We Had Premium HR Software. So Why Was I Still Using Spreadsheets?

I’ve worked with some very good HR software.

Premium platforms. Sophisticated systems. Beautiful dashboards. More functionality than you could possibly use in a day.

So why did I still find myself opening spreadsheets?

It wasn’t because the software was bad.

In fact, quite the opposite.

The systems were good.

The problem was that software can only do so much when the business using it is running lean.

The HR system can tell you what happened. But who is actually watching?

Enterprise businesses often have something smaller businesses simply don't have: resources.

They may have dedicated HR teams, HR business partners, managers with more capacity, people specialists on the ground and someone whose job is to monitor what is happening across the organisation.

But the reality for many businesses is very different.

Managers are busy.

HR is busy.

Everyone is wearing multiple hats.

And while the HR system might be perfectly capable of recording information, someone still needs to notice the patterns, investigate them and make sure something actually happens.

That's where the spreadsheets started appearing.

Managing leave is easy. Managing what happens around leave isn't.

Most decent HR systems can manage leave.

An employee requests leave.

A manager approves it.

The balance is updated.

Simple.

But what about the bigger picture?

What happens when an employee starts taking frequent absences?

What happens when there is a recurring pattern?

What happens when someone is regularly late?

What happens when a manager approves leave without considering the wider attendance picture?

And, particularly in South Africa, leave isn't always as straightforward as it looks on a screen.

Our leave legislation has its own complexities, and managing the entitlement is only one part of the job.

The other part is understanding what is actually happening with your people.

I often found myself manually going through information, looking for patterns and using spreadsheets to keep track of things that the HR system itself wasn't necessarily prompting anyone to investigate.

The system had the information.

I had to connect the dots.

And then there was performance management...

This is where I think one of the biggest gaps in HR systems becomes apparent.

Managers don't generally wake up in the morning thinking:

"Today I'm going to neglect my team's performance management."

They're busy.

They have targets.

Customers.

Budgets.

Deadlines.

Their own priorities.

Sometimes people management simply gets pushed down the list until there is a problem.

And then HR gets the call.

"Something needs to be done about Tom."

But how long has Tom been struggling?

Three months?

Six months?

Has anyone had the conversation?

Has anyone documented the support that was provided?

Has anyone identified what Tom actually needs to improve?

Has anyone given him a genuine opportunity to turn things around?

Because sometimes the person everyone has decided is a "poor performer" is actually the person who needed a little more direction, support or accountability six months earlier.

I've seen this happen.

And I've seen how much harder the situation becomes when intervention only starts once the problem has become serious.

What I really wanted was a system that nudged managers before HR had to get involved.

This is probably one of the biggest reasons HR Blox exists.

I wanted a system that didn't just store information.

I wanted a system that could help businesses notice what needs attention.

Imagine a manager receiving a simple notification:

Tom hasn't had a 1:1 in over three weeks. Would you like to schedule one?

Or:

Tom has taken sick leave three times this month, all on Fridays. It may be a good idea to check in with Tom.

Not an accusation.

Not a disciplinary warning.

Just a nudge.

A reminder to have the conversation.

And then perhaps:

Have you checked in with Tom? Add notes about the conversation so there is a record of the support provided.

Or imagine this:

Tom hasn't met his KPIs for six consecutive months. No performance improvement plan has been recorded. Would you like to get started?

That is the kind of HR technology I wanted.

Not technology that replaces managers.

Technology that helps managers manage.

Because prevention is usually easier than repair.

When issues are addressed early, they are often much easier to manage.

A conversation.

A little guidance.

Clear expectations.

Regular check-ins.

Documented support.

A manager paying attention.

Sometimes that's all it takes to turn things around.

And sometimes it doesn't.

Sometimes an employee genuinely isn't meeting the requirements of the role, and a formal process is necessary.

But the difference is that you aren't suddenly trying to reconstruct six months of events because HR has been brought into a situation that should have been managed much earlier.

You have a trail.

You have conversations.

You have support.

You have accountability.

And most importantly, you have actually managed the person.

HR software shouldn't only work when you have a fully fledged HR team behind it.

This is what I believe has been missing from a lot of HR technology.

There are fantastic HR platforms available.

But many have been built with larger organisations in mind: businesses that have dedicated HR resources and teams who can interpret the information, monitor activity and follow up.

What about the business with 20 employees?

50 employees?

100 employees?

What about the owner who is also the operations director?

The manager who is also responsible for sales?

The HR person who is responsible for recruitment, payroll, employee relations, training, compliance and approximately 47 other things?

They don't necessarily need another place to store information.

They need something that helps them stay on top of people management.

That's the thinking behind HR Blox.

HR Blox isn't about replacing good HR practice.

It's about making good HR practice easier to actually do.

It's about bringing the information, processes, reminders, documentation and people management activities together, while helping managers recognise when something needs their attention.

Because HR shouldn't only arrive when there's a problem.

And managers shouldn't have to be HR experts to manage their people properly.

Sometimes they just need a nudge.

A reminder.

A prompt.

A place to document the conversation.

A system that says:

"Hey, have you noticed this?"

That's the kind of HR software I would have wanted when I was the person juggling all those hats.

And that's the kind of HR software I'm building with HR Blox.

Because HR should be about managing people, not managing spreadsheets.