Find Employee Info Instantly: Master Quick Search & Saved Views

Okay, let's talk about something that eats up way too much time for HR teams: finding employee information. You need someone's contact details, their performance review, their leave requests... it's always something. And you're often scrambling through spreadsheets, multiple systems, or worse, piles of paper. Sounds familiar?

Imagine this: Sarah, the HR manager at a growing tech startup, spends a ridiculous amount of time each week just tracking down the status of new hires. She's constantly switching between her ATS, the onboarding documents folder, and email threads to answer questions about who's completed which training or who still needs to submit their paperwork. All this manual effort steals valuable time she could be spending on strategic initiatives like employee engagement or talent development.

The Goal: Slash the time you spend hunting for employee info. We're talking about getting critical data in seconds, not minutes (or hours!). Imagine being able to instantly see all active employees, a snapshot of your onboarding pipeline, or a list of pending leave approvals with a single click.

Here's how to do it, using a simple but powerful combo:

1. Master the Quick Search: Most platforms have a search bar that scans across all your data. But most people underutilize it. Think beyond just names! What about searching for specific skills, departments, or even the dates of last performance reviews? The more specific you are, the faster you'll find what you need. For example, instead of searching "performance review," try "performance review 2023 marketing team."

2. Create "Bookmark" Views (Saved Filters): This is where the real magic happens. Think of these as custom shortcuts to pre-filtered data. Instead of running the same search over and over, you save the search criteria as a view. Here are some ideas:

   • Active Employees: Filter by employment status = active. Boom, instant list of current employees.
   • Onboarding Pipeline: Filter by start date within the last 30 days, and maybe a status field like "Background Check Complete" or "Training Assigned." Now you can see exactly where each new hire is in the process.
   • Pending Leave Approvals: Filter leave requests by status = pending. No more digging through email threads!

3. Refine and Iterate: Don't be afraid to tweak your saved views as your needs change. Add more filters, adjust the criteria, and rename them to be crystal clear. The goal is to make them as efficient as possible.

Think of it like this: instead of searching your entire house for your keys every morning, you hang them on a hook by the door. Saved views are that hook.

This might sound simple, but trust me, it can be a game-changer. And that's where tools like GraceBlocks can really shine. With GraceBlocks, you can build a custom employee database, define all the necessary data fields (like employment status, department, leave requests, etc.), and then easily create these quick search and saved view features. Plus, you can automate workflows around leave approvals, onboarding, and other HR tasks. Because it's no-code, you can build this yourself without needing developers or specialized skills.

Ultimately, it's about reclaiming your time and focusing on what matters: your people. So, start experimenting with quick search and saved views today. You'll be surprised how much time you save.

Found this helpful? GraceBlocks is a flexibile tool I developed to manage my business and personal life, including things like automating the publishing of this blog post. It can do the same for you! Sign up for free to explore the possibilities at my.graceblocks.com. Have a specific project in mind? Click here to contact us.