People form an important asset that directly or indirectly influences the functional parameters of the organization, depending on how they are managed. Right?

Every organization- however modern and hi-tech it might be, needs a reliable and suitably skilled workforce. The employees and associates play a vital role in the functioning, development, and progress of the organization. Naturally, the function of human resources becomes very crucial. It becomes a time-consuming and detailed operation that keeps several senior managers occupied in the people-management protocols.

There arises a reliable, skilled team or some dependable resource that can manage the human resources functions effectively. The HRMS software (Human Resource Management System) from Runtime Software Pvt Ltd—has enhanced the HR ecosystem of numerous business organizations.

Spearheading this company is its coherent Director, Prashant Agarwal. Under his coherent leadership, The Runtime HRMS application offers a wide range of essentials, including core human resource management, payroll software application, project management, Timesheet attendance, employee dashboard, and performance management system.

In the rendezvous with the CIOLOOK India team, Prashant expatiated on the initial glimpses of starting Runtime Software Pvt Ltd, his early struggles, the company’s growth, his advice, and the vision set for the future.

Please brief our audience about Runtime Software, its USPs, and how you are currently positioned as one of the best HR and Payroll Management Solution Providers.

We started in 2016 with the vision to develop a world-class solution to manage human resources and payroll. We reviewed many HRMS solutions available in the market and got disappointed after realizing that there was no optimum solution to suit small and medium businesses in India. Some of them were too complex to use, or did not have adequate features, while others were too costly to afford for SMEs.

This gave us a starting ground to build Runtime HRMS. The idea was to build a user-friendly and feature-rich solution at a budget price, that can be easily adopted by new age small businesses.

We had only one goal in mind – Automate HR tasks so HR Professionals can focus on their core asset – the employees. We have been constantly working to upgrade Runtime HRMS, adding new features, and improving existing ones, all based on the feedback of our customers. Our mission is to build a great product that our customers love to use every day.

Tell us more about the offerings of Runtime Software Pvt Ltd and what aspects make it stand out in the cutthroat competition.

Runtime HRMS offers everything from employee onboarding, time and attendance management, payroll processing, performance management, and timesheets. Our easy-to-use features, it helps save organizations hundreds of hours every month.

Our well-documented features and YouTube tutorials ensure that users can find their way out without contacting support for each query. We believe that in this new era where customers are becoming more and more tech-friendly, it is

imperative to offer a product that is self-served and easy to use. The most common feedback we have received from our customers is, “It’s very easy to use!”

Please brief us about your journey in the industry and how they have made the company excel in its niche.

I am a Chartered Accountant (equivalent to a CPA in the US), with more than a decade of experience in the Fintech industry. He has worked with multinational brands like General Electric, ICICI Bank, Deutsche Bank, and Genpact. I began my entrepreneurial journey in 2013 by starting a software company. Initially, I focused on website development and customized software solutions. In 2016, Runtime HRMS was launched as a flagship product of Runtime Software and soon became a hit with HR professionals across India.

Being an experienced leader, share your opinion on how adopting modern technologies like AI and ML impacts the HR and Payroll Management Solution space and how Runtime Software is adapting to the change?

AI and ML have a huge potential to improve the existing solutions in almost all domains. Apart from offering simpler solutions like text predictions and pattern recognition, there are immense possibilities that are unfolding every day. HR and Payroll management space, which largely deals with people, also has many implementations of AI to improve the everyday experience of employees and employers. We are also innovating to include AI and ML in our solution to bring a better user experience.

We have plans to include AI-driven employee flight risk assessment, recruitment analysis, and more in our existing offerings.

Considering the current scenario, what initial challenges did you face and what are the challenges now?

Like every other start-up, we also faced a lot of challenges in our initial stage. Finding suitable candidates to be part of our workforce was one of the biggest challenges. Since we could not hire experienced professionals in our early days, we relied on hiring freshers and trained them to do the job well. We also faced poaching challenges from our competitors in the HRMS domain. Acquiring the first 100 customers was the next big challenge. Our sales cycles were almost two-three months long. But slowly, people realized the value we were offering, and we also started getting many referral signups.

What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the HR and Payroll Management Solution space?

We would advise new start-ups and entrepreneurs to focus on product quality and deliver the best user experience. Listening to the early customers’ feedback and implementing the same in the solution has worked for almost all start-ups. Before launching the product, understanding the market, competition, and user pain points is something every start-up should go through before launch. I advise the youth to overcome their self-doubts, build new skills and abilities, understand the customer’s needs and incorporate the same into the products they build. One should never stop innovating their product and should look for a great team to help their business grow.

As the start-up starts getting some traction, working on a brand building becomes extremely important. Believe in yourself and commit long-term if you really want to succeed. As Bill Gates famously said – “People overestimate what they can achieve in 1 year, and underestimate what they can achieve in 10 years.” Play the long game.

How do you envision scaling Runtime Software’s operations and offerings in the future?

We are now building partnerships with other brands to achieve exponential growth. We are partnering with Payroll outsourcing companies, Payroll consultants, for reselling our solution. We are also partnering with other software providers whose products are complementary to ours.

Our recent partnership is with a micro-finance company that offers unsecured loans to salaried individuals. This will enable our 5,000+ users to get easy financing options from within our platform.

We have also tied up with a major CRM provider to integrate our solution within their CRM so that users can easily clock in/out from within their solution without having to log in separately for attendance tracking.

There are many other possibilities that we are exploring now to bring the best value to our customers.