So much of what you read about HRIS solutions makes you think that every Human Resources user needs the same thing. It makes you think that HRIS works best in global environments and may be much more than you need at the time. It leaves you thinking that HRIS programs are delivered whole and that they expand like other business systems. The fact is: More businesses are moving towards single vendor solutions for their complex and shifting needs.
What you need is some fact checking.
Human Resources information systems have developed over two generations. Like anything else, they have developed at different paces and on different planes. Some systems installed in-house, some sold as packages, and others enabled third-party providers.
Businesses – differing in size, industry sector, and technology readiness – bought into different systems at different times. At any given time then, HRIS serves myriad interests in an array of applications. The complexity and dysfunction this can create moves business customers towards single vendor solutions.
Corporations routinely age or grow out of one system or another. Despite this, “47% of participating companies have used their current HRMS/HRIS for more than seven years.” The routine response is to upgrade what they have rather than replace it. Change is difficult, and factors such as key personnel change, preference of one product to another, and additional expense hinder the decision to act. Thus, a fluid dynamic underlies implementation, administration, and decision making.
What you have is patchwork.
Katherine Jones references a Bersin Report on investment in human capital systems in a recent article on Human Resource Executive Online®. Of the companies surveyed:
- 11% have 10 or more talent-management systems.
- 38% have started new talent-acquisition programs.
- 25-30% have implemented new learning-and-development or performance-management software solutions within the last one to three years.
- 54% are considering purchasing a new HR or talent-management technology in the next 18 months.
- 90% are replacing their existing solutions.
- 10% intend to add new solutions.
- 24% will replace an existing HCM application.
- 66% will do both: replace existing software and add brand new solutions to their human capital environment.
This spectrum of demands and purchasing decisions does not suggest any particular dissatisfaction or disappointment with any specific provider or process. It basically emphasizes the volatility in the market partly driven by high performing industry leaders.
What you see is a single vendor syndrome.
The Human Resources technology in place has appeared in segments over many years. A company may have a supported payroll system but still manage its own personnel performance processes. It may have HCM, ERP, ATS, LMS, and more or none of these add-ons.
However, one thing that is happening is that both executive decision-makers and HR management have come to expect the maximum from these systems. What had been a “necessary evil” has become a central management tool, one idea that crosses all functional silos, the one means to integrate the data required of quality decision-making. So, what you see is a strong move towards single vendor solutions.
Single vendor reliability:
- performs core Human Resources functions
- reduces systems interface problems
- eliminates conflicting upgrades
- simplifies and universalizes training
- centralizes recruitment, performance assessment, talent management, compensation, and benefits
- communicates news, culture, and opportunities
- provides personal and performance analytics
In addition, these single source providers are cloud-based, and that provides deal making advantages:
- Scaled down capital investment
- Savings on administration
- Fast utilization and consequent scalability
- Reduced load on existing technology functions
What you want is a life cycle system
By replacing, coordinating, and integrating various human capital resources, single vendor cloud-based HRIS will up the ante. The performance quality and menu of solutions will differentiate their appeal and add value to their unique business proposition as single vendor solutions.