How can an HRIS or HRMS help your team?

The Human Resources team is a crucial part of every business. They deal with everything behind the scenes. This ranges from helping to onboard employees, enforcing policies and procedures, and much, much more.

Whether you have an HR team of 50 or 5, for them to do their job to their best abilities, it’s useful for them to have access to an HRIS system. So, what exactly is it, and how can it help your team?

What is an HRIS?

Let’s start with the basics: what is an HRIS? An HRIS (Human Resources Information System) is a software program typically used by HR departments. The system assists teams with business-related processes such as managing employee data, including payroll and performance reviews. It can also assist with tracking employee benefits and storing training records.

An HRIS automates a lot of monotonous HR processes, streamlining the workflow. The right HRIS solution can increase productivity within the team. Instead of working on time consuming admin tasks, employees can focus on actual people management.

Many systems are now cloud-based, negating the need for any infrastructure on premises. You may prefer a hybrid integration strategy which allows you to adapt your legacy system. Either way, making the switch could seriously improve your HR team’s productivity. 

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What’s the difference between HRIS and HRMS?

As we’ve seen, an HRIS system is a database that can track employee information and assist with menial tasks. An HRMS (Human Resource Management System) is typically more detailed than HRIS systems, as it is seen as more of a “total solution”. 

It includes everything an HRIS tool can offer, and more, including features such as navigating laws and regulations, plus labor tracking. Because of this, HRMS is more of an umbrella platform, with many encompassing an HRIS system within to offer one complete all-you-need system for HR departments. 

What are the types of HRIS software?

Let’s take a look at the three main types of HRIS software available. 

1. Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS)

HRIS software is created to focus on the logistical side of HR. It can store employee information and data, including salaries, benefits, and basic employee details. It can act as a reference guide to come back to when dealing with any employee matters.

It also automates a lot of HR functions and, in some cases, can offer employees self-service access to company policies and procedures. Instead of printing out an employee handbook, they can simply check the information on the HRIS platform. 

It keeps everything in one place, and can be kept on the cloud or on-site at the business. Much like call center software, modern HRIS systems are usually now cloud-based for ease. 

2. Human Capital Management (HCM)

HCM software can encompass all of the above, but with additional features that can target even macro-level processes. It includes more people-management capabilities such as career development and employee engagement statistics.

Some HRIS systems can include aspects of people management, which means you can centralize all of your tools in one place. 

3. Human Resources Management Systems (HRMS)

An HRMS system adds management and automation to an HRIS system. It allows you to access onboarding information, performance management, and tracking. The platform is designed to prioritize convenience, assisting HR teams in their everyday work and making life a little bit easier. 

Benefits of using an HRIS or HRMS to help your team

Here are some of the benefits of HRIS and HRMS systems:

1. Increases productivity

One of the benefits of an HRIS and HRMS is that they can help to increase productivity. Many businesses look to invest in such platforms for this main reason, as they aim to assist HR departments with their work processes. 

It doesn't matter whether you’re a small business or a big corporation, HR departments can benefit from a helping hand when it comes to administration work. An HRIS and HRMS platform offers many great tools for HR teams, from helping to onboard new hires to collecting and managing employee data. 

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2. Streamlines HR processes

An HRIS and HRMS can upgrade the team from old data management systems such as legacy computer tools or even paper management systems. Older systems are often temperamental and ineffective at supporting company growth. Paper systems may be used by a small company in its start-up phase, but should only be a short term solution. 

An HRIS also centralizes a lot of processes, as everything you need is in one convenient place, letting you store accurate, error-free records of employees on a reliable cloud system. But you can also integrate it with other systems, including your Applicant Tracking System, Digital Asset Management, and even individual tools like a virtual headshot platform to streamline the team’s numerous tasks and processes.

A good HRIS system may also offer 24hr assistance in case you run into any issues, so while your tech team are researching new available domain names for your global reach, you can count on their tech team to fix any issues that may arise.

