HRIS 101: All You Need To Know in 2024
2 hours per day. That’s how much time a Human Resources Information System (HRIS) can help HR professionals save on administrative tasks. In other words, HRIS is indispensable in turning HR from an administrative into a strategic function.
Effective HR management without a Human Resources Information System (HRIS) is virtually impossible nowadays, at least for companies of a certain size.
In this article, we take a closer look at the Human Resources Information System, share best practices for HRIS management, and provide ideas to take your HRIS analytics efforts to the next level.
Let’s dive in!
Contents
What is an HRIS?
HRIS vs HRMS vs HCM
HRIS functions
Benefits of an HRIS
HRIS examples
HRIS implementation in 6 steps
HRIS management best practices
How to get the most out of your HRIS data
The HRIS analyst role
HRIS certification
FAQ
What is an HRIS?
A Human Resources Information System, or HRIS, is a software solution that is used to collect, manage, store, and process an organization’s employee information. Essentially, HR teams use an HRIS to work more efficiently and make more data-driven decisions.
In most cases, an HR information system includes the basic features needed for end-to-end HR management. This system helps companies manage and automate core HR processes, such as:
- Employee data management
- Benefits administration
- Payroll processing
- Time and attendance management
- Reporting and analytics
- Employee self-service
In the past, HRIS software used to be on-premise, meaning that it ran on the company’s own technical infrastructure. Nowadays, it’s almost always cloud-based, making it much easier to update, among other things.
- The HR software market is projected to grow to $33.57 billion by 2028 at over 10% compound annual growth rate.
- Companies spend 15 weeks selecting an HRIS, on average.
- When selecting an HR information system, 98% of companies were considering a cloud-based HRIS.
- 30% of companies use 10 or more different HR systems.
Sources: Verified Market Research, Softwarepath, ApplaudHR
HRIS vs HRMS vs HCM
The terms HRIS, HRMS, and HCM are often used interchangeably. And while there is some overlap in core HR areas that run on basic employee data, they aren’t the same thing. Rather, they build upon one another and offer increasingly sophisticated features as the company’s needs evolve.
Put simply, an HRIS offers basic data and workflow automation. An HR Management System (HRMS) offers all the functionalities of the HRIS and, on top of that:
- Recruiting & applicant tracking
- Onboarding
- Performance management
- Employee engagement
A Human Capital Management (HCM) system offers all the functionalities of the HRIS and the HRMS, as well as additional features. It offers a complete suite of HR applications to improve the employee experience and is focused on strategy and planning.
As such, it usually includes:
- Learning and development
- Compensation management
- Succession planning
- Industry data and benchmarks
- Advanced data & analytics
- Business intelligence
Bear in mind that the exact features and functionalities of an HRIS, HRMS, and HCM differ per provider. The ones listed in this article are just a basic example of what the different types of HR software can look like.
HRIS functions
Depending on the HRIS provider, the exact functionalities of the system will differ. For clarity and consistency, we will discuss the features listed in the section explaining what an HRIS is, which are the core HRIS functions.
Employee data management
Employee data management refers to the collecting, organizing, and storing of employee data and is arguably the number one feature of any HR information system and the reason why so many organizations use one.
It allows businesses to reduce paperwork, keep the information up to date, as well as enhance searchability and accessibility of information.
Benefits administration
Another feature of the Human Resources Information System is benefits management. Employee benefits are an essential aspect of compensation and are also managed in this system.
HRIS simplifies benefits management by automating enrollment processes and tracking employee eligibility. It serves as a centralized platform for managing various benefits plans and enables employees to easily access and modify their benefits selections.
Payroll processing
The payroll feature automates the pay process of an organization’s employees. Contractual data and information about new hires is often entered into this module of the system – sometimes combined with time and attendance data – and at the end of the month, payment orders are created.
Time and attendance management
This module gathers time and attendance data from employees. These are especially relevant for shift workers who clock in and out.
Back in the day – and as we’ve seen earlier, in some companies still today – employees often wrote down their working hours on a piece of paper. Their manager would then manually enter the data into a time-tracking system. Based on this data, payment orders were generated and paid to all employees.
In today’s more digitalized work environment, workers often check into work by fingerprint or with a card synced with the company’s HRIS. This gives an exact time for people’s arrival and departure. Any issues with lateness can easily be detected.
Reporting and analytics
This feature enables the creation of automated HR reports on various topics like employee turnover, absence, performance, and more. Analytics involves the analysis of these insights for better-informed decision-making.
Employee self-service
As we’ve mentioned above, companies are increasingly focusing on having employees and their direct supervisors manage their own data.
