HRIS Basics: Software, Types and Components

When you are starting your own business, what do you plan out first? A business plan, product or service development, staffing, where you’ll conduct your business. All of these are integral, but you’re missing something from that list; an HRIS. You may be thinking that’s something to worry about down the road, but we’re here to tell you that our standpoint is the earlier the better. Don’t worry, we aren’t all talk. Allow us to guide you through The HRIS basics; what an HRIS is, how it can help, and what an HRIS implementer does. Your future self will thank you for getting this going early!

What is an HRIS?

HIRS stands for Human Resources Information System. A good software system encapsulates most if not all HR processes that your business will need, including:

  • Employee files
  • Leave requests
  • Recruitment pipeline
  • Performance management
  • Compensation increases
  • Policy manuals
  • Time off tracking
  • Time tracking
  • Payroll
  • Team calendars and announcements
  • Onboarding and offboarding processes
  • Reporting

How a Basic HRIS can Help

A basic HRIS helps keep things in one organized location that is accessible to the whole team. It also provides transparency on the company, your goals, and your performance. It’s a place for the internal team to be themselves – to share important events, information, and celebrations. It’s especially great for companies whose team is not working out of the same office all of the time.

Why Hire an Implementer

An HRIS is a powerful tool, and there are a lot of them out there. We at Entreflow use Humi. They all have different functionalities and perceived usability scores depending on what you are looking for within your company. There is so much that goes into planning an HRIS, and a lot of factors might be some that you or your team won’t consider. This is why it’s useful to bring in an expert. To get that outside perspective. Who knows, maybe you’ll find the key to fixing a major process gap you didn’t know about!

In general, an HRIS implementer will go through some simple stages in helping you acquire a kick-ass HRIS.

An HRIS implementer will sit down with you and map out all of the requirements that you have in mind for an HRIS system. Next, they take a look at any HR processes that you currently have in place; onboarding, offboarding, leave requests, recruitment pipeline, performance management, etc. Finally, they let you know of any gaps in your current or proposed plan that they think might be important. Some of these might be things that you hadn’t even thought about.

Setting Up for Success

Next, we as the HRIS implementer will go to market and check out all the systems that might match your requirements. We may request for the sales team of those demo companies to take a look at the requirements document so they know what is trying to be achieved. The implementer will narrow it down to a top 3 or so choices and ask for demonstration accounts. With the free trial demo accounts, we test out your current and new processes that we are going to be using the system for. We narrow it down to a top 2 choices and present those choices to the client. We then implement the system with the processes outlined.

Like the Baby Sea Turtle, We Release You to Thrive on Your Own

We don’t leave you there. A training process is set up so that current and future employees can refer to the material, and get a comprehensive understanding of how the system works. The training should be based on the role each person is going to have in the system. For example, admins, managers, and regular users. Support is provided after implementation to ensure that everything is working in the way that you want it to.

One of the biggest reasons that business owners are kicking themselves later is the fact that they didn’t get their HR processes in place. It takes just one disgruntled employee, one legal loophole, one flubbed payroll to remind employers that hindsight is 20/20. Make it easier on yourself and get these processes going early. If you’re concerned about costs and time, feel free to check out the Entreflow HR services for a free discovery session. We can talk you through the deeper basics of HRIS, outline of what needs to be done, and help you size up the project. We are here to help!

Helina Patience, CPA, CMA
Author: Helina Patience, Founder, CPA, CMA, BA (Hons), BEd

Helina is a CPA, CMA with over fifteen years of experience in finance & HR within multinational companies, across many industries. Also the CEO of entreflow consulting group where I help small to medium-sized businesses get organized, grow, and crush their goals. I hold vast global experience after living and working in Australia, India, the UK and Ireland. Connect on LinkedIn.

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