Who Should Maintain a Human Resource Information System (HRIS)?
Source: SOI Blog
As owners and managers we should keep human resource management information in mind. But how can we access and use this information accurately & effectively? “Most can easily build and maintain a human resource information system (HRIS). An HRIS is a simple device which yields helpful answers to complex HR questions. The HRIS can be done in a spreadsheet, building upon the data already in your records and HR resources.” Raymond A. Parker, SPHR, Senior Vice President – HR Consulting with SOI, a national leader in professional employer organizations (PEO), suggests.
HRIS tools have come into easy reach with laptop computers as well as mainframes and can be helpful for most companies, regardless of size. “But before jumping into such a system, it is prudent first to determine if it really needed and whether or not it will be utilized” cautions Parker. The 10 to 20 employee organizations may not need it. But with headcounts of 50 or more, it can be most helpful. An HRIS serves many purposes: a tool for budgeting pay increases, identifying candidates for promotion, highlighting poor performers, determining equal employment opportunity activity, benefits costing, targeting training needs, etc. Employers with up to 200-300 personnel can effectively build and maintain a Microsoft EXCEL-type spreadsheet. At 500, 1,000 or above, a commercial system can be more practical. ABRA, PeopleSoft and systems identified at HR-Guide may be considerations for larger companies .
An HRIS alternative can be a PEO. Often, because of the full service HR offering via the PEO, the HRIS is available as part of the service. Using a PEO’s HRIS is attractive because of cost saving due to cost sharing across clients, on-staff HR practitioners assisting with HRIS analysis, data feed and updates from the PEO’s central storage information and the PEO’s focus on data accuracy. Parker suggests, “The key decision factors for using an HRIS should be: a practical need, knowledge-skill-ability to use the HRIS, and return on investment. It takes HR experience, as well as learning and working with HR inter-relationships to effectively deduce HR trends, issues and action targets. Savvy businesspeople count an HRIS among their most valuable tools.”
SOI offers professional assistance with your HRIS and helps contain overall administrative costs. Contact us today for a free comparison quote.
About SOI
SOI is a leading professional employer organization (PEO) for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) serving as a trusted partner in administration and payroll processing/employee benefits, integrated human resource (HR) compliance, employment practice liability, empolyee safety, compensation and risk management. SOI is based in Charlotte, NC and supports tens of thousands of worksite employees throughout the U.S. For more details, visit: human resources administration.
