HRIS – Human Resource Information System

A Human Resource Information system (HRIS) is a software application used to store

employee information and support various human resource functions, such as
benefits, payroll, recruiting, training, etc. This term is often used interchangeably with
human resource management system (HRMS).  

HRIS is a system used to Acquire , Store , Analyse , Retrieve , and Distribute

information related to the company’s Human Resources . Thanks to Globalisation
companies need to take decisions faster and make better use of its human resources .
The HRIS software may be developed internally or purchased and customised

A formal business case is needed to authorize funds for a new or upgraded HRIS.
Presenting a strong cost/benefit analysis to justify the costs of purchasing and
implementing a new HRIS is necessary.
:
When Developing a Business case for a new HRIS, address the following

Outline precise business problems. For example, lack of integrated systems results in poor data
integrity and time spent reconciling information from incompatible systems.
Clearly state the objective and the anticipated results. For example, purchase, install and
implement a state-of-the-art system that will upgrade HR's quality of service through efficiency
and better information.
Specify any current HRIS issues. For example, the department has outgrown the current HRIS,
which does not run the latest software and is incompatible with other systems.
List all other available options or alternatives. For eg options such as a) remain with the current
HRIS, b) upgrade individual systems, c)  outsource some or all HR services.
Provide clear goals and objectives. For example, use assessments of delivery value analysis to
determine necessary functions and results.
Include a summary of the current cost for HR service delivery.
Determine the expected rate of ROI upon implementation.
HRIS – Determining Needs

Determining Needs
An HRIS can be as simple as a small, internally developed employee database or
as complex as a fully integrated multimillion-dollar enterprise resource planning
(ERP) system depending on the organization's business operations. Employers
must have a firm understanding of :-

* The organization's culture
* Its ability to accept small /large-scale changes
• Whether it is expanding its operations globally or undergoing mergers and
acquisitions—and,
• Its short- and long-term goals.
• How tech savvy its managers and employees are
• Be able to accommodate for mobile as well as traditional access models
 HRIS – Human Resource Information System
Each HRIS user will have slightly different information needs and can be split into
two groups—employees and nonemployees. The Employee category includes:

* Managers who rely on the HRIS and its data for decision-making.
* Analysts and power users who evaluate potential choices and opportunities.
• Technicians who are responsible for providing a usable, up-to-date system for
all users.
• Those who use the system on a self-service basis to access and/or update
personal information.
The Non Employee group includes:
Potential employees (applicants) , Suppliers, Business partners.
 HRIS – Design Considerations

Design Considerations
Once an organization has decided to implement technology in its overall HR strategy
INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS
With this strategy, a single vendor helps the organization develop one platform that
incorporates multiple HR functions. Often these platforms are part of an enterprise-
wide information system architecture that includes a variety of business functions
such as a general ledger, customer relationship management and logistics.
BEST-OF-BREED SOLUTIONS
Organizations that implement a BoB strategy pick the best applications for each HR
functional area, working with one or more vendors. For example, the organization
might use a recruiting solution from one vendor, a time-and-attendance program
from a second, and a payroll system from a third.
Smaller businesses with limited resources or those that want to use technology
selectively as part of the overall HR strategy, might prefer this approach.
 HRIS – Human Resource Information System
The organization must also consider how the technology will be delivered. Options
include:
On-premise purchase and install. The organization will purchase and install hardware
and software on internal machines that internal IT staff support.
Hosted or application service provider. The organization purchases applications that are
located at the vendor's site and supported by external IT staff.
Software as a service (SaaS). The organization subscribes to software that is developed
and deployed remotely and accessed via a Web browser. Vendors offer many organizations
access to the same package (known as multitenancy) and maintain the software for each
organization.
Both hosted and SaaS approaches can be effective for organizations that lack the resources
or technical expertise to implement a large, integrated system. Many vendors are
beginning to market SaaS applications to small and midsize businesses that want to
expand their HR services.
 HRIS – Human Resource Information System

One of the most significant changes in the practice of HR management has been
the "democratization" of HR data, expanding access to employees, managers,
health insurers, workers' compensation carriers, senior executives, job applicants
and regulatory agencies.

