HR Software Guide: Choosing the Right Solution in Singapore

The HR tech market is projected to reach US$81.84 billion by 2032. That’s double its worth in 2024. The question is, what’s fueling this massive growth? 

According to PwC, companies using automated HR tools reduce compliance errors by 45% and complete tasks 30% faster. 

With such transformative perks, sticking to manual HR processes is like choosing inefficiency over productivity.

For businesses in Singapore, the right HR software must enhance productivity and ensure compliance with strict regulatory requirements, such as the Singapore Employment Act, Central Provident Fund (CPF), and Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA). 

Learn more: Understanding the Singapore Employment Act

But with so many options available, how do you find the best HR management system Singapore that meets your business needs? This article provides the much-needed answer. We’ll explore the key benefits of HR software and the essential features to consider when choosing the right system for your Singapore-based company.

What is HR software?

HR software is any technology designed to manage and optimize Human Resources tasks efficiently by automating workflows, providing templates, tracking time, and streamlining collaboration. These tools support recruitment, payroll, information management, and employee self-service, compliance, and performance management. They improve productivity and reduce operational overhead, allowing HR teams to focus more on strategic initiatives rather than tedious administrative tasks.

Take Singapore-based digital media company Mothership, for example, who achieved an 83.75% reduction in performance review processing time with Omni’s automated workflows and data analysis. With Omni, the Mothership team created a standardized performance review program using our expert-crafted templates, making it easy to reuse programs for each review cycle. Omni’s data analysis equipped Mothership’s HR team with real-time analytics for actionable insights into employee performance data, saving processing and analysis time for addressing actionable data insights. 

"Omni has allowed us to tap into new ways to professionalize and scale our company through tailored solutions that grow alongside our team. In addition to offering great software, Omni’s customer support is responsive and user-centered."
— Travis Loh, HR Manager at Mothership

Read next: The 7 Best HR Software Singapore Has to Offer

Why do you need HR Management System Singapore?

An HR management system Singapore is vital for the following reasons:

Increase efficiency

Despite the booming HR automation market, many businesses still rely on outdated manual processes or paperwork for employee data management. 

A 2023 UiPath study reports that 70% of Singapore companies still rely on spreadsheets and manual entry for data collection. These time-consuming methods often lead to errors, delays, and inefficiencies that can cause financial losses or non-compliance. 

Decentralized systems can also cause delays in regulatory reporting and present delays in keeping current with changing laws and regulations. Omni’s document management helps Singaporean HR teams store and administer key compliance documents and procedures to help businesses remain compliant. Our workflow automation supports policy acknowledgements that keep your team up to date on the more recent and relevant regulatory updates.

Furthermore, HR software prevents these issues by ensuring efficient and accurate salary calculations, tax filings, and social security contributions. HR management systems like Omni automate repetitive tasks like attendance tracking, payroll processing, and compliance reporting, reducing manual errors and the workload on HR teams.

Ensure compliance

The 2024 Getting the World Paid survey shows that 63% of companies see compliance as their biggest global payroll challenge. Adopting an HR management system Singapore ensures compliance with the country’s labor laws and requirements. 

Besides automating salary calculations for accuracy, these tools ensure correct IRAS tax filings and CPF contributions. Additionally, they track work hours, overtime, and leave data to ensure precision and fair employee treatment. They also ensure correct employee classifications and data protection in adherence to the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) requirements.

Omni helps Singaporean businesses avoid these costly non-compliance losses through secure document storage to keep compliance guidelines and documents readily available. Automated updates help ensure deadlines are met and prepared for, and tracking capabilities enable HR to manage employee training.

Read next: Employer’s Manual for Taxation in Singapore

Improve data management

Managing workers in Singapore involves handling sensitive employee data, including salaries, tax details, work hours, and payments. However, when data is stored in multiple systems, it can lead to duplicate entries, erroneous calculations, and data breaches. It’s no wonder 38% of senior HR leaders see data security as their major area of improvement for the next two to three years. 

An HR management system Singapore centralizes employee information for efficient recordkeeping. It eliminates data silos and facilitates integration with finance and accounting systems, making it easier for HR teams to track, access, share, and analyze pay slips, tax reports, and benefits in real time. 

Omni’s centralized document management makes gathering the necessary data required to apply for Singapore-specific initiatives such as applying for work permits, employment passes, and submitting CPF contributions seamless and timely. As for data security, Omni implements an AES-256 encryption standard (same as what banks use) to protect the transmission of data to our site. Our servers are located in physically secure, ISO 27001-certified data centers, and we apply end-to-end encryption to ensure maximum protection to your employee data.

