GUIDE A comprehensive guide to choosing a great HRIS for your business
Contents 3 Introduction 5 HRIS modules and functionality definitions 8 Why you need to digitise your HR services 11 The 7 essential steps to selecting the best HRIS solution for your business affinityteam.com
Introduction
Hello If you re reading this guide, you have most likely been tasked with investigating a HRIS system for your organisation. You could be a HR manager, a senior manager or a project manager from the IT or finance departments. Your organisation could be from one of a myriad of industries that needs a great HRIS system. REGARDLESS THE ONE PRIME OBJECTIVE YOU HAVE IS THE SAME: To better manage the most important resource in your business. People. You are seeking a solution that will simplify the process of collecting, managing and reporting data about your workforce. A solution that will enable you to better tap into your human capital data, analyse it and develop strategies that best supports the organisation's financial and operational objectives. An agile solution that will revolutionise the employee experience. However, while the prime objective is similar, your needs, your budget, your capabilities and resources will be as different as the various models available on the market. A one size fits all scenario is certainly not as viable an option as one tailored to your business s individual needs. So no doubt selecting the right technology for your organisation is a challenging task. We here at Affinity Team are pleased to help you through this process with A comprehensive guide to choosing a great HRIS for your business. This free booklet addresses WHY you need to go digital, HOW you should select your technology, and WHAT you should be looking for. Sections include: Why you need to digitise your HR services The 7 essential steps to selecting the best HRIS solution for your business How to identify a great HRIS system (not just a good one) HRIS modules and functionality definitions If you wish to seek out further information or require assistance in building a business case, contact us directly on 1800 778 326. affinityteam.com / 4
HRIS module and functionality definitions
HRIS module and functionality definitions Talk the talk common HRIS definitions 360 Feedback: A system in which employees can provide and receive confidential, anonymous feedback from/for managers, peers and direct reports. Automation: Award Interpretation: Compliance Workflows: Data Capture: Engagement Survey: erecruitment: Exit Analytics: HR Document Management: HR Masterfile: HRIS: Incident Management: Labour Cost Control: Labour Cost Management: Learning & Development: Leave Management: Manager Dashboard: Multiple Position Management: Digitise common functions and tasks to eliminate manual intervention. Accurate award, EBA and contract rules calculation including evaluation of hours, rates, allowances and loadings. Set up notifications to inform people of the tasks they need to complete. Reduce compliance risk through smart alerts. Capability to digitally collect and store a wide range of data including timesheets, rostering, leave etc. Customisable online employee surveys with reporting capabilities. An online recruitment system. Reduce employee turnover through reporting on trends in employee history and performance Store related documents against each employee masterfile. All employee information held in a single record within the HRIS system. Human Resources Information System A process to automate, improve and formalise incident reporting Manage labour costs at cost centre, job or project level. Ability to allocate unlimited cost centres with percentage splits, actual hours or other cost dimensions. Configurable cost and on-cost mapping, and accruals to your finance system. Administers staff learning & development including reporting to identify skills gaps, monitor certifications and licences required for specific positions. Manage tutors, teaching venues and equipment. Automation of leave requests, maintaining accrual records and interpretation of leave rules. Instant access for managers to information (including staff performance and KPI s in graphical form) for faster decision-making. Component of self-service functionality. Payroll functionality to determine pay for employees in multiple positions according to their award at the time of occupancy. affinityteam.com / 6
Notifications: Onboarding: Online timesheets: Organisation Charts: Payroll Costing: Performance Management: Remuneration Management: Reporting: Roster Management: Self Service: Social: Talent Management: Termination Wizard: Timesheet Management: Transaction Management: Workflow: Workflow Forms: Workforce Costing: Workforce Planning & Analytics: Automatic notifications to ensure tasks are completed, events scheduled and compliance met. Designed to reduce risk of unplanned labour costs and compliance breaches. Automate training and equipment requests for new starters. Software to let staff electronically submit timesheets for authorisation. Automated organisation charts using live employee data. Ability to allocate unlimited cost centres with percentage splits, actual hours or other cost dimensions. Configurable cost and on-cost mapping, and accruals to your finance system. Performance management module offers a range of tools including customised performance appraisals, reviews and KPI dashboards. Ability to manage remuneration packages including FBT, budgets, superannuation and cash. Ability to configure perfect informational reports from fully collected data. Integrated module to simplify