Ideally, you can marry cost-effectiveness with a suite of features in your HRIS that supports your company today and as you grow. However, we urge you not to weigh costs too heavily at the expense of functionality. Being cheap with your system today may come back to bite you down the road. 

In this blog, we’ll be breaking down some of the most valuable features you need in your HRIS software. If you’re willing to invest in this tool, you should know how to get the most bang for your buck!

What is an HRIS (Human Resources Information System)?

At its core, an HRIS is a platform that houses your employee’s information, including their name, date of birth, social security number, birthday, and all of the other necessary data points. The term is generally used interchangeably with HRMS (Human resources management system). 

An HRMS is where you manage employee functions like PTO, onboarding, performance management, and so much more. Of course, most systems you come across will be able to perform the role of both an HRIS and HRMS, so in this blog, we’ll just use HRIS as the term. 

HRIS Recruiting Capabilities

Though an ATS (applicant tracking software) can be a separate software from your HRIS, some systems have native ATS capabilities. One prominent example of this is BambooHR. Applicant tracking features make recruiting much more organized and efficient for your team. Furthermore, they improve your ability to track critical metrics like time-to-hire to understand your recruiting effectiveness better.

Look for an HRIS that allows you to store and sort job applications, schedule interviews, manage documents, and track progress. Additionally, you’ll want cloud-based software for a more secure, accessible, and collaborative experience. You should also be able to easily integrate with your email provider, website, and the job boards where you post openings. 

Employee Onboarding 

After completing the recruiting process, the majority of the functionality for your HRIS will kick in. That begins with employee onboarding. Though some smaller companies may be getting by on their onboarding checklist alone, a robust onboarding system can take your employee experience to the next level. 

With customizable software, you can evolve your checklist into an automated onboarding workflow with less room for error. This software should allow you to enroll your new hire in tasks like signing their employee handbook or submitting their I-9 documents. A smooth onboarding experience sets your staff up to be effective faster and stick around longer.

Performance Management

Performance management features are essential to many human resource information systems. Your HR team should be able to build the ideal performance review process in that software. Moreover, the ability to accurately assess employee effectiveness is what separates performance management software from a traditional review process. 

Seek an HRIS that lets you define your review cycle by time and organization, gather 360-degree feedback, and review the results of all of this feedback. 360-degree feedback benefits your understanding of the complete picture of an employee’s impact beyond what their manager sees. Centralizing employee performance management in your HRIS makes things easier to track and act on for all parties. 

Employee Data Storage and Analytics in HRIS

Employee data storage and analytics are the foundation of an HRIS. As mentioned above, these systems were first built to store essential employee information. When assessing your options, prioritize software with employee self-service capabilities and tiered information access. 

This will save your HR team a lot of time since your employees can enter their own information. Moreover, with tiered access, you can ensure that only the employee submitting it and the privileged members of your HR and management teams will have access to sensitive information. 

If your HRIS acts as a central database for employee information, you won’t have to worry about the data inaccuracies that come with working across several spreadsheets. Instead, your employee’s personal, payment, and other information can all live in one place that updates in real-time. That simplifies data upkeep and makes conducting data analysis projects, such as demographic DEI studies, significantly more manageable.

Compensation Management in your HRIS

Finally, find an HRIS that makes compensation management a breeze. Payroll is precious, so you need software that makes your process ironclad. The right HRIS can smooth out issues like double data entry while also streamlining tasks like payroll tax filings. In addition, this software should make it easy to create payroll reports to inform your compensation strategy. 

Beyond tax filings and sending out checks on time, your software should handle tasks like time tracking and PTO management. For example, in a proper system, hourly employees submit their digital time cards, and employees with PTO submit requests for days off. Having all of this in one system will dramatically improve your payroll process.

Need help with finding the right HRIS for your company?

If you need some help implementing your HRIS, ADDA has you covered. Our consultants have worked with nearly every HRIS under the sun. Click here to learn how we can help you get the most out of your software.