A HRIS, or Human resource information system, is a software solution for small to mid-sized businesses to help automate and manage their HR, payroll, management and accounting activities. A HRIS generally should provide the capability to more effectively plan, control and manage HR costs; achieve improved efficiency and quality in HR decision making; and improve employee and managerial productivity and effectiveness.

HRIS offers HR, payroll, benefits, training, recruiting and compliance solutions. Most are flexibly designed with integrated databases, a comprehensive array of features, and powerful reporting functions and analysis capabilities that you need to manage your workforce. This can give back hours of the HR administrator’s day previously spent attending to routine employee requests. They also facilitate communication processes and save paper by providing an easily-accessible, centralized location for company policies, announcements, and links to external URL’s. Employee activities such as time-off requests and W-4 form changes can be automated, resulting in faster approvals and less paperwork.

An affordable Human Resource Information System (HRIS), for example Sage Abra HRMS, allows companies to manage their workforce through two powerful main components: HR & Payroll. In addition to these essential software solutions, HRIS offers other options to help companies understand and fully utilize their workforce’s collective skills, talents, and experiences.

Some of the most popular modules are:

• Recruiting (applicant and resume management)
• Attendance (Manage incident based and regular time off, track accrual pay and all attendance plans, create reports easily)
• Organization charts (Create professional looking, dynamic organization charts)
• Alerts (automatically notify personnel of performance reviews, benefits enrollment, compliance requirements and other key events)
• Employee self service (Employees can update personal information and view benefits elections, absence transactions, time-off balances and payroll information)
• Benefits Administration (Save paper and postage, take weeks off the benefits open enrollment period, reduce administration time, and improve data accuracy)
• Produce reports in minutes
• Succession plans
• Track training for employees

Selecting the right HRIS is important. Your company will need to make sure that they can customize the system to meet its specific and unique needs and that it is a system that will grow with your company.

Download the HRIS Checklist: Your Guide to Choosing The Right HRIS