roster management by group, individual, skill set, job or task and compare against budget. Provide full employee access to individual/team HR Masterfiles to update information, upload documents and record performance reviews etc. directly. A social platform allowing for instant messaging between employees allowing for a more engaged and connected workforce. Ability to map succession scenarios for any position, make the most of internal talent and reduce turnover by identifying and addressing issues and opportunities. Automates complex Australian terminations generating all documentation and certificates required for compliance. Digital management of employee timesheets including online submission, information capture (employee, job, costs, projects), award calculations for payroll requirements. Gain superior insight into individual employee performance and reviews. Access graphical, easy-to-read data depicting tasks, status and events. Progression of steps that comprise a process which a piece of work passes from initiation to completion. Module for converting paper forms into online forms. Track multiple cost dimensions such as project, task, job and work order. Built-in workforce planning and forecasting tool to help manage existing resources and plan future needs. affinityteam.com / 7
Why you need to digitise your HRIS Services
Why you need to digitise your HR Services Revolutionising the employee process with digital technology There is no doubt digital technology is everywhere and is radically changing the way life is lived and business conducted. It is unsurprising then, that Deloitte s 2016 Global Human Capital Trends report indicated digital HR as a key priority, with 74% of survey participants rating it as important to very important. So important that the report s authors asserted that organisations still in the early stages of adopting technology and building teams with data skills risk being left behind. The report, based on surveys and interviews with more than 7,000 business and HR leaders from over 130 countries, outlines the top 10 human capital trends impacting business today. Each of these trends/challenges (outlined below), has the capacity to be delivered, enhanced or supported through digital solutions. 1 Organisational Design: A move toward interconnected, flexible teams to tackle projects, then disband and move to new assignments once the project is complete. Digital Solutions: Set up a real time information network (such as Manager dashboards and Self Service capabilities) giving team members integrated data on performance in real time. 2 Leadership A need to identify and develop versatile leaders earlier in their careers and form generational and diverse leadership teams. Digital Solutions: Use of talent and performance management applications to identify high-potential employees earlier in their careers. 3 Culture: While it is a CEO s responsibility to set a company culture to drive business strategy, HR has a distinct role to play in its fostering and continued monitoring. Digital Solutions: Online assessment modules measure culture. Digitising and automating HR work practices also helps promote a culture of innovation. affinityteam.com / 9
4 Engagement: A continued challenge for businesses, a strong focus needs to be around listening to employees, workforce health and well-being and job redesign, with continued monitoring required throughout the year. Digital Solutions: Online engagement surveys, 360 feedback modules and social networking tools all work to building and measuring engagement. 5 Learning: Advances in technology, shifts in employee demographics and the competitive need to upgrade work skills are disrupting the traditional learning and development structures. Digital Solutions: Online training can be harnessed to drive employee centric learning to suit a diverse workforce. 6 Design Thinking: A need to relieve the burden of technology, applications and the flood of information on employees with systems and processes that are simplified and more productive. Digital Solution: Mobile application design, user experience design, data analytic tools can be used by HR to ease the pressure. 7 Changing HR skills: HR to break out of traditional focus to expand to delivering more holistic and innovative employee experiences, align better with business and start making more data driven insights. Digital Solution: An adoption of comprehensive HRIS, cloud and mobile based technologies to innovate the employee experience and benefit from advanced reporting capabilities. 8 People analytics: The increasing use of people analytics to address internal organisational challenges such as recruitment, retainment, compliance risks and more. Digital Solution: Comprehensive analytics reporting is available in most HRIS technology. 9 Digital HR: Transforming the employee experience (from entry to exit) through providing an agile and real time approach to HR processes and systems. 10 Digital Solution: Workflow automation, tapping into mobile applications and cloud based technologies. Workforce Management: The integration of a part-time and contingent workforce. Digital Solution: Workforce planning analytic tools can assist in forecasting and managing existing resources. The reasons why a company needs to digitise its HR services is summarised succinctly on page 9 of the Deloitte report: As the pace of change accelerates, business and HR leaders who move aggressively to address these trends will likely gain an advantage over their competitors and find themselves on the winning side in the global competition for talent. Global Human Capital Trends 2016 The new organization: Different by design affinityteam.com / 10