Employees can, for example, request PTO themselves. Once approved, these requests are then immediately saved into the system (and registered to track for payroll and benefits purposes).
Benefits of an HRIS
Using an HRIS has multiple benefits for the organization, HR, and the employee.
Working with this kind of software typically becomes interesting when the company has between 30 to 50 employees. Managing the basic employee information in Excel becomes cumbersome at this point and simple procedures like approving employee time off need to be standardized.
Using an HRIS is especially beneficial for large organizations, which typically use more advanced HRIS systems to support different HR functions. Small businesses would suit a more basic HRIS.
Let’s look at some of the main benefits of working with an HRIS:
- Improved record-keeping: An HRIS is a record-keeping system that keeps track of changes to anything related to employees. As such, the HRIS can be seen as the single source of truth regarding personnel data.
- Compliance: Some employee data is collected and stored for compliance reasons. Think, for instance, of material for the identification of employees in case of theft, fraud, or other misbehaviors, first contact information in case of emergency, citizens identification information for the tax office, and expiration dates for mandatory certification. Organizations can store all this information in the HRIS. Data must be stored safely and securely, in line with GDPR regulations.
- Efficiency: Having all this information stored in one place benefits accuracy and saves time. Some companies still keep a lot of data about employees as physical paperwork. Finding the correct folder and locating the right sheet can take up a lot of staff time. In the US, for example, around 38% of employees still use paper timesheets and punch cards. In Canada, this is 58%.
- HR strategy: The HRIS permits the tracking of data required to advance the HR and business strategy. We’ll discuss examples of how to leverage HRIS data later in this article.
- Self-service HR: Another benefit of the HR information system is its ability to offer self-service HR to employees and managers. This enables employees to be more autonomous and manage (most of) their own affairs, like updating their information or requesting leave.
- An improved employee experience: When done right, the self-service opportunities and easy access to HR information that an HRIS offers can positively impact your digital employee experience and, with it, your overall EX.
HRIS examples
The HRIS software market is fiercely competitive. There are many vendors to choose from depending on your organization’s needs.
Gartner lists the most popular Human Capital Management suites for organizations with 1,000+ employees. These include:
- SAP SuccessFactors
- Workday
- Ceridian Dayforce
- Oracle
- UKG
Other well-known HRIS vendors for large companies are ADP, Cornerstone, and Cegid.
Examples of Human Resources Information Systems for small and medium-sized businesses include:
- BambooHR
- Paycor
- TalentHR
- Zoho People
- Personio
HRIS implementation in 6 steps
HRIS implementation is a complex process that involves not only a lot of research and multiple stakeholders but also requires a significant amount of change management.
We’ll have a look at a high-level, 6-step overview of the HRIS implementation process.
1. Search
Find out what your different stakeholders need from an HRIS. Based on these requirements – and after you’ve checked out our HRIS requirements checklist, you can shortlist potential providers.
You can then ask these providers for a proposal. Ideally, you’ve chosen a suitable HRIS provider at the end of this phase.
2. Plan and align
In this phase, you select an implementation partner and create a steering committee and an implementation team. The steering committee usually consists of senior delegates from your chosen HRIS provider, the HR director from your organization, the internal project manager, and preferably a senior user from your business.
The implementation team’s primary responsibility is working on the day-to-day tasks that come out of the implementation.
3. Define and design
At this point, you need to specify your user groups and map out your processes and workflows. Define the functional and technical requirements for your HRIS infrastructure and security.
Also, note that you might need to build an integration between your HRIS and other existing systems during this phase. This is why it’s essential to have an HR Information System with integration capabilities to accommodate existing and future systems.
4. Configure and test
In this phase, you need to create a core test team to test your new HR Information System and provide feedback for potential improvements. After this, you should also create a user acceptance test, where you can bring in a number of users to provide final feedback.
5. Train and communicate
Before the go-live, you will need to prepare training for your technical staff, a communication plan, a Frequently Asked Questions page, and other support documents.
6. Deploy and sustain
Once all your support processes are in place, you can officially launch your HRIS. Remember to constantly collect feedback and update your training material in line with the evolving systems. Constant, accurate communication is key here.
In case you want to skip the section above, this learning bite explains how to implement an HRIS in 6 steps!
HRIS management best practices
Once you’ve implemented your HRIS, you need to make sure that it continues serving its users effectively. Let’s take a look at some best practices for HRIS management. Think, for example, of:
- Customization for organizational needs: Customize the HRIS to align with the specific needs and workflows of the organization, such as configuring fields, forms, and workflows to accommodate unique processes and reporting requirements. Some systems (and vendors) will allow for more customization than others. This is something to keep in mind and ask about when selecting providers.
