Saving: BambooHR automates many routine HR tasks, such as payroll, attendance tracking, and performance reviews. This helps HR teams save valuable time, allowing them to focus on more strategic aspects of employee engagement and development.
  • Employee Self-Service: The platform empowers employees with self-service features, allowing them to access their HR information, such as benefits, time off, and pay stubs. This reduces administrative overhead and improves employee satisfaction by providing transparency and control over personal data.
  • Scalability: BambooHR is highly scalable, making it suitable for companies of all sizes. As a business grows, it can easily add users, integrate with other tools, and adjust features to match evolving HR needs.
  • Advanced Reporting and Analytics: BambooHR provides powerful reporting tools that allow HR professionals to gain insights into employee data, track trends, and make informed decisions. These customizable reports can cover areas such as turnover rates, compensation, and employee performance.

1. Adding custom fields

Let’s be honest about it: without custom fields, an HR management system won’t eliminate spreadsheets, but make you pile them on your computer for ‘emergency cases’. BambooHR is not one of those platforms that restrict information input, but rather a configurable hub with endless entry possibilities. Would you like to mention employees’ nicknames? Trigger birthday reminders? No problem, BambooHR has you covered!

Besides, there is no limitation to what type of fields you can create. BambooHR supports checkboxes, multi-row line paragraphs, currencies, dates, numbers, percentage, and many similar options. In fact, custom fields can be used for permissions and approvals, and translated to various languages to suit decentralized teams.

2. Email Alerts

How about an automated notifying system that cuts the time you spend sharing information? With BambooHR’s latest improvements, it is possible to remind coworkers of every important detail, so that you will have more time to devote to hiring talented professionals or other important activities.

The process is made as simple as possible: all you have to do is to set up a reminder, and select the people that are going to receive it. You can even get creative and remind managers of the birthdays and anniversaries of their employees, or set an automated notification thanking your team for each successfully accomplished project. As you know, BambooHR can also track assets, which makes it possible to invite users to update new hardware/software once in awhile.

3. Point-in-time Reports

BambooHR’s team likes to call their product a ‘time machine’, and they are well entitled to do so. This system allows users to follow job and compensation information for any point/period of time. As you enter data in this system, it automatically adapts it to a historical chart that can be inspected whenever necessary. What is even better is that BambooHR depicts future trends based on past performance.

But how does this work in practice? Let’s assume you want to calculate salary growth percentage for the last three years: all it would take you is to check salary rates on the specific date in 2013, and pull off a report right away. This makes BambooHR suitable for payroll management, where it adds incredible value to the transparency of your company’s operations.

BambooHR offers powerful reporting features

BambooHR offers powerful reporting features

4. Payroll Change Reports

Alongside the popular Point-in-time reports, BambooHR features include payroll alteration analytics, and the app saves time by calculating expense information that must otherwise be entered manually. Such reports are ready in few minutes, and can be easily exported to Excel and CSV formats.

Observed from a payroll manager’s perspective, this means that BambooHR is applicable for every payroll system you’re using, at least as far as to spare you manual entries. You can use it to follow payroll modifications, and depict the updates that must be implemented in your payroll strategy. In order to understand this, think of time-off requests you could neither track nor report on in the past: with BambooHR in action, they are fully accountable and blended inside your total reports. Plus, they remain in the system so that you won’t have to export them over and over again. It is because of it that developers call this feature déjà vu, and are extremely proud of it.

Contrary to what someone would expect, introducing such advanced capabilities didn’t affect BambooHR pricing – the product is just as affordable and small biz-friendly as it always was.

5. Feeds for Google and iCalendars

Diverse feeds are among BambooHR’s coolest features, in particular the unique Who’s Our Calendar which follows office presence on given days, holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. Interestingly enough, many users have no idea these feeds can be synced to their regular calendars (Google, Outlook, or iCalendar).

As a manager, you definitely won’t have the time to go around offices and check who’s in, but rather leave this dull task to BambooHR. Thanks to the flawless calendar integration, you won’t have to log into BambooHR: you can track events on a particular day by simply looking at your regular calendar. This way, you will never miss an important meeting or event, and you will stay in control of what employees are doing on daily basis.

Key Insights

  • Custom Fields Flexibility: BambooHR offers a wide range of customizable fields, allowing for extensive information input including checkboxes, multi-row paragraphs, dates, and more. This adaptability supports various HR needs such as employee nicknames and birthday reminders.
  • Automated Email Alerts: The system enables the setup of automated email reminders, helping to streamline communication and ensure important details are not overlooked. This includes notifications for birthdays, anniversaries, and project milestones.
  • Point-in-time Reports: BambooHR provides historical and future trend analysis through its point-in-time reporting feature. This allows users to track job and compensation information over specific periods, enhancing payroll and performance management.
  • Payroll Change Analytics: The platform includes detailed payroll change reports, simplifying the tracking of payroll modifications and reducing manual data entry. These reports can be exported easily to Excel and CSV formats.
  • Calendar Feeds Integration: BambooHR’s calendar feeds can be synchronized with Google, Outlook, or iCalendar, allowing managers to keep track of office presence, holidays, and events without needing to log into BambooHR separately.

FAQ

  1. How do I add custom fields in BambooHR? To add custom fields in BambooHR, navigate to the settings and select the option for custom fields. From there, you can choose the type of field you need, such as checkboxes, multi-row paragraphs, or dates, and configure it according to your specific requirements.
  2. Can I set up automated email alerts in BambooHR? Yes, you can set up automated email alerts in BambooHR. Simply go to the notifications section, create a new alert, and specify the conditions and recipients for the alerts. This helps in keeping everyone informed about important events and deadlines.
  3. What are point-in-time reports and how do they work? Point-in-time reports in BambooHR allow you to track job and compensation information for any specific period. The system automatically charts historical data and can predict future trends based on past performance. This is useful for analyzing salary growth or other performance metrics over time.
  4. How do payroll change reports benefit my organization? Payroll change reports in BambooHR help by automatically calculating payroll modifications and tracking time-off requests. These reports can be exported to Excel or CSV formats, saving time and ensuring accuracy in payroll management.
  5. How can I integrate BambooHR calendar feeds with my existing calendars? To integrate BambooHR calendar feeds with Google, Outlook, or iCalendar, access the calendar feed URL from BambooHR and add it to your external calendar application. This allows you to view office events, holidays, and employee presence directly from your regular calendar.
Emily Watson

By Emily Watson

Emily Watson is a human resource management expert specializing in workforce planning and HR development. Throughout her years in the industry, she has also dabbled in career path development, employee training, and workforce management. In her four years as a contributor for FinancesOnline, she has reviewed over a thousand HR tools ranging from recruitment platforms to unified human capital management suites. She has also created in-depth analyses of emerging HR technologies and trends to provide companies worldwide with the data they need to keep up with industry shifts.

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