In my opinion, the answer is none of the above. If you subscribe to the primary HR publications, HR Magazine, Workforce, and HR Executive, and have done so for information on HR technology, I am sure you would agree. I’m actually sort of glad this is the case. It probably explains the popularity of CompareHRIS.com and HR-SoftwareBlog.com. We are the only ones providing new and helpful HRIS/HRMS content on a regular basis. Given how important HRIS/HRMS systems are for the operations of an HR department, I am truthfully still surprised that these expert publications don’t write more about this very important topic. Below, I have taken a single issue of each of these magazines listed and provided my feedback as to how strong or weak they are with their coverage of HRIS and HRMS systems. My original intent was to review, on a quarterly basis, the three main HR publications to let our visitors know what these expert sources had to say on HRIS systems. But there is simply not enough material to write anything other than a one-time review.
Workforce – Of the top three HR publications, I think workforce has the fewest articles on HRIS systems. Truthfully, I am not sure if I have ever seen one. They have a special advertising section which is usually basically a white paper by one of their advertisers but that’s about it.
I am not the only one who has noticed a lack of content on HRIS systems for Workforce. As I scanned the last magazine issue, I counted only three HRIS vendors advertising in the magazine.
HR Executive – Rarely are any articles written on HR technology at all but even less often do I see any articles on HRIS or HRMS. Once in a while, I do see an HRIS or HRMS system mentioned in the news section but that is about it. If they write about HR technology, it is far more likely to be articles about talent management than anything else.
It’s a little surprising that HR Executive does not do a better job writing about HRIS technology considering that they hold the HR technology conference each year. Most of us in the industry would agree that this is by far the best conference on HR technology. Shouldn’t the magazine present articles reflecting this as well?
As with Workforce, I noticed only a few advertisements from HRIS vendors. So the question is starting to become are HRIS companies not advertising in these magazines because they are not writing about HRIS systems or are the magazines not writing about the topic because HRIS companies are not advertising with them?
HR Magazine – HR Magazine actually writes a few articles a year on HRIS systems but not enough, in my opinion, and when they do most aren’t very helpful. I was actually interviewed for an HR Magazine article about open source systems a little over a year ago and it was an awful experience. The writer misquoted me, misspelled my name, and misstated what I do for a living. The article itself was biased and, in my opinion, wrong with its conclusions and assumptions. Since then, I have seen one article on hiring a digital native to manage your HRIS and, until this month, that was pretty much it except for the news section.
The SHRM national conference is the biggest show in HR but not for technology. I am hearing more and more that advertisers are skipping the SHRM show and advertising at HR tech instead. I did notice a few more ads for HRIS systems in HR Magazine but this may have more to do with them having the most subscribers. This would also mean, for me at least, that they should also be providing the most helpful content on HRIS systems.
Closing
I might be biased, actually I am certain I am, but HRIS systems are used every day by those companies that have a system and those companies that don’t are looking for advice on how to select and purchase one of these products. Why then are the leading expert HR publications not writing about the topic? If you guys need topics, or even a guest writer, let me know. I might be interested.
