Today I am going to take a step back and dial down the detail a level of magnitude or two and talk about what HRIS Software is and what it can do for you.

HRIS, or Human Resource Information Systems, is generally a collection of software modules that help accomplish four specific functions:

1.       Payroll

2.       Time and attendance

3.       Benefits administration

4.       General HR management. 

A strong HRIS system may also cover learning management, performance management and other HR automation.

Payroll: the payroll module should take all of the tasks surrounding employee time and attendance and automate it.  This will include direct deposit information, time and attendance, off-time requests and tracking and all of the small nuances that go into recording employee time and reporting on it.

Time and Attendance: the time and attendance module will automate collecting and managing employee time and labor information.  It should have automated process for requesting time off, tracking time off usage and accruals, calculating overtime and tracking hours worked.  It should have workflows processes for approving or denying timesheets, approving or denying time off, etc.  It should allow all levels of management and employees to have a transparent view of their off-time plans, holidays and hours worked.

Benefits Administration: the benefit module should allow employees to opt in and out of benefit plans, record dependents, record beneficiaries, track coordination of benefits and integrate to a company’s benefit carriers as well as other benefits related tasks.

HR Management: the HR management module should cover a wide variety of HR automation.  It should record all of the personal information one collects on employees, allow for pay raise workflows, bonuses, commissions, transfers, all of that day-to-day HR work that happens inside any company.

Some HRIS Software will have modules for applicant tracking, performance management, learning management (aka: training) and other common tasks.  A good HR Automation package should serve an employee’s HR needs from application through retirement and at all points in between. 

At Achievant we have all of these modules in our HCMS (Human Capital Management System).  We are constantly evaluating, expanding and adding to our functionality as the HR workplace grows and changes.  In fact, one of the reasons we created our blogs was in order to communicate with other HR professionals and generate an on-going dialogue of what is and what is not important in HR software.