3. Automates tasks

Studies on HR automation report that only 10% of HR executives believe at least 60% of their current processes are automated. But in 2023, it’s estimated that 75% of HR teams will increase investment in workflow automation. So it’s clear that the industry is cottoning on to the myriad ways AI can benefit productivity.

An HRIS or HRMS system negates the need for the team to do repetitive tasks. Instead, the platform takes on all that extra workload for you. Some aspects it can help with are:

• Posting job listings on the website.
• Helping with onboarding in general by tracking applicants and screening candidates.
• Assisting with off boarding and generating the necessary documents for this process.
• Approving requests from employees.

This helps to minimize human error and leaves the HR team to get on with other, higher-value tasks. 

4. Easier compliance

It’s important for businesses to comply with relevant laws and regulations. Using an HRIS or HRMS system allows them to do this more easily, as you can store all documents and data on the system. It’s then quick to access if a legal matter arises or if information is required for an audit.

You can also use the system to set up alerts to keep on-top of changes in the law or policies. For instance, if the minimum wage is set to rise, you can set an alert for the day of this change. 

5. Encourages collaboration

You want your employees to feel like they can get in touch with the HR department whenever they need to. Using a centralized HRIS platform allows employees to reach out to the team from wherever they are, even if they’re using area code 726 city and state. 

Nowadays, as people aren’t working from the office as much, it can be hard to contact HR as they can’t simply go over to the department. An HRIS tool acts as a go-between for HR and other employees.

Also, within the HR team collaboration can be improved. Teammates can work together more effectively to improve the interview process, employee onboarding experiences, and track key information that may impact the business, such as updated regulations.

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6. Helps organize data

An HRIS and HRMS provides analytics and insights into your stored data. This can be anything from workforce planning to employee retention rates. Not only can it grant you access to this information, but it can also help to store and organize it in a convenient way.

You can send yourself granular reports to provide more accurate forecasting, which enables better decision making. This may also be useful when HR is asked to prepare reports for senior management and stakeholders. 

It can tell you how effective certain initiatives are. Equally useful, however, it can provide insights into what is working in the business, and what may need restructuring. 

7. Reduces costs

Finally, another considerable benefit of an HRIS or HRMS platform for your business is that it can help to reduce business costs. Thanks to its handy insights and data, you can see where costs can be saved across the employee side of the business. 

What’s more, the system improves productivity and the quality of work across the board. This allows The HR team can put their efforts into more meaningful work. 

The system also cuts down on errors and mitigates risks, reducing the possibility of any violations within the business practices. This can have a great impact on your bottom line. 

HRIS and HRMS features to consider

When looking for an HRIS and HRMS tool, here are some of the features you may want to look for:

Employee data management allows you to monitor HR-related activities and easily update information.

• Employee payroll management - Does the system allow you to track employee hours? Including calculating overtime automatically, reviewing payslips, and accessing bonuses information. It should also let you see tax information including how much employees are being taxed on every paycheck. 
• Recruiting and onboarding help - Some HRIS systems allow you to post jobs automatically on your website. This can be very helpful during the hiring process when you’re already busy with things such as dealing with contracts and organizing business headshots. You can also refine candidates and store their information on the system. It can make the onboarding cycle much quicker. 

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• Employee time management - Look for a system that allows employees to upload time off requests. It should also let you manage their overtime, track absences like sickness, and create holiday calendars that everyone has access to. Some systems can use call center technology to contact employees over the internet. 
• Compliance checks - The right HRMS platform will let you store the latest compliance checks, including the latest information on laws and regulations.
• Employee benefits - It should take care of employee perks and benefits, insurance, bonuses, tax reimbursement requests etc. 
• Cloud-based with integrations - A good HRIS tool will have integrations such as sales integrations, the ability to use AI to transcribe audio with tools, and other useful integrations that allow synchronicity across multiple platforms. 

Try an HRIS or HRMS to help your team

An HRIS or HRMS platform can provide many benefits for HR. Firstly, the team uses the system to help with their own daily tasks, reducing repetitive admin tasks. You’ll also have the added benefit of a happier workforce. Overall, staff will notice HR is able to respond to their concerns and queries more efficiently.

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