Better decision-making

HR tools like Omni provide real-time insights on payroll activities, employee performance, and workforce trends through proper data gathering, automated reports, and analytics. This access to data helps teams make informed decisions on workforce needs rather than relying on assumptions. Automation also allows HR teams to easily communicate these insights with stakeholders and executives for strategic workforce planning.

Enhance employee experience

An effective HR management system Singapore enhances the employee experience in multiple ways. It improves company-wide communication, ensures policies and information are clear and easily accessible to all staff, empowers streamlined goal setting and performance tracking, and fosters better engagement through simplified processes and increased visibility. These systems create transparency, build trust, and allow for more efficient workforce management across the organization.

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HR systems like Omni offer self-service portals that allow employees to manage their leave requests, expenses, timesheets, and benefits. Omni’s easy-to-use interface gives employees direct control over their attendance, benefits and leave management, with personalized employee dashboards that present information relevant to each employee’s role and needs. This empowers teams to function independently and reduces workload for the HR team, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives rather than administrative tasks.

Support business growth

HR automation reduces labor costs and enhances productivity by eliminating manual errors that could result in penalties, compliance issues, and financial losses. It also frees HR teams from administrative burdens, empowering companies to maximize productivity with fewer resources. Consequently, HR teams will focus on core business initiatives like talent development, ultimately driving business growth.

Award-winning Singaporean survey and market research company Milieu Insight has achieved rapid growth across six Southeast Asian countries as well as plans to expand into US and UK markets with the support of Omni. Our platform helped Milieu’s HR team streamline critical HR operations by reducing approval times by 85%, enabling seamless integration with existing workplace tools, and providing comprehensive performance management capabilities that facilitated their transition from KPIs to OKRs. 

Omni’s regional expertise and flexibility further allowed Milieu Insight to maintain consistent HR processes while adhering to Singapore’s compliance requirements. With real-time support and a user-friendly interface that resonates with their young workforce, Milieu Insight gained the scalable HR foundation needed to continue their impressive market expansion without the operational bottlenecks.

"What differentiates Omni is how tailored it is to Southeast Asian market needs. The platform's flexibility and the team's responsiveness have been crucial in supporting our growth journey. As we look toward expansion into US and UK markets, we're confident that Omni will continue to evolve with us."
— Derek Tan, Head of HR at Milieu Insight

Read more about Milieu Insight now! 

Top HR Department Challenges

HR professionals are increasingly balancing daily operational tasks with strategic initiatives, as highlighted by the Ministry of Manpower, where future-ready HR professionals serve as strategic business partners, focusing on human capital development to drive business success.

Discussions at CHRO Singapore 2024 further emphasized HR’s role in fostering a culture of agility, addressing topics such as talent management and evolving business needs. These insights underscore the evolution of HR professionals from an administrative to a more strategic role. With that said, let’s explore the top challenges HR professionals typically encounter in Singapore:

Talent acquisition and retention

With a workforce participation rate of 68.2%, many organizations in Singapore find it difficult to hire and retain top talent. With rising talent shortages in major sectors like transportation, communication, and information technology playing a key role, Manpower Group research confirms that as many as 83% of employers in Singapore struggle to find the skilled talent they need.

HR software like Omni can directly address these challenges. Omni’s ATS streamlines the talent acquisition process by enabling organizations to create job advertisements across multiple job boards, automatically categorize and filter candidates, schedule interviews, and manage job offers—all in one system.

Compliance with regulations

HR departments in Singapore face compliance challenges due to strict labor regulations regarding taxation, payroll, benefits, data privacy, and social security contributions. Adhering to these laws is time-consuming and complex. It involves continuous monitoring as new laws are constantly enacted. 

For example, in September 2024, the Singaporean Parliament passed a landmark bill mandating ride-hailing platforms to provide drivers with work injury compensation and CPF savings. Failure to meet these regulatory requirements can lead to hefty fines, lawsuits, and reputational damage.

Omni helps Singapore businesses stay compliant with such regulatory changes by automating workflows that send timely reminders about compliance deadlines and legal updates. This ensures HR teams stay informed about the latest regulations while also notifying employees of any policy updates. Omni’s approach helps mitigate the risk of non-compliance, ensuring legal adherence and creating a well-informed workforce.