An HR portal provides a single, targeted and often customized access point for
each employee (and increasingly, each job applicant).
Most HR portals are also Web-enabled, so employees can access HR services
anywhere and anytime on a variety of mobile devices.
 HRIS – ESS
Employee self-service (ESS )—enables employees to access and maintain their
personal HR information and to directly conduct many HR transactions. An ESS
enables employee to do the following :-

1) View Salary Slip 2) View PF, Gratuity details ( balance ,other details
3) View Salary Deductions - IT deduction, salary deductions eg unpaid leave
4) View Overtime paid , reimbursements paid, other payments eg Bonus
5) Apply for Leave and view leave balance 6) View organization policies
7) View important notices announcements 8) Apply for internal job postings
9) View Individual training plan 10) View performance rating
11) Seek grievance redressal 12) Resignation
13) Claim benefits , Reimbursement 14) Submit bills 15) Attendance
 HRIS – Human MSS
Another HR portal application is a Manager self-service (MSS), which enables supervisors to
conduct many HR transactions online. Managers could authorize
1) New joinee Onboarding – ( Entering all data and creating employee Number /ID
2) Confirmations 3) Identify Trainings required 4) Performance appraisal
5) Finalise promotions and transfers 6) Do succession planning 7) Approve Leave 8)
Accept Resignation 9) Approve work tours 10) Approve new position
11) Maintain Organisation Chart 12) Process payroll 13) Approve Bills

MSS Generates real-time reports. Such as

3) Recruitment reports – a) How many positions are filled and vacant b) Average time taken
for each level c) Total cost Average cost of recruitment and break up of the cost to identify
where maximum money was spent d)Vacancies in each department
4) Training Report – a) How many people are trained in a month / year b) training days /
training hours location wise , level wise c) Training expenditure for each department /
location d) List of training service providers
 HRIS – MSS
MSS Generates real-time reports. Contd
3) Performance Appraisal Reports – a) Report of top 10 % performers in company and
in each department (b) Report of performance certain employees over last three or
five years. c) Age , education, training attended and other details of high performers
4) Confirmations – a) List of people who are due for confirmation b) Confirmation
extended list with their ratings and their profile
5) Promotions and Transfers - a) Report of Positions available in each department and
location b) Employees who met the criteria for promotion.
c) Employees who meet the criteria for transfer
5) Resignation - a) No of resignations every month every quarter b) analysis of no of
resignations level wise, department wise or location wise c) Period of employment
before resigning
6) Manpower Planning – a) Positions which will be vacant due to retirements b)
Positions vacant due to accident / death
 HRIS – Popular HR Software for Small & Large Entrepreneurs in 2022

Spine HR Suite Employee Vibes

InfowanHR
Keka HRMS Qandle
HR-One HR Software GreytHr Software
Beehive HRMS Zoho People
sumHR Software HR Mantra
247 HRM FlexiEle HRMS
ADP Vista HCM HRMTHREAD
PeopleStrong ZingHR
PeopleApex Smart H2R
SAP ?
 HRIS – Uses Tasks Handled
Portals Can Tackle Most Administrative Tasks
ESS delivers measurable efficiencies to employees and the organization by
eliminating inaccuracies in data collection by offering a single point of entry and
immediate application of business rules.
It also makes employees responsible for keeping their own information accurate
and up-to-date. Finally, integration with systems across the organization increases
the speed of HR transactions
1) EMPLOYEE PERSONAL DATA AND UPDATES
Some portals enable employees to change personal data, enter time worked,
print out pay slips, enroll in employer benefits and schedule vacations. Some
include preconfigured life events pages that allow employees to follow a series of
steps related to each activity—marriage, divorce and birth or adoption of a child.
 HRIS – Human Resource Information System
2) EMPLOYEE ONBOARDING
Another time-consuming task that ESS can handle for HR is onboarding and orientation
of new employees. Virtual orientation is a growing trend in onboarding. For example,
new staff members can simply log in to an inviting virtual corporate environment. At
Marriott, for example, new employees can listen to and interact with leadership
speakers in a series of webinars and other activities.
A strong web-based onboarding program can help new hires become effective in their
jobs more thoroughly and expeditiously, which increases productivity and employee
satisfaction.
3) BENEFITS ENROLLMENT
One of HR's most time-consuming responsibilities is benefits enrollment for new hires
and annual enrollment for all employees. An open enrollment ESS platform can
streamline the process by letting employees make their own selections and calculations,
based on employer-directed options. Many of these can be integrated with feeds from
an organization's HRIS to ensure information is up-to-date and to connect interrelated
payroll, HRIS and benefits systems into one seamless portal.
 HRIS – Human Resource Information System
4) EMPLOYEE TRAINING
Technology has had a significant impact on organization and employee development in e-learning and
computer-based testing. Organizations increasingly use technology to deliver training, which helps them
reach a broader audience and increase efficiency.
ESS portals can be used to track employee training requirements, completion dates and recommended or
optional training offerings. 

5) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Employers are also making significant investments in the talent and performance management systems
that support employee retention and engagement. For example, many ESS portals enable employees to
complete self-evaluations, set goals, input information about training and development activities, and
review, respond to and sign annual performance evaluations.

ESS allows human resources to focus more on value-added processes in the performance management
process. These systems also benefit the HR professional by condensing the results of entire performance
management and compensation system in one place, facilitating analysis and reporting.
 HRIS – Human Resource Information System
6) TIME AND ATTENDANCE
Time and attendance systems are increasingly viewed as more than a way to accurately
track workers' hours or to stay compliant with the wage and hour regulations of the Fair
Labor Standards Act (FLSA). HR leaders look to these systems for more self-service features
to accommodate the needs of mobile workers and for labor cost reporting.
Some time clock systems enable web-based management of data collection through ESS
portals and mobile apps. Such systems, providing real-time display of time and attendance
data, allow workers to punch in and out from anywhere they can connect to the Internet
and alert managers when employees are approaching overtime or their attendance
routines change, rather than having to wait for batch data that can take longer to analyze.
These systems can help HR reduce its administrative burdens and assist line managers by
reducing the time they spend editing employees' time sheets or ruling on "exceptions" to
a schedule or assigned work pattern. Features that enable employees to log on and view
their work schedules, check timecards, review accrued benefits or place vacation requests
all save HR professionals time.
 HRIS – Human Resource Information System
7) WELLNESS SURVEYS
Employers are also using their ESS benefits enrollment systems to encourage employees
to adopt healthier behaviors. For example, many U.S. organizations have incorporated
health risk assessments into their electronic enrollment systems, and some use
enrollment systems to encourage employees to sign up for disease management
programs.
8) Employee Engagement Surveys
Administration of such surveys and collating the data is easy due to ESS . Most
Engagement surveys are available on ESS which enables wide participation across
locations by employees.
 HRIS – Payroll
An important and a very big part of HRIS is Payroll which works flawlessly for the
entire organization . It handles /takes care of :-

