What Features Should You Look for When Choosing an HRIS?

Choosing an HRIS to help manage, organize, and streamline the efficiency of your human resources tasks is not a decision to be made lightly. You need a system that will allow you to automate and handle these tasks with ease across not only HR, but also payroll, accounting, and management. HRIS platforms let teams effectively plan, centralize, and control a variety of processes that are crucial to the decision-making process. A good HRIS can also result in a better employee experience, which in turn can help promote loyalty and retention. With all of these benefits, it’s important to consider the exact features you should be looking for in an HRIS system. Here are some points to keep in mind as you make your decision ...

It should be mobile

Gone are the days of drudgery when you had something urgent to do in the HRIS but were away from your computer. With today’s cloud-based systems accessible across multiple devices, staff can access their HRIS wherever they are. Across the building or across the country, a good HRIS is secure yet accessible and you can update it from anywhere.

It should help employees help themselves

One of the biggest problems facing organizations and businesses of all sizes is the amount of time lost slogging through different channels trying to find answers. A good HRIS is like a self-service knowledge base that helps employees help themselves and keep their credentials and other personal details up-to-date. No one wants to wade through countless vacation requests, absences, and evaluations, all the while trying to find that one piece of crucial information. Give employees the tools to log in securely to keep their own information current. They’ll eagerly help themselves if given the opportunity.

It should be user friendly

These days, applications and platforms being “user friendly” isn’t just a trend. It’s an expectation. If your HRIS isn’t easy to use and intuitive to learn, you’ll have a hard time getting maximum adoption throughout the company. The last thing you want is a complicated system that’s too difficult or time-consuming to use.

It should allow for customizable fields and reports

When managers want to see attendance, performance, and other crucial details, it’s worth having an HRIS that allows this kind of information to be gathered and printed quickly and efficiently. The best HRIS programs have templates that can be used for this very purpose. Get the data you need in order to see where you can improve and where your organization is truly ahead of the curve.

More than just HR management tools

So far, we’ve talked about features in an HRIS that make HR management easier. But these are by no means the only features you should consider when considering which HRIS to purchase. Recruitment tools are also an invaluable part of any serious HRIS, and any features that allow you to recruit more talented people (and retain them) can be extremely valuable, especially in areas that are highly competitive.

It should make the onboarding process more efficient

Different HRIS systems approach the onboarding process differently. A good HRIS system should streamline your onboarding process by automatically connecting it with the rest of your HR system, including benefits, payroll, and scheduling. You should be able to make an offer, create, a benefits package, request a background check, and auto-send offer letters to new hires for e-signature. This should be allowed for full-time employees, part-time employees, contractors, and freelancers. Org charts and company directories make it easier to manage your workforce. HRIS should allow workers to update their own records, to make sure you have the most up-to-date info.

It should allow for time and scheduling

It's time to ditch the spreadsheet. A good HRIS system should have tools to make scheduling easy. Look for features where you can create and edit shifts; notify employees of new schedules; block out dates to work around people's schedules; monitor employee activity in real time; and manage PTO requests.

It should allow for easy and reliable payroll

Payroll can be complicated. A good HRIS system allows you to support payroll and automatically synch with the rest of HR. Keep track of wage garnishments, direct deposits, tip reporting, multiple schedules and pay rates, contractor payments, general ledger reporting, paystubs, and more.

Which HRIS is right for you?

As you can see, there are a lot of criteria that go into making a good, reliable HRIS. You’ll want to carefully consider your goals and objectives for having such a system, and look at the ways you’ll save time (and money) by using it consistently.  Although it’s a big decision, it’s not impossible, and these features will help make the process much easier.