Read next: How to Implement Singapore's Workplace Fairness Bill into Your HR Practices

Workforce management

HR teams often struggle to balance labor costs, compliance, and employee productivity while adapting to evolving business needs. To maintain an agile workforce, you must ensure fair compensation, workload distribution, and regular performance reviews. 

Poor workforce management can result in overstaffing, which drives up costs, or understaffing, which leads to employee burnout. These issues ultimately increase operational costs, hindering productivity and organizational growth.

With Omni’s reports and analytics features, HR professionals gain actionable insights to optimize workforce management. By tracking critical metrics such as pay parity across departments, employee turnover patterns, and headcount trends in real-time, teams can make data-driven decisions that balance labor costs with productivity needs, ultimately creating a more agile, efficient, and well-managed workforce.

Employee engagement

Gallup reports that engaged employees produce better business outcomes. They’re also more productive, loyal, and less likely to leave their jobs. Despite these perks, HR professionals still struggle to keep employees motivated and committed to the organization.

To tackle low engagement and reduce turnover, adopt strategies like recognition programs, regular feedback, and professional growth opportunities. Paired with an HR management system Singapore, organizations can significantly improve employee engagement by streamlining communication, providing real-time insights, and offering personalized employment development plans. With the right HRMS tool like Omni, organizations can effectively track employee performance, create feedback loops, and foster a more connected workforce. 

HR efficiency

Sage’s Changing Face of HR report shows that HR teams already handle heavy workloads. From recruitment to payroll, compliance, and performance, handling these tasks—especially with limited resources—can be overwhelming. Furthermore, manual processes, outdated HR systems, and data silos slow down operations, leading to increased errors, delays, and inefficiencies that hinder business success.

Selection Criteria for HR Management System Singapore

With many options readily available, choosing the right system is crucial for aligning your HR needs and organizational goals. The right HR management system Singapore should help streamline processes, improve efficiency, and promote employee engagement. Here are some of the criteria to consider when finding the perfect solution for you: 

1. Compliance with regulations

Ensure your chosen HR management system Singapore supports compliance with local regulations and statutory benefits, including the Employment Act, PDPA, and CPF. It should accurately process payroll, deduct tax and mandatory contributions, and protect sensitive employee data. 

At Omni, we have dedicated support and payroll specialists in Singapore to help you navigate compliance laws and regulations, ensuring assistance is always readily available within your time zone.

2. Essential features

When examining HR software features, verify if the tool handles core HR tasks. This includes recruitment, onboarding, payroll and benefits, time and attendance, employee training, reporting and analytics, and performance management.

Omni empowers HR teams to focus on strategic initiatives by automating the entire end-to-end employee lifecycle, from recruitment and onboarding to employee engagement and payroll.

3. Scalability

Prioritize tools that can handle increased employee data and users as your company expands. This ensures the HR management system adapts to and supports business growth without compromising performance or efficiency.

Omni is built to scale alongside your company as it grows, adapting to your changing needs by handling increased employee data and user needs without compromising performance.

“The platform's flexibility and the team's responsiveness have been crucial in supporting our growth journey. As we look toward expansion, we're confident that Omni will continue to evolve with us.”
‍- Derek Tan, Head of HR, Milieu Insight

4. Integration

Choose software that consolidates payroll, employee data, accounting, and other HR tools into one system for seamless calculations, deductions, and analysis.

Omni seamlessly integrates with your favorite workplace productivity tools, creating a digital ecosystem that enhances HR efficiency. By connecting with platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Calendar, Omni eliminates the need to switch between applications, allowing information to flow naturally within the tools. 

Employees can request leave, check their benefits, or receive important information directly on Slack or Teams, while managers can access team schedules through Google Calendar. This interconnectedness streamlines workflows and improves productivity by creating minimal disruption to established work routines.

Learn more: HR Software Integration: A Guide

5. User-friendliness 

The HR management system Singapore should also have a user-friendly interface and an intuitive design to promote faster adoption rates. This ensures that employees quickly learn and integrate the software into their daily activities with minimal training.

Designed with an easy-to-use interface, Omni encourages quick adoption and easy integration into your daily operations, minimizing training time and disruptions to productivity.

6. Vendor support

Ensure your software providers offer expert-guided assistance for timely resolutions, software updates, and continuous compliance. This support is necessary for smooth operations with the tool.

Our award-winning support team is readily available to guide you through necessary software updates, resolve issues, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements so that you can focus on your business and initiatives that truly matter. 

