Although an HRIS is a foundational system for businesses to manage and pay their employees, some companies still hesitate to invest in the right system. These are the benefits companies can gain by investing in an HRIS.

Some companies choose not to invest in an HRIS because they fear the costs of purchasing and implementing a new piece of software.

While an HRIS is an investment that can raise operating costs, many companies fail to understand the benefits of an HRIS. Not having a quality HRIS can cause consistent challenges for your employees that can ultimately have detrimental effects on retention, employee productivity and recruitment costs.

If you've never had a quality HRIS before, it might be hard to imagine the benefits an HRIS can have on your employee's experience.

Unsure what an HRIS is, here's a quick overview: What is an HRIS?

1.) Certainty on their first-day

We all remember our nerves on the first day at a new school. We didn't know who we would be meeting, what to expect, and how to prepare.

Those same nerves exist for your new hires. They hope they made the right choice in choosing your company, but it's natural for fear, uncertainty, and doubt to creep in as they leave the comfort of their previous employer.

A robust HRIS platform can ensure that employees don't feel those first-day jitters. Most modern HRIS platforms have robust digital onboarding tools that can allow new hires to: meet their new team, learn about the company's mission, vision and values, fill out their new hire paperwork and start having conversations with their new manager.

Smart companies leverage these onboarding tools to create a great employee first impression. Rather than an employee spending their entire first day alone with a stack of papers, that same employee can come in to the office already knowing what to do and who to talk to.

2.) Ability to control their information

Most employees do not have static lives. The accurate information on their first day may no longer be accurate six months later.

Employees will move, and their home addresses will change. Employees will have children and need to add new dependents. Employees will talk with their financial planner and need to change their withholdings.

These are all significant life events for your employees that can have implications on their healthcare coverage and tax filings, so the easier it is for employees to resolve these issues, the happier they are.

A quality HRIS software is one where employees have full access to their own demographic, pay and benefits information and, ideally, can make any of these changes on a mobile app from the comfort of their own home.

Forcing employees to request these changes in a manual, paper-driven process will only add stress and frustration to your employees' daily lives.

3.) Feel that their voice is heard

Some companies have an enviable culture, constantly being recognized as a "great place to work". Other companies are experiencing the pain of low retention and engagement.

No matter where your company falls on this spectrum, all companies can improve by being more equipped to listen and learn from their workforce. A company's culture is dynamic and constantly changing, so what was confirmed a few weeks ago may no longer be relevant today.

Innovative companies are leveraging their HRIS to make sure that they have a constant pulse on their employee's feelings, morale, and suggestions. Most human resources information systems can enable companies to capture employee sentiments via surveys, suggestion boxes, and even AI analytics.

By giving employees the tools to express their true feelings about the company safely, smart companies can head off costly turnover challenges before they reach a critical point.

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4.) Clarity on where to complete tasks

For companies that do not have a modern, unified human resources information system, many of the HR professionals and personnel-related tasks they need to accomplish get spread out over various tools, systems and processes.

Many of the functions a human resource information system can solve are critical business functions that need to be accomplished. These include: conducting annual reviews, offering open enrollment to employees, collecting timesheet information, compliantly terminating employees, and more.

If a company chooses not to invest in a unified HRIS, these processes still need to be carried out. But instead, these hr processes are often done on paper, in spreadsheets or with standalone tools.

When employees have to submit benefits selection via paper, do annual reviews in a Google Doc and submit their work hours via email, you are asking your employees to remember too many actions. Without a single place to accomplish those tasks, employees are bound to get confused and your HR team is bound to receive an increased number of inquiries and requests.

5.) Pathways for future growth and promotions

We no longer live in a world where employees are expected to work for the same employer their entire life. In that traditional employment structure, employees got used to the 'corporate ladder.' Employees knew that, at regular intervals, they would be up for promotions, and they knew exactly what job sat above their own.

The modern landscape is much more dynamic as employees are less tied to their employers and, in turn, employers do not have the same promotion structures. Because of this change, modern employees have a much harder time understanding where they fit into their organization, how they are performing and what opportunities lay beyond their current role.

