List of 12 Best HRIS Systems & Software (Q1 2023)

We always like to start with the “why” behind any piece of software. With a new HR software suite (or Human Resources Management System, HRMS or Human Resource Information System, or HRIS), you may think it’s simply table stakes to have a database to keep track of your essential employee information. To some correct extent.

However, we’ve seen that the best HRIS systems offer so much more value than the last generation’s tools, which are simply databases of employees. Here are the key benefits of using best-in-class human resource management software, whether you're a small business or Fortune 500.

• Save Time with Automation: By automating recurring tasks like benefits, payroll administration, employee onboarding, time tracking, and attendance management, your HRIS helps make tedious HR processes quick, simple, and less prone to error. According to Nucleus research, companies that do use HR automation reported 67% faster new hire onboarding and 90% time savings on admin work
  
  

• Improve the Employee Experience: An HRIS doesn’t just benefit your business and bottom line. It’s also a direct asset for your employees. With a user-friendly employee portal, your employees can navigate benefits options easily, review and update personal information, manage requests for time off, and much more. Employees who feel their employers’ onboarding software is effective are five times more likely to report high levels of engagement
  
  

• Employee Performance: Beyond simply reviewing conduct and achievements, your HR system can actually drive employee performance. Performance reviews, engagement surveys, performance management capabilities, and customizable integrations with other tools can all be used to build culture and turn company values from ideas to action. Statically, 72% of HR generalists engaging in self-service HRIS reported a lighter workload.
  
  
• Increase Compliance: If you are careful with the setup and initial data entry, an HRIS can greatly improve your data accuracy and accessibility. In addition to helping you out in a pinch, data accuracy, and task automation also support compliance year-round. Automation results in fewer human errors, and many vendors do a great job of staying on top of various changes in laws and regulations, keeping you in the loop, and updating their products accordingly.
  
  
• Better Organization: If you’re starting from pencil and paper, using an HRIS eliminates the hassle of sifting through paper files to find employee data. If you've already moved beyond pen and paper or spreadsheets but are using several tools, buying a complete HR suite helps with keeping everything in the same place.

Stacey Richey, one of the experts we talked about for this piece, was facing this problem. Her company, Corvus Insurance, needed an HRIS because all their systems were in different tools. Imagine that: one tool for payroll, one for benefits, one for LMS, one for performance management, etc.

By making a list of the modules she needed in order to replace those products, she and her team's search for an HRIS had a head start. Today, they save tons of hours each month by not having to switch from one app to another, build integrations, or transfer info.

• Streamline the Hiring Process: Some HRMS’s can also act as a lightweight ATS (and some have a full-fledged ATS built-in). Recruiting features of an HRIS allow you to easily collect resumes, review candidate info, and speed up employee onboarding and training providing new hires with a seamless transition into your company. Custom workflows also help you ensure that no key steps or necessary documents are overlooked in the onboarding process.
• Business Intelligence: As your business grows, analyzing data metrics becomes increasingly important. By creating custom reports, your HRIS makes it easy for your HR team to analyze hiring costs, calculate turnover, employee engagement, and ultimately use data to help inform business decisions.
• Workforce Management: The HRMS vendors that are best-in-class HR technology companies will offer tools that help progressive HR departments with human capital management.

For example, you will find employee engagement built right into many new human resource management software, along with intuitive employee onboarding, easy-to-access payroll and benefits, mobile first-time and attendance, and payroll management. All of this is done through a cloud-based offering that updates as new modules roll out.

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We always think it can be helpful to learn from what not to do, and with new employee management software, there are many mistakes to be made. Our advice to making sure you don’t fall into many of these mis-steps is to ask the right questions on demos (see our suggested questions below). Here’s where we see people struggle when it comes to getting the right HRIS:

Lack of employee self-service: If your HRIS doesn’t allow employees to update their own personal information or choose their own benefits plans, then it’s not really saving your human resources team time. If you want to see the greatest returns from your system, choose an HRIS that includes employe self-service capabilities.

Inability to integrate with other systems: If you really want to save time with an HRIS, make sure that it integrates with other business apps you use so that your data flows easily from one system to the next. Otherwise, you will end up having to manually enter data into different systems which can ultimately cause more work for your HR team. For example, most HR experts consider that HRIS systems don't do recruiting really well, so they opt for having a stand-alone ATS. Having your HRIS integrate with this ATS should be a top consideration and would help to shortlist 2-5 solutions early in the process. Of course, the same goes for other key tools within your existing, or even future, tech stack.

