Today’s workers expect the same intuitive experience in their workplace software that they get from their other favorite phone apps. Criterion’s Employee Self Service (ESS) delivers just that. Let your employees update contact info, clock in, pull pay stubs, and more — without pinging the HR team for every little task.
With ESS, employees can tap into your system on their own terms while saving HR valuable time.
Want to see Criterion’s ESS in action? Book a demo today.
"I try to find a tool that [employees] can use, where they are in life — and I really feel like [Criterion] is a tool that they will use and will give us an opportunity to connect with them in another way.”
“[Criterion’s ESS has] taken the pressure immensely off the HR team… with everybody being able to see their [time off] balances … I haven't seen a question like that in a long time.”
"It’s amazing — the efficiencies that we’ve found, the confidence that people have in their pay, the ability to access their pay statements now…it’s just astronomical, it’s extraordinary!”
An employee self-service (ESS) system is an online hub where every worker can access the HR system of record, typically from a desktop portal or mobile app. Where traditional setups force employees to submit a ticket or email to the HR team, a good ESS allows employees to access data and complete several tasks on their own.
With ESS, employees can:
In many organizations, HR is still responsible for admin questions. But these requests could be easily handled in an ESS:
If your HR team is handling these manually, you’re losing time which could be spent on more strategic work. ESS gives employees the power to handle those tasks themselves, cutting duplicate data entry and reducing errors in the process.
Expectations around workplace technologies have also changed. 73% of full-time U.S. workers now expect their employer to offer self-service HR tools. If you want to remain competitive, give employees access to their data and the system that drives their experience.
When workers can grab their own pay stubs, update addresses, or check PTO themselves, they don’t need to ask HR for as much help.
Allow employees to enter and update their own information into your HR system, eliminating double entry and typos.
With the average HR professional earning over $70,000 per year, even modest time savings (e.g., 200 hours annually) can amount to nearly $7,000 in productivity each year.
With admin tasks off their plate, HR can focus on compliance, engagement, talent planning, and driving better workforce outcomes.
80% of U.S. workers would rather handle common HR tasks online than fill out paper forms. Giving them that autonomy can increase engagement.
Mobile-friendly ESS means your team members can download a W-2, update their contact information, or check PTO on the weekends. With the right system, they can even clock in from a job site.
Employees can correct direct-deposit info or update their address in minutes to avoid payroll delays. No need for them to wait in the HR ticket queue.
New hires can complete onboarding forms and engage with the company culture before day one, with built-in announcements to keep everyone connected.
Managers can view schedules, verify timecards, schedule training, send messages to team members, and more — all from one app.
Leaders can easily approve time-off requests and timesheets to eliminate back-and-forth with HR and stay focused on productivity.
Managers can gain the insights they need to make faster, more informed decisions without digging through spreadsheets or sending follow-up emails.
Give your people the freedom to help themselves with a single source of truth to manage their own data. Discover how Criterion’s Employee Self-Service features save hours of admin time while sparking better engagement.
Get a demoNot every ESS portal covers all the bases. Criterion bundles every must-have (and several nice-to-have extras) into one unified HCM platform:
Employees can update their own addresses, emergency contacts, direct deposit details, and tax withholding all in one portal. HR can review or auto-approve changes, keeping records accurate without the need for manual re-entry.
With instant access to pay stubs, year-to-date earnings, and W-2s, employees can handle tax season with ease. This reduces HR service tickets and ensures employees have the documents they need when they need them.
Employees can clock in and out through the mobile app and submit timesheet edits from anywhere. All time data syncs automatically with payroll for automatic processing. Optional geofencing ensures clock-ins only occur at approved locations (including remote job sites). This improves accuracy for location-based labor tracking and prevents time theft.
Employees can easily check their vacation or sick time balances, submit time-off requests, and track approvals all in one place. Managers get notifications to review and approve requests directly from the mobile app. This way, scheduling decisions happen faster with less back-and-forth.
Employees can review, compare, and enroll in health insurance plans and other approved benefits directly through their self-service portal. Your team can take full advantage of your organization’s offerings (without needing to contact HR) by making the value of their total compensation more accessible.
New hires can complete forms like direct deposit, I-9s, and W-4s before day one. Managers can communicate with new hires, track their required training, and automatically connect them to the right teams and cost centers on the same platform. This ensures smoother onboarding and compliance for everyone involved.
