Microsoft Access is a software program that lets you build and manage databases. It’s relatively easy to use and has a similar look and feel to other Microsoft products. This makes it a suitable choice for beginners or those who don’t have a lot of computer experience. There are many things you can use Access for, and one of them is to manage your employees. You can use one of the available templates or create your own.
What is an HR Database?
An HR database is used by professionals to store information related to their employees, such as training details or standard working hours. It’s important that employee databases are secure because they do contain sensitive information. With so many legal considerations to think about, it’s best to collect only the information you need on your employees.
Here are some examples of information you can include in an HR database:
- Holidays and absenteeism
- Schedules or standard working hours
- Timesheets and expenses
- Personal details (i.e., date of birth, job title)
- Salary information
- Qualifications held
- Training details
Considerations for Employee Databases
As the employer, you have a responsibility to keep your employees’ information safe and secure. If you don’t follow the proper guidelines, valuable information can be exposed to unauthorized parties. You could face penalties, and you’ll surely end up losing trust in your employees and clients.
Below are the considerations to make when building and maintaining an employee database:
- Storing data ethically. Your employees’ information should be held securely and only shared with pertinent people. Make sure that you are in compliance with such laws as the Data Protection Act 1998 and Freedom of Information Act. Employees should also know how their data is being used.
- Security. How secure is your HR database? If your data is stored on the cloud, you’ll want to know what type of security measures are in place. We also recommend encrypting your database, keeping all software up to date and limiting admin users.
- Usability. The main features of an HR database are to manage employee records, track holidays, record absences and so on. As long as your database was built properly, it should be easy to use. If it’s not, contact Arkware to learn more about building an intuitive and simple employee database.
- Migration. It’s possible that one day, you may need to migrate to a new database system. You can migrate Microsoft Access to MySQL, SQLServer, Azure, Oracle and others. This is important as you don’t want to have to input everything by hand.
- Storage size. Lastly, know how much storage capacity is likely to be needed. By thinking ahead, you can ensure that your database doesn’t run out of server space. Most database programs have large capacities, but it’s still worth checking into.
Building and maintaining an HR database is an important part of owning a business. To learn more about having a custom database built for your business or organization, contact the database experts at Arkware today.