All Articles
hris experience
Interested in composing your own HRIS? Request a demo today.

Do you have an HRIS system? If your answer to this question is “no” or “what is an HRIS system?” then your business is in dire need of this article. Here we explain what an HRIS is and what to do to build an efficient HRIS experience.

 Human Resources is a field that has been closely integrated with business since its inception, and that isn’t changing any time soon. However, the way human resource management is structured and operates is continually changing; the entire field is consistently evolving, so you, as a business owner, need to make sure you’re keeping up with your HR functions. 

This article will help you keep up by walking you through what an HRIS system is or how you can utilize your current HRIS experience to improve your business both in the HR department and as in your organization as a whole. It is important to compare all your options and know both the benefits and weaknesses of HRIS. This will give you also a better understanding what you really need and highlight the key features to complete your HRIS experience. 

Related articles:
Best-Of-Breed vs All-In-One vs EXP : which solution for your HRIS ?
Everything on HRIS: the Benefits and Areas Where it Falls Short

Need easier access to your HR data? Let us optimize your HR tech for you.

A single platform to manage employee data.
Streamlined HR processes and decision-making.
Centralized point of contact for HRIS support and invoicing across all your tools

Book a demo

peoplespheres demo

.

 

What is an HRIS? How to define the HRIS experience

HRIS stands for Human Resources Information System (or Software, as some insist). In its most basic form, this refers to the integration of human resource functions and HR processes with IT, or information technology.

Systems such as these are dynamic and can be used for as many or as few HR operations as your business needs in order to complete your business goals. Some HRIS experiences only cover the basics, like new hire protocols, termination, and payroll. Some, however, cover every aspect of the employee life cycle, from hiring and firing to accounting, demerits/write-ups, promotions, attendance, and even scheduling. These are subjects to be considered as your business grows and your HR system aligns with your HR issues. This is including providing you with all the management tools that you need in your human resource department. 

The HRIS Experience: Why Should You Invest in an HRIS?

For many reasons, investing in a well-developed and maintained HRIS experience could be the single best thing you can do for your business.

First, these types of systems make it incredibly easy to maintain employees and employee information. This means you’ll never have to dig through piles of paperwork to find an employee’s emergency contact information while a crisis is going on. All it takes is one search in a HR systems’ management software. 

Additionally, with the correct HRIS experience, you’ll be able to access and track attendance in accordance with your policies to ensure your employees are working as hard for you as you do for them. 

You’ll also diminish the time you spend on payroll each week, as many HRIS systems perform essential payroll functions for you. This means you’ll be able to spend less time doing those calculations and more time doing what you do best: managing your business and providing the best HR tools for employees to maintain top talent.

Essential Features of an HRIS Experience

To ensure you get the best HRIS experience possible, you’ll want to carefully examine each HRIS system you’re considering and be confident they include some vital essential features.

Here are some of the essential features of an HRIS system you should be aware of:

1.   Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

To get the best HRIS experience possible, you should ensure your software has a built-in applicant tracking system, or ATS. With this feature, aligning with goals such as recruiting and hiring new people into your business will be a breeze, as all of the applications, information, resumes, and applicant questionnaires will be housed in one convenient location. Recruitment processes are made simpler this way. This will also provide an increase in the quality of an employee’s work life since day 1 with an increase of organization, attracting talent by showing your leadership in having organization and having clear structure within your organization. 

 

2.   Training

It is imperative your HRIS experience includes training documents and videos, as this will make sure all your employees are equipped with the same information, SOP knowledge, and know-how. Better yet, you’ll be able to track their progress through each of these categories from start to finish. This will also increase employee performance as your analytics will be more visible where the employee needs more employee training or points where they excel. Through the advancement of your training, employee development will increase, be more scalable to their current skills and motivate them by having their progress more visible. 

 

3.   Payroll

Payroll has always been a time-consuming process that’s easy to slip up on. When you’re doing it yourself, a simple slide error or misplaced decimal can cost you hundreds of dollars. Not to mention the trouble you could land yourself in with the IRS if you incorrectly calculate the employee tax deductions.

Because of this, you should make sure the HRIS experience for your payroll team includes automatic payroll capabilities. With this feature, you’ll be able to input banking information, pay rates and let the payroll system do the rest.

 

4.   Succession Planning

For those unaware, succession planning is the process of ensuring there is a plan in place for high-importance positions or those you expect to be vacated shortly to be assumed in a timely manner.

You’ll want to employ your HRIS system to help with this, allowing you to list candidates, as well as their strengths and weaknesses in regard to specific positions. 

5.   Employee Self-Service

Employee self-service is a large category, which is why it is so crucial for your HRIS experience to include it.