Criterion ESS serves as a central hub for all your updates, like:
The platform helps strengthen your culture (especially with remote or distributed teams) by keeping everyone in the loop.
Administrators can set role-based permissions so employees only see their own data, while managers and executives can access the information they need across teams. You can customize views and generate reports by division, department, subsidiary, or any custom structure. Single sign-on (SSO) ensures secure access across locations and business units.
With full-featured apps for iOS and Android, employees can manage HR tasks anytime, anywhere. The intuitive interface makes it easy to access your system of record on the go — even in areas without service. Offline entries sync automatically once a connection is restored, keeping everything up to date without extra steps.
Built on a single database, our ESS is seamlessly connected with every Criterion module (Payroll, HR, and Talent Engagement). With an open RESTful API, you can also integrate Criterion with any third-party system, like your ERP and project management tools. This allows you to align employee data with all departments to unlock better insights from reports and more efficiency from automation.
Most enterprise-grade systems are rigid and outdated. Criterion is built to be configured to your unique workflows and industry standards.
Criterion’s mobile-first ESS lets employees clock in from the field, with geofencing to prevent off-site punches and offline mode for low-signal areas (ideal for construction and field teams).
We give you access to all of the backend, so you can configure custom PTO rules, union payroll settings, and specialized reports without expensive development time.
Built on a unified database with an open RESTful API, Criterion ESS can sync instantly with your ERP, project management, and other key systems. No double entry or delays.
Criterion ESS is easy to use, with a modern, intuitive design and multi-language support. Employees can get started with little to no training.
Every client gets a dedicated account manager (one that knows your business) to help with custom reporting, unique configurations, efficiency tips, and more.
Criterion delivers enterprise-grade functionality with affordable pricing for growing teams — all in a unified system that scales with you.
A self-service portal is only valuable when your people can actually use it. A thoughtful rollout turns ESS from “just another tool” into a core system that saves time, improves accuracy, and boosts satisfaction across your organization.
Follow this four-step framework (based on Criterion’s own rollout methodology) to drive adoption and make a lasting impact.
Pick a platform that feels like the consumer apps your staff already know. A clean, modern interface (paired with full mobile access) removes barriers for field crews and shift workers who rarely sit at a desk.
This is why Criterion puts user experience first: if technology is straightforward, fast, and familiar, employees will come back again and again without needing constant support.
Support your rollout with short demos, “how-to” videos, and quick-reference guides that connect ESS features to real-life scenarios. Show employees how to:
Make it clear what problems the system solves, and adoption will follow. The more employees see the benefit, the faster they’ll make ESS part of their routine.
Encourage managers and HR to use the system themselves for time-off approvals, personal updates, and communication. When leadership consistently relies on the ESS, it sends a strong signal that this is the go-to platform for everyday tasks.
After the system’s launch, collect feedback through short surveys or quick team check-ins. If a feature isn’t working, address it with updated training or minor configuration changes. Criterion’s support team works alongside you to make improvements stick.
Yes. Criterion’s ESS allows employees to download digital pay stubs, year-to-date earnings, and annual tax forms such as W‑2s and 1099s on demand, with zero HR involvement. You can configure access for specific documents and mandate reviews for information updates as you choose.
With Criterion’s ESS, employees can enter their own time and update personal details like address or tax status directly through the mobile app. That data flows automatically into payroll and other connected systems so HR doesn’t need to manually re-enter it (avoiding typos and delays). Plus, with employees managing their own records, you have more eyes on their data, making it easier to spot and correct issues early with fewer bottlenecks.
ESS software boosts engagement by giving employees direct access to the tools and information that matter most — like benefits, time off, and personal information. When employees can manage admin tasks on their own, they feel more connected to their role, more in control of their work life, and more confident in the systems that support them.
Criterion’s ESS runs on a unified system with role-based permissions, so everyone uses the same platform while only seeing only what’s relevant to them.
All the data flowing through the system is shared on a single database, so you can always trust your HCM to be accurate and up-to-date.
Employee self-service isn’t just a convenience. It’s a core part of a modern, efficient HR strategy.
With Criterion HCM, you get a powerful, intuitive ESS solution that’s built to support the way your organization works.
Give your employees an easier way to interact with your company, while freeing your HR team from repetitive admin tasks.
Book a personalized demo of Criterion’s ESS today.
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