Lack of data accuracy: Your HRIS is only as good as the data it stores. A system that is full of inaccurate data is essentially useless, so make sure employees tread with caution when entering data and that there is a process that ensures the right information is being entered into the system whether manually or via API from another HR or recruiting solution.

Lack of consideration of application’s limits: A business with 5,000 employees will struggle to be successful with an HRIS built for companies with 100 employees. Thus, when choosing an HRIS, make sure that it meets the needs of your company’s size. If your business is growing fast, you’ll want to be careful to choose an HRIS has the ability to grow with it. Unfortunately sometimes large organizations have to go with incumbent vendors vs the latest and greatest as these startups may not have the needed feature set.

Incorrect or rushed implementation: If you rush the data transfer process when setting up a new HRIS, it’s highly likely that some of the data will be entered incorrectly. If you’re working too fast, it can be easy to input the wrong pay rate or give the wrong manager control over approving time worked. Rushing the implementation process increases the likelihood that you make a mistake that may cause problems down the line.

It’s advisable to get a consultant who has been there, done that when transitioning data from one system to another, or utilizing your new vendor’s team to ensure a smooth transition.

Non-user-friendly platform: An HRIS is only effective at saving your HR team time if employees are actually using it. Non-user-friendly systems will confuse and frustrate employees and will ultimately create more work for the HR team. Make sure your new HRMS vendor has a UI that is easy on the eyes, and an intuitive UX that is mobile friendly.

Insufficient data security: Your HRIS stores loads of sensitive, personal employee information. If your system suffers a data breach, it could cause irreparable damage to your business, so it is of the utmost importance to be cautious and methodical when setting up your system’s security measures. This is most likely a no brainer that will be resolved through your security team’s checklist. Just be weary of vendors that have less than 20 employees listed on LinkedIn.

Insufficient planning: HR teams who have not sufficiently mapped out the process of installing and introducing their HRIS face tremendous struggles in getting their solution off the ground. In order to prevent these issues, your team should create a timeline that outlines each phase of implementation and take care to communicate with the relevant set of employees/managers at each stage of implementation.

Further, your blueprint to get a new HRIS should go beyond implementation. Stacey Richey, who has spearheaded many HRIS implementations in the past, mentioned that one of the biggest mistakes HR teams make is basing their purchasing decision on where they are today instead of where they intend to be. She adds, "think of all the possible changes that your company might experience in the next 5 years and plan for that. You want a system that scales with the company, to make sure that you're not going to switch HRIS for a long time."

Whenever you’re buying new software for your business, there are always various internal stakeholders to keep updated as you move through the vendor selection process, and get on board as your start to implement the process. HR Software solution definitely falls into this category as organizational buy in is essential to maximizing the value of the solution. It’s important that you identify these key stakeholders early and understand how to maintain their support for your project throughout the implementation process.

Here’s a brief overview of the various important stakeholders, and advice for managing each:

Company leadership (CEO and rest of C-Suite): If you want your HRIS to have the best chance for success, you’ll need to get buy-in and continuous support from the top leaders at your company. To get leadership on board with your HRIS, present the business case to them and carefully lay out the ROI your new HRIS will drive. Lay out your specific plan for implementation and provide them with a detailed timeline. Throughout the life of the HRIS, provide leaders with updates about how the system is meeting the goals laid out for it and how you plan to stay on track to achieve future goals.

Human Resources: The rest of your HR team is one of the biggest stakeholders involved in the implementation of a new HRIS because a successful solution makes HR functions much easier and a failed solution makes it much, much more difficult.

When choosing an HRIS, make sure your People team agrees on the solution. Also be sure to provide the necessary training for the whole HR department, as they will likely play a significant role in handling employee questions and issues with the system. Be sure to communicate with all members of the human resources team about how a new HRIS will change different employees’ duties, especially with the automation of tasks that we previously performed manually.

Benefits Brokers: Some of the HR professionals we talked to consider it essential to involve benefits brokers into the process. First off, it's important in order to make sure that the HRIS vendors you're considering will carry your benefit carriers unless you want to switch to theirs. This is a major consideration that can also narrow down your search right off the bat, saving time for everyone. Further, some benefit brokers also have an internal HRIS team that you can partner with during the RFP process.