- Regular data maintenance: Implement regular data audits and clean-ups to ensure the accuracy and integrity of HRIS data, including employee records, payroll information, and performance evaluations.
- User training and support: Provide comprehensive training sessions and ongoing support to HRIS users to maximize utilization and ensure employees are proficient in using the system for tasks such as time tracking, benefits enrollment, and performance management.
This, too, is something to be mindful of when selecting an HRIS provider. Ask them what support will look like once the system is fully implemented, i.e., will there be a dedicated person you can reach out to for support, or will you have to first talk to a chatbot or go through a customer service team? - Continuous data security: Implement robust data security measures, including encryption protocols, user access controls, and regular security audits, to safeguard sensitive employee information stored within the HRIS from unauthorized access or breaches.
- Performance monitoring and optimization: Regularly monitor system performance metrics, such as response times and user satisfaction surveys, to identify areas for improvement and optimize system performance through enhancements or upgrades as needed.
- Regular system updates and maintenance: Stay current with system updates and patches provided by the HRIS vendor to ensure optimal system performance, access to new features, and compliance with evolving regulatory requirements. Regular maintenance tasks, such as database and system backups, should also be performed to prevent data loss and system downtime.
How to get the most out of your HRIS data
Beyond easier workforce administration, HR departments can (and should) leverage their HRIS data to create more proactive talent management and retention strategies. Here’s how:
- Integrate your HRIS with other relevant systems, such as performance management, learning management, and recruitment systems, to consolidate data and gain a comprehensive view of employee life cycle data.
- Use historical HRIS data to identify patterns and trends in employee turnover, engagement, and performance. Analyze factors contributing to turnover, such as tenure, job level, department, and performance ratings.
- Leverage HRIS insights to develop personalized interventions for at-risk employees, such as targeted training, career development opportunities, or adjustments to workload or job responsibilities.
- Encourage collaboration between HR and line managers in leveraging HRIS analytics for talent management and retention strategies. Provide managers access to relevant HRIS data and insights to support data-driven decision-making at the team level.
The HRIS analyst role
In terms of job functions, there is one role in particular that involves working with the organization’s HRIS a lot: the HRIS analyst.
The HRIS analyst occupies the unique position of being the IT and data expert in the HR field.
Other job roles related to HRIS are HRIS manager and HRIS specialist.
What does an HRIS analyst do?
The HRIS analyst provides support for the HRIS. This includes researching and resolving HRIS problems and liaising with other parts of the business, like finance and payroll.
Analysts also generate standard and ad-hoc HRIS reports and improve HRIS processes. This means improving the employee experience using the system, coming up with user-friendly adjustments, and implementing new policies to be reflected in the system.
However, in today’s work environment, knowing the basics of working with an HRIS is an essential skill for all HR employees. This is especially relevant in small and medium-sized organizations without a dedicated HRIS team.
HRIS analyst salary
The expected HRIS analyst salary differs based on location and seniority.
For example, a junior HRIS analyst in New York (NY) will have a salary ranging between $49,000 and $84,000, with an average of $70,300, according to Payscale. An experienced HRIS analyst will earn somewhere between $64,000 and $108,000.
Ziprecruiter reports that the average annual pay for HRIS analysts in the U.S. is around $90,000.
HRIS certification
If you want to learn more about HRIS implementation and building and managing a digital HR strategy, we recommend looking into our Digital HR Certificate program, which will provide you with a solid understanding of these topics.
Depending on the HR information system your organization uses, at least one person in the HR team (and IT department) will probably want to opt for a vendor-specific certification.
People interested in specializing in HRIS systems may consider studying IT and HRM. It is useful for understanding the complexity and particularities of the system, while HRM helps understand the processes that the HRIS is supporting.
Combining both enables you to make better decisions regarding system implementation and operation.
FAQ
HRIS stands for Human Resources Information System. The HRIS is a system used to collect and store data on an organization’s employees. This often includes payroll, benefits, time and attendance, and employee self-service.
Well-known HRIS providers (for large organizations) include Workday, Oracle, SAP, Cegid, Kronos, and ADP. Examples of HRIS for small and medium-sized organizations include BambooHR, Paycor, TalentHR, and Zoho People.
The HRIS analyst provides support for the HRIS. This includes researching and resolving problems and liaising with other parts of the business, like finance and payroll.
An HRIS manager is responsible for implementing and maintaining the HRIS software for an organization. They are a part of the HR team and manage data related to employees, including compensation, benefits, recruitment, and more.
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