The best HRIS systems are particularly adept at helping employees better understand their job and how it fits into the larger organization. An HRIS can: provide a detailed org chart for employees to explore, it can track annual/quarterly goals that employees are working towards, it can identify skill and competency gaps that employees will need to resolve in order to get promoted and it can house the learning materials to help employees obtain those skills.

By putting an employee's future firmly in their own grasp, an HRIS can help companies keep their workforce motivated and developing.

6.) Connection to colleagues and the company

Especially in the days of COVID and work from home, employees do not have the same access to their corporate culture that they once did. The water cooler is not available to all employees these days, and smart companies are recreating it online.

Most modern HRIS's help companies: connect disparate teams, blast out important company updates, enable peer-to-peer messaging and better receive employee suggestions.

Giving your employees a space where they can connect with their peers, stay in tune to key business updates and communicate to the broader organization is something that we took for granted in physical offices. Now that we are moving more and more online, it is something that employees will come to expect from their employers.

7) Real-time analytics and reporting

No HR team can make data-driven decisions without real-time HR data. The best human resources information systems (HRISs) are great at collecting data on how employees are performing, what processes they need to complete, and how specific initiatives or programs are spurring the organization's performance forward.

For instance, HRISs can quickly aggregate: employee engagement data, timesheet information, turnover rates, promotional success, and more. This real-time insight into the company’s progress is a great way to help companies make better HR investments and strategies decisions.

8) Automation of mundane processes

Some tasks in human resources need to be completed on an ongoing basis: onboarding, offboarding employees, annual reviews, and other mundane processes can be automated by an HRIS.

Automation is beneficial in reducing errors with manual data entry and manual processing of forms and documents. This helps ensure accuracy and compliance with applicable laws while freeing time for your staff to focus on mission-critical tasks.

9) Data privacy and security

Finally, data privacy and security should be a top priority for any organization that works with sensitive employee information. Modern HRISs have robust data encryption protocols to ensure your employee’s personal information is securely stored and managed.

HRIS systems are constantly evolving, and most HRIS providers will offer regular updates and improvements to their systems to ensure that their platforms meet the latest industry standards for data security.

A Human Resources Information System (HRIS) can significantly benefit employees by offering them more control over their career development, better connection to their colleagues, and more accurate data analysis. In addition, HRISs can also help reduce manual workloads for your staff while providing a secure platform for managing all of your employee-related information. With these benefits of an HRIS in mind, it is no wonder why this technology is becoming increasingly common in HR.

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If you are interested in upgrading your HRIS, or buying an HRIS for the first time, keep OutSail's free services in mind. OutSail is the only HR software broker in the market. OutSail works with every major HRIS vendor and can help you find the right solution for your needs. Additionally, due to their broker model, you don't have to pay a cent for OutSail's advice.

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FAQs

What is an HRIS, and why is it important for businesses?

An HRIS, or Human Resources Information System, is a foundational system that helps businesses manage and pay their employees efficiently. It centralizes HR processes, such as onboarding, benefits management, and performance tracking, streamlining operations and improving accuracy. Investing in an HRIS is important for businesses as it enhances employee experience, increases efficiency, and reduces administrative burdens.

How can an HRIS benefit employees?

An HRIS can benefit employees in various ways, such as providing certainty on their first day through streamlined onboarding processes, enabling them to control their personal information easily, facilitating communication and collaboration with colleagues, offering pathways for career growth and development, and ensuring data privacy and security.

What features should businesses look for in an HRIS to improve employee experience?

Businesses should look for HRIS features such as digital onboarding tools, self-service capabilities for employees to manage their information, feedback mechanisms for employee engagement, centralized task management to reduce confusion, career development resources, and robust data privacy and security measures.

How can an HRIS help businesses make data-driven decisions?

HRIS platforms offer real-time analytics and reporting capabilities, allowing businesses to gain insights into employee performance, engagement, turnover rates, and program effectiveness. By analyzing this data, businesses can make informed, data-driven decisions to improve HR strategies and initiatives.

Why should businesses consider investing in an HRIS?

Investing in an HRIS can help businesses enhance efficiency, engagement, and satisfaction in the workplace, leading to improved retention rates, increased productivity, and reduced administrative burdens. Additionally, HRIS platforms provide a secure and centralized system for managing employee information, ensuring compliance with data protection regulations and fostering trust among employees.