7 essential steps to selecting the best HRIS solution for your business
7 essential steps to selecting the best HRIS solution for your business Implementing proven processes to identify the best technology solutions for your business Often it is a lack of process in selecting a new technology solution which is the main barrier to organisations selecting a system that actually aligns best with their business needs and objectives. In what can be a costly exercise both financially and in workplace change a thorough process is warranted. We recommend the following seven steps when selecting your HRIS system: 1 Establish the need If you need to obtain management approval to commence investigating HRIS technology options then you need to prove a NEED. Management needs to be assured that not only are they not making an unnecessary investment but also wisely allocating resources to investigating various options. Establish your need through answer questions such as: Is the current software sufficiently storing information, fulfilling compliance needs and being financially viable for the end product being delivered? Will the current software be able to fulfil the future scope of business needs? Why should the business invest in this change? Can you identify/quantify areas where efficiencies and processes can be vastly improved? What is the return on investment to the business? What is the cost to the business of doing nothing, no change? Is your technology supporting an innovative workplace culture? 2 Build your team Once you have established your need and gained approval from management, the next step is to build a team. Establish a team that includes end users, decision makers and experts within their own field of knowledge that can add insight into the project so a fully informed and educated decision can be made. We recommend people most affected by the change in system HR, IT, OH&S, finance and payroll, executive level and even a general staff member to form part of the stakeholder committee. As a recommendation any end users of the system should have a lot of decision making power in the final choice of systems. affinityteam.com / 12
3 Make a checklist In the first team meeting identify a checklist for your perfect HRIS system. Identify the need-to-haves, want-to-haves and wish-to-haves. This checklist should take into consideration current and future business needs, core functionality and additional functionality, organisational capabilities and available resources. Most importantly quantify how a system should benefit your business through improving processes. Here are some questions that will assist you in creating a checklist: Do you have a HR information technology strategy? If so, what is it? If not, what should it be? What does your current system do well and what is it missing? How do the missing pieces affect the business delivery or risks? Does a new system need to integrate with other current systems or alternatively replace systems? Do you need to be able to access it remotely and through mobile devices? What is your staff demographic now and what will it be in the future? How should a new system meet future needs? Should the new system be scalable? What current work processes need updating and what should these look like? How many business processes could be automated? How should the new system support the overall needs of the business strategy and objectives? What results do you wish to accomplish with a new system? What resources are required to maintain the systems? What operating system does it need to run on and how easily should the system interface to other business systems 4 Realise it s an investment A great HRIS system is an investment, not an expense. So while knowing your budget is important, don t settle for an application that is in your price range but doesn t solve the business needs. It is a wasted investment. Be sure to research all the applications that are best suited to your business before assessing costs. A good vendor will assist you in building a business case that will evaluate required investment against ROI. 5 Get to know HRIS systems Now armed with your list of need-to-haves, want-to-haves and wish-to -haves it is time to improve your knowledge of HRIS systems in general. Ask for peer recommendations, review various vendor offerings and start a spreadsheet to compare how each system measures up against your checklist. Once you have narrowed down the systems to the most viable options, start investing time in more thorough research of these ones (we recommend at least 3). Attend workshops, request demonstrations and interview vendors. Check out the Definitions of common HRIS modules and functionality as a starting point for your research. affinityteam.com / 13