By utilizing an employee self-service feature, you can give employees the ability to request time off, track sick time and paid leave, and even enroll themselves in their own benefits. This might be the biggest benefit of what is now the future. HR technology is here to stay and is giving management additional time as they are now utilizing software systems that supports every task. Making this solution customizable to fit every need to optimize time and effort. 

 

6.   Benefits Administration

Regarding employee benefits, make certain your HRIS experience allows you to easily enroll your employees in benefits (in the event they don’t register themselves) and view which benefits they’ve elected to have versus which ones they haven’t. 

This will also make it easy for you to adjust their benefits if they aren’t able to.

 

7.   Performance Management

Manage your employee’s performance with performance tracking that’s integrated directly into your HRIS experience.

Depending on the program you implement, examining an employee’s performance over time could be as simple as looking at a graph or table.

8.   Time and Attendance

Too many employees will try to take advantage of your business by forging clock in and clock out times to bolster their pay. By implementing the proper HRIS system, you can make this virtually impossible and help you track which employees are making a habit out of calling out.

9.   Reporting and Analytics

Invest in an HRIS experience that will allow you to build customized HR reports and analyze trends across your business, including employee call-offs, late clocking times, employee wellness, productivity, etc.

10.   Employee Records

Keep past and present employee records organized so that you can access them at any time with only a search. This will enable you to quickly access contact information, pay rates, and write-up activity in little to no time.

 

11.   Document Storage

Cut down on expenses by employing your HRIS experience to store employee documents and other sensitive information. Not only will this decrease what you have to spend on printers, ink, and paper, it will also ensure your sensitive information is much less likely to fall into the wrong hands. Data security is a major concern for both IT and HR professionals everywhere.

 

12.   Feedback and Surveys

The opinions of the people involved in your business count for a lot. Whether you’re surveying your hourly employees or management teams, equip yourself with an HRIS experience that has a central location for all of your feedback and surveys to be stored.

 

13.  Company Announcements and News

Making sure all your employees are on the same page is vital in running a well-maintained business. Open your lines of communication by utilizing an HRIS system that reports essential news updates and key announcements directly to your employees.

 

14.  Third-Party Application Integrations

Sometimes your system lacks functionalities you need to get the job done. Luckily, you can complement the existing capabilities of your current system with third party integrations. This allows you to keep your existing tools without needing to switch vendors as your requirements evolve as your business grows.

15.  Onboarding

Onboarding an employee, can be a complicated process if you aren’t careful. However, by properly utilizing your HRIS experience, you can effectively automate most of the process and shorten the time spent on administrative tasks and focus instead on making a true human connection.

Not only does this save time, but it also saves money, as employee onboarding is required by law to be paid time in most states.

 

16.  Compliance

Help your business stay inside within the confines of labor laws by tracking and ensuring legal compliance. HRIS systems can track and alert you anytime your underage employees or part-timers are scheduled for too many hours and help store all of your information regarding workplace injury compensation in one spot, as well as many other things.

 

17.  Leave and Absence Management

Absences can become a significant issue if they aren’t tracked carefully, as problem employees will call off as often as they can get away with. Effectively track this using your HRIS system.

Additionally, specific paperwork must be filled out depending on the type of leave your employee wants (disability, medical, vacation, etc.). Confirm that you’re complying with regulations and only giving out the proper amount of paid leave.

 

18.  Scheduling

Scheduling can be a nightmare if you aren’t organized. Make sure it isn’t by using an HRIS system that allows you to keep scheduling preferences, days off, etc., all in one place. If you make a wrong move while making your employee schedule, you can set up your HRIS system to alert you.

19.  Employee Directory

Quickly research past and present employees (and specific information on them) using an employee directory designed to your specifications.

Your employee directory can house as much or as little information as you need, effectively cutting the time you spend finding employee data into a fraction of what it was before.

 

20.  Mobile Application

Many HRIS systems can be converted into mobile applications. By doing this, your employees can access necessary information such as scheduling, PTO requests, etc., at all times.

 

How to Choose and Implement an HRIS Experience

Choosing and implementing an HRIS can be difficult, especially if you aren’t sure what you’re looking for. By using the 20 essential features we’ve listed here, however, you can make sure you’re well-informed and choosing the HRIS that’s best for your business and HR management.

At PeopleSpheres, we’re dedicated to providing you with a cloud-based HR platform that integrates any HR software so that you have the administrative and talent management functionalities listed above and more. We also assist you in effective implementation so that the transition process is as seamless as possible.

Get a taste of what our HRIS can do for you by signing up for our free trial now.

Treat your business and employees the way they deserve by employing the best HRIS experience on the market.