Human resources information systems (HRIS), human resources management systems (HRMS), and human capital management (HCM) are the terms that are often used interchangeably but have a few key differences. While HRIS handles core HR processes, an HRMS (Human Resource Management System) includes these capabilities in addition to talent management, such as learning, development, and succession planning. More generally, HCM (Human Capital Management) is used to describe the broad set of practices and software to manage an organisation’s workforce.
Growing businesses and those with a medium- to large-sized employee base, especially across different states, countries, or continents, can get significant value from the centralised, real-time data model and automated workflows of an HRIS.
With an HRIS, a company can easily comply with local data protection and employment regulations. A localised, regional user experience supports easy access for HR professionals, managers, and employees around the world.
An HRIS benefits everyone within an organisation including HR personnel, managers, and every employee. Automated workflows and centralised, real-time data create efficiencies, which in turn augment productivity across the organisation.
The system can resolve many persistent business problems including:
- Manual, time-consuming workflows for HR personnel and employees
- Lack of continuity across systems with siloed data stores
- Stale and outdated HR and employee information
- Limited alignment of HR strategy with corporate strategy
- Inconsistent regulatory oversight for corporate and government employment laws
An HRIS must be resilient and able to adapt to the changing needs of the business. Additional considerations include:
- Proper management of the data transfer from legacy systems to the HRIS
- Scalability of the HRIS as the organisation grows
- Compliance with regional and global regulatory requirements
- Rapid adoption with well-trained employees to leverage the full value of the HRIS once live