7. Budget

Choose HR software that aligns with your company’s HR budget. While a cheaper tool may lack comprehensive features, an expensive one can strain your company’s finances without delivering optimum value. Evaluate the range of HR software pricing Singapore has to offer to determine what works best for your budget.

We understand that every business has unique needs; that’s why Omni offers a cost-effective solution tailored to different budgets, providing powerful features without breaking the bank.

Find the perfect plan for your business!

Types of HR Software Pricing Singapore

HR management systems come at a range of pricing tiers and structures. Here are the typical HR software pricing Singapore that you should take note of:

Per employee/month

Some HR software providers offer custom pricing based on your company size or the number of employees using it per month.

Tiered pricing

Some tools offer various pricing tiers with different features and support levels that suit your organization’s needs and budget. This HR software pricing Singapore serves businesses seeking to balance cost and functionality.  

One-time license fee

This pricing model involves a one-time payment for software ownership, eliminating recurring subscription fees. However, you may need to pay for upgrades and IT support for a newer version when the software becomes outdated.

Subscription based

This HR software pricing Singapore involves paying a monthly or annual fee to access the tool. The cost is often based on the number of users or features you want.

Measuring HR Management System Singapore ROI

The decision to adopt an HR management system goes beyond a quick tech upgrade; it represents a strategic decision requiring meticulous consideration of metrics like HRIS ROI to confirm that the investment aligns with your organization’s objectives. Here’s how to measure the ROI of your HR software:

Time savings

Measure how well the tool reduces time spent on routine HR tasks, such as payroll processing, benefits administration, and time tracking.

Discover how Qashier cut payroll processing time by 75% with Omni!

Cost savings

HR management system Singapore can drive significant cost savings by automating manual processes, improving employee experience, and safeguarding against compliance penalties.

A well-implemented HRMS can correlate with higher engagement levels and improved individual and team performance, positively impact retention by improving employee satisfaction and engagement, and lead to efficiencies in onboarding and upskilling processes, resulting in reduced training expenses over time. 

Additionally, HR systems help improve compliance by reducing errors and minimizing the risk of costly fines or penalties, all of which can directly contribute to ROI. Omni has enabled businesses to achieve an average cost savings of SG$44,000 annually.

Improved efficiency

Evaluate how efficiently your organization meets strategic HR goals, such as filling vacant positions, ensuring payroll accuracy, or training employees. Monitor metrics like time-to-hire, training completion rate, and payroll error rate to measure the effectiveness of your HR management system Singapore. 

Employee satisfaction

An effective HR management system Singapore can boost employee satisfaction, leading to higher productivity, lower turnover rates, and reduced hiring costs. HR management tools like Omni improve engagement and support a positive work environment, directly contributing to higher employee retention. 

By tracking these changes, businesses can see a clear ROI not just through a better employee experience but also a reduction in the need for costly recruitment efforts. 

Data accuracy

Evaluate how the software minimizes payroll errors by automating processes, ensures accurate recordkeeping, and minimizes data discrepancies, which in turn reduces the need for regular corrections. By enhancing data accuracy and compliance, business owners can be confident that their payroll processing is free from costly mistakes.

When evaluating the efficiency of the HR management system Singapore, these improvements not only boost operational efficiency but also contribute to substantial cost savings by avoiding non-compliance.

Additional reading: HRIS ROI Calculator: Does Investing in HRIS Pay Off?

Make Omni Your Preferred HR Management System Singapore

Choosing the right HR management system Singapore is crucial for maintaining compliance, increasing efficiency, and driving business growth.

With Omni, you’ll eliminate the inefficiencies of manual processes that plague many Singapore companies. Omni frees HR teams from administrative cycles by automating the entire end-to-end employee lifecycle—from recruitment and onboarding to employee engagement and payroll—allowing you to redirect your time to strategic work that directly impacts your bottom line.

Designed specifically to support every aspect of your business, Omni ensures you meet all requirements under Singapore’s Employment Act, PDPA, and CPF regulations. Our comprehensive platform offers an intuitive and fully customizable experience that integrates with your team’s favorite tools, such as Slack and Google Calendar, for a seamless and timely adoption.

If you’d like to learn more about how Omni’s holistic HR management system Singapore automates the entire end-to-end employee lifecycle, saving People leaders from administrative tasks and increasing organizational innovation, book a demo with our team.

Start your free trial today!