6 Investigate each vendor s: performance against other companies of similar size and resources (i.e. number of years in business, number of experienced key staff, client and industry base) reputation and track record for providing great systems and service (ask for testimonials, case studies and references) commitment to the HR industry (have they built their system on HR industry knowledge and experience?) commitment to continuing building their product to keep pace with technological advancements (you don t want to invest in a product that will be obsolete in 2 years time) upfront costs, maintenance fees, inclusions or any additional unseen costs extended team who will be working directly with you throughout the whole collaboration (get to know the implementation team, the service and faults team etc. What technological platform does the HRIS operate from? Check compatibility of main-frame based system transitioning to cloud. The code of some HRIS systems code were written in the 1970 s making them outdated and cumbersome to move to a cloud environment. Have a frank conversation with each vendor about the full process so you know what is and isn t involved (such as training, expected time of integration, known bugs etc.) 7 Get to know the vendors What s the saying? When you marry someone, you are also marrying the family. The goes for HRIS Software. When you purchase HRIS Technology, you are also marrying the vendor. A HRIS System is a long term investment that the business will be using for many years to come so being able to collaborate well with the vendor partner is essential. Make your decision It s decision time. Review your full findings with your team and make your final decision. If after completing steps 1-6 you still haven t got a clear indication of system preference here are some final points to consider: Which system has the features most important to your company, now and in the future? Are there any companies similar in size and objectives to yours using either of the remaining options? What are the purchasing options being presented to you? Is it licensed, hosted or SaaS? Are you more comfortable with one vendor than another? What is the opinion of the team and the end users of the system? How does the venders applications make your business more productive, eliminate wasteful processes and remove compliance risk? Good luck with your decision making! affinityteam.com / 14
How to identify a great HRIS system (not just a good one)
How to identify a great HRIS system (not just a good one) Learn how to differentiate leading HRIS systems from all the marketplace offerings While the majority of systems on the market provide the core modules, what differentiates a great HRIS systems from good ones, is the extended functionality and capabilities. To assist you in identifying the difference between great from just good here are the top benefits a HRIS should deliver to your organisation: A comprehensive and flexible system On the market there are a number of best of breed solutions that provide a good solution to managing separately the four main aspects of employee information: 1. payroll 2. workflow and automation 3. talent management (or Human Capital Management) 4. labour costing (i.e. rostering and time and attendance) A great HRIS solution is a fully comprehensive system that has the capacity to: 1. deliver modules for all the four areas (listed above) in the one solution 2. integrate easily with other platforms already implemented; and 3. store all collected data to the ONE masterfile (regardless of whether a business is using the system as a whole or integrating with different platforms) Advanced reporting and analysis Today, HR systems are required to not only track employee information but also manage and analyse workforce data so you can strategically align with business objectives. The benefits of a system that maintains one masterfile is its full reporting capabilities. While individual applications have their own report writing tools, they are generally not easily shared or combined without needing to export and manipulate data. A great HRIS system that saves data on one masterfile, will have the capacity to configure complete picture analysis and reporting that will enable better labour costing and strategy. You will be able to easily modify standard reports or create new reports of your own and you should be able to export information to a universal format such as Microsoft Excel. You will be able to start driving decision making and creating business strategies based on people analytics. affinityteam.com / 16
Drives greater efficiency organisation wide A great HRIS system is a business system that gives access to all staff to drive greater efficiencies throughout the organisation. Providing full workforce access through self-service functionality: individual staff members direct access to their individual files to update details such as bank details saving on unnecessary double handling team managers immediate access to visible, current and accurate team data (such as project labour costing, performance reviews, timesheets etc.) that will lead to better and faster decision making capabilities Faster paperless transactions A great HRIS system eliminates manual intervention and paper transactions through automation and workflow functionality. It is through workflow automation that businesses will see the largest improvement in workplace processes and reducing labour costs. The technology should be intuitive to digitise documents and approval processes, effectively manage compliance requirements, and provide full audit trailing reports. 0 errors When it comes to compliance and to paying staff correctly getting it wrong can be dire. A great HRIS will be able to ensure that people are getting paid properly and your business is operating compliantly. By automating workflow process you can benefit from: the accurate interpretation of award, EBA and contract rules/rates paying employees in multiple positions according to their award at the time of occupancy compliantly managing remuneration packages and superannuation notifying relevant staff when certifications or training are due notifying staff when an anomaly appears by highlighting variations from the past period/s affinityteam.com / 17
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