HRIS is not just for Human Resources anymore. A good system records, archives, and integrates data that a company needs across the board. It tracks and reports on applicants, employees, and former employees.
An effective system gives employees access to their personal profiles, benefits, and hours. And, it gives the Human Resources department the ability to generate reports in the interest of employee management, talent management, and training development.
7 Signs
But, these are things the HR personnel have been trained to do. So, what are the signs that indicate it’s time to get into this supportive technology?
- When time is money, HR may be more expensive than you need or want it to be. Complete a time study on the work of your HR personnel and on the time you cannot devote to creative and strategic work.
- When payroll administration reaches a certain volume, you risk errors in administration and tax reporting.
- When compliance issues raise their heads, you need the HRIS. There is no human error in the HRIS, so it will monitor compensation equity, benefits administration, and affirmative action data.
- When you begin to wrestle with employee leave information and tracking, you are in compliance jeopardy and you have no overview of how the leaves taken and available affect the workforce as a whole.
- When Accounting is complaining about the HR input, HRIS trumps errors in automatic transfer and general ledger transfers.
- When personal service takes too much time, HRIS steps up to provide online access for individual employee portals. Employees can check their payroll, benefits, and leave. They can report time in and out, and they can report work completed. They can alter personal data, such as address, benefits choice, 401(k) distribution, and the like.
- When you need a 360 picture of things, you want the best fully dimensional picture. You need a fully integrated, reliable matrix that analyzes the workforce and provides the data and reports necessary to function, plan, and comply.
What Serves you Best?
The system you need is the one that serves you best, and this is largely a function of size and industry. For example, businesses working in products count things differently and more aggressively than those in service businesses do. And, those with federal, state, or urban contracts have even different needs.
HRIS vendors are prepared to read and measure your needs. They are ready with tools they can customize and make scalable to your future needs. Free comparison tools, an HR software Buyer’s Guide, and a library of articles and white papers are available on compareHRIS.com. Make a decision to shop for HRIS before these needs tell you what to do.
Carolyn Sokol is founder and President of PEOcompare.com and Business Development Director of compareHRIS.com, both of which help match businesses to the right HRIS or outsourced HR provider for their particular needs. She is currently a member of SHRM and writes on issues that affect small businesses.