1) Statutory Requirements – PF, Gratuity, ESIC, Bonus etc

2) Payment of Salary / Wages based on Attendance captured by the system.
3) Payment of Overtime to workers and Extra payment for employees working
after office hours
4) Absenteeism and Deductions for leave without pay
5) Incentives – Payment of short term and long term incentives as applicable.
6) Benefits – Payments of Cash benefits such as LTA, Mobile phone , etc
7) Increments in Salary after Appraisal – ensuring they are paid accurately
quantity and from correct date
 Employer/HR-Friendly Portal Features
The ESS features that employees find so convenient also benefit HR because they can
increase the department's efficiency, which frees time for more strategic HR involvement in
the overall business functions. 
STREAMLINED COMMUNICATIONS WITH INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND EMPLOYEES
Better management of the employee benefits plan can lead to significant cost
savings. Benefits administrators can eliminate double billing, identify terminated
employees who are still on the books, correct bills for the wrong coverage and
resolve similar errors.
INFORMATION SHARING AND MEETING TRACKING
HR staff members can also use the intranet for information sharing among widely
separated locations. For example, collaboration software enables HR professionals
to post and share PowerPoint presentations, white papers and other documents.
Similarly, HR can develop an intranet meeting-tracking system that improves follow-
through. For example, instead of e-mailing meeting minutes and action items, that
information can be stored in a database accessible to all participants at any time.
 Employer/HR-Friendly Portal Features
TALENT MANAGEMENT
HRIS were initially designed to meet payroll needs first and human capital needs
second, but next-generation HRIS platforms, which often include more talent
management components, flip that formula.
Vendors are offering new options for integrating talent management systems such as
recruiting, performance management and learning management with the backbone
HRIS functions. Such integration can enable more strategic talent analysis as well as
reduce redundant data entry or storage.
MANAGER SELF-SERVICE
Manager self-service is increasing in use due to decreased cycle time and increased
accuracy for HR transactions. In addition, managers appreciate being able to handle
transactions on their own, and HR knows the work is being taken care of.
In some organizations, managers have been reluctant to take on duties that HR had
handled until they recognized the benefits, including easier access to workforce data
for quicker decision-making.
 Employer/HR-Friendly Portal Features
Metrics
In a world where what matters gets measured, many HR Heads turn to
sophisticated analytics to help gauge their department's strategic contribution.
Next-generation tools enable HR and business managers to make predictive
correlations between traditional HR metrics and the business outcomes they are
expected to achieve—such as the impact of a mentoring program on
performance.
Some organizations underscore the importance of such metrics by displaying
them in a dashboard format. ESS portals can include dashboards for employees
to track progress against goals. For example, if an organization requires a certain
amount of training per year, employees can check the portal to verify progress
without having to disturb human resources.
 HRIS
Legal Issues
One of the key legal issues facing HR professionals who rely heavily on ESS and MSS
systems for data storage and sharing is how to protect sensitive data, such as medical
and financial information, performance notes, disciplinary actions, and other
personnel information that only managers and HR should have access to. In addition
to proper use of such active data, HR must consider secure disposal of the information
when it is no longer needed.
 HRIS – Benefits
1) Cost Reduction : Reduces duplication of work , Less manual manpower
required.
2) Improvements through integration:
Centralization and efficiency of the flow, capture and use of HR data.
3) Speed in delivery of services. –faster data extraction and processing
4) New or updated delivery of services:
Companywide standardization of policies and procedures.
Use of interactive voice response (IVR) and Internet.
Use of Employee self-service. ESS
5) Improved Reporting and analytics : Standardized, automated and scheduled
reporting
6) Ability to accommodate remote users. Employees working in far flung area,
client site
 HRIS – Other Benefits

7) Greater Employee Engagement – Due to complete access to policies, and

all information and services of ESS employees engagement is higher.
8) Greater Employee empowerment due to greater transparency and access
to policies, salary data, benefits data and services
9) Better Employee Relations - Grievance , complaints reduced as Payroll and
employee information errors reduced

10) Better Analysis & Decision Making . availability of accurate and up-to-date
human resources data leading to more effective decision-making.
 HRIS – Security Features
Security features in the HRIS should be a top priority to Avoid the Following:
1) Disclosure of sensitive electronically stored information such as payroll and
benefits data among employees.
2) Loss of sensitive personnel data outside the organization (such as Social Security
numbers), resulting in data breaches or identity theft.
3) Unauthorized updates of key data such as salaries and stock options (quantity
and dates).
4) Sharing of personnel or applicant review—comments to unauthorized employees.
5) Sharing of data with external organizations and service providers.
6) Employers should have protocols developed to respond to security breaches or
the unintended exposure of sensitive information.
7) As identity theft becomes more prevalent, management should assist affected
employees to ensure their information is updated and secured.
 ESS and Benefits
Benefits of ESS

Refer to Study Material