Human Resource Information System

Selecting a Human Resource Information System, HRIS for short, is not an easy task. With a simple quick search you can quickly be overwhelmed with the amount of different systems available. Below are some key points to consider when selecting a HRIS for your business. First off let's talk about what a HRIS is.

What is a Human Resource Information System?

A HRIS is a system that is used by HR for holding information about a company's employees. This information is usually stored in some sort of database and has a user interface for adding and editing data. The HRIS will usually come with some sort of reporting feature or tool allowing HR to easily extract data about the employees in different formats.

There are also two flavors of HRIS, one being on in-house or on-premise solution and the other being a cloud based solution, also known as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

An in-house HRIS is usually more expensive and harder to setup but can be more highly customised to your needs. An online cloud based HRIS can usually be implemented quicker and is cheaper. Another key benefit to online HRIS is it's available anywhere rather than just in your office. Here at Oligo we specialise in providing online HRIS.

Why do you need a HRIS?

Employees are usually the largest expense a company has to bear, they tend to also be one of the hardest resources to manage. It's important you have a robust system in place to help you manage these resources in the best possible way. Using a good HRIS will make this process much more simple.

Using the right tool for the right job will always make your life simpler. A HRIS is a much more efficient means of managing your employees data than using common manual paper based approach. Using a HRIS to take care of the more mundane tasks and introduce automation into your HR practices means your HR staff will be more free to take care of the more strategic functions of HR.

There are several key benefits to using HRIS such as:

A Human Resource Management System can provide a level of self-service to HR which is not present in a traditional HR setup. Things like updating of employee particulars such as change of address can now be done by the employee rather than HR.

All your employee data will be stored in a single location, will be automatically indexed and sorted. This means managing your employee data is a lot more efficient. No longer will you be wasting time trying to find the employees personnel file.

Reporting becomes much easier and custom reports can be created on the fly for management whenever needed.

What Information is Stored in HRIS?

Most modern Human Resource Information Systems are very flexible and can be configured to hold whatever data is specific to your company. A typical HRIS will at least store the following ;
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• Employee personal data such as name, address, date of birth etc...
• Department
• Job information such as job title, grade etc..
• Job history information
• Salary and salary history information
• Education, qualifications and training records
• Performance records
• Disciplinary history
• Leave and attendance information

How to Setup a HRIS?

There are a few key areas to consider when you want to setup a Human Resource Information System.

Decide what you want to achieve by introducing HRIS into your business. Evaluate carefully your goals, what data do you want to put into the HRIS and what information do you want to get back out?

Decide if you want an on-premise HRIS or cloud-based HRIS.

Decide in your budget - not all HRIS are built equally. You will need to find the right solution for your needs and pocket!

Decide on your implementation time-frame. Knowing when you want to start implementing your HRIS will help you prepare all the requirements in good time. Our advise is not to rush but to prepare well.

Evaluate several systems and get demos. All good HRIS vendors should be able to either provide you with a demo or free trial account or give you a live one-to-one demo of their application.

If all this seems like a lot to take in, don't worry Oligo is here to help you! Here at Oligo we have guided and helped many companies on their HRIS journey. We will listen to your needs and help you choose the right HRIS that fit your requirements and budget.

If you want help in getting started with HRIS send us a message at [email protected] or fill in the contact form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.