Operations team: Your operations team will be involved in the budgeting, reporting, and ensuring the legal compliance of your HRIS. They may also be involved in communicating with benefits providers and other external partners who may be affected by your new HRIS. Communicating with your operations team is key their continued support of your HRIS solution.

IT teams: Your tech teams will play an important role in helping implement new software and update it so involve them in the decision-making process to ensure that they are comfortable with the technology and any security implications. It may also be helpful to open a channel of communication between the tech vendors and your IT team so if they do run into problems, it becomes easier to solve them. If the system will require a lot of updates, make sure that your tech team is aware and prepared.

All employees: Every employee has a stake in the success or failure of your HRIS. A successful, easy-to-use can make employees’ lives much easier, and vice versa. At the same time, the success of your HRIS is dependent on your employees using it correctly, so be sure to provide the necessary training and communicate about the solution clearly and early. You should listen to your employees feedback at every step of the road and take their complaints and concerns seriously. Be sure to carefully explain the positive ways an HRIS will impact their day-to-day work and focus on specifically how the system will benefit them now and in the future.

Pricing for the majority of HRIS software is done on a per employee per month basis. The price depends on the breadth of the feature set you’re getting, as well as the size of your organization. Below are some price ranges to keep in mind as you look at various vendors for your HR management.

HR Software Pricing‍

It’s worth noting that the price ranges per employee per month vary a lot for different solutions. You can find a HRMS that will charge you $2/employee/mo, and solutions that run as high as $30/employee/mo (plus additional fees for payroll and benefits, as well as extra modules for hiring and onboarding).

As many things in life, you get what you pay for in most cases. If you just need to check the box, then obviously going with a cheaper solution makes sense. If you want to use your HRIS to be a tool for increasing employee engagement, retaining employees, and generally driving business value through human capital management - then you’ll have to pay up for one of the better solutions.

Some vendors will also charge ancillary fees in addition to the recurring SaaS cost. Be aware of the various pitfalls here, and realize that for the most part you can negotiate many of these fees much more easily than the recurring per employee per month cost of the cloud-based solution you’re buying:

• Setup fees
• Consulting fees
• Support fees
• Software fees

We're also crowdsourcing data on HRIS pricing through a survey, to help HR teams better understand their options. It's anonymous, takes only two minutes, and anyone who helps out the community by filling it out will get access to the entire data set.

When you’re looking for a top HRIS system, it’s important to think about what your goals are for this software, and then codify these into an organizer spreadsheet you can use to make notes throughout your vetting process. In addition to the demo questions we have below, it’s worth thinking through some of the key features for your new system. Here are a few that you’ll want to have in mind as you start demo’ing some of the vendors in this space:

Employee Self-service portal: Keeping employee information up to date can be a lot of work for your HR department. The self-service function of many human resource management tools help eliminate this challenge by empowering employees to view and edit their own profile, benefits, time off and more. It’s worth taking the product for a spin as an employee to make sure they can easily access benefits, PTO, etc.

Time and Attendance Management: An HRIS simplifies the process of tracking time-off as well as planned and unplanned absences due to sickness, injury, maternity leave, or unauthorized leave.

Onboarding Capability: While onboarding typically involves a lot of paperwork, with an HRIS, employees can complete much of the onboarding process electronically including open enrollment. Some HRIS’s even have electronic signature functionality which allows employees to sign scanned documents that can be stored right in the system.

Custom Reporting: As HR becomes increasingly reliant on data and trends, it’s important to have a system that can create analytics reports to help improve business decisions. A powerful reporting system takes the manual labor out of preparing reports and can help you gain valuable insights about your business.

Learning Management: A learning management system may be part of your HR software suite. However, it's much more likely that this is a standalone solution that simply integrates with your HR system so that employees can get the right educational materials during employee onboarding, and throughout the employee lifecycle.

Employee Database: The employee database of an HRIS allows you to store all employee records and information in a centralized location. The data is searchable, making it easy to find details on employee salary and position, performance appraisal histories, disciplinary histories, training records, and more.

Recruiting functions: Many HR solutions allow you to post new roles to job boards, manage interviews, store resumes, and transfer information when a new candidate is hired. While not all HRIS’s have their own recruiting and applicant tracking functions, they should at least be able to integrate with your current applicant tracking system (ATS) so that you can transfer new-hire information to your system quickly and smoothly.

Training and Development Management: Tracking employee training is important, particularly if you are in an industry where employees require certain certifications or licensing. An HRMS allows you to see what training employees may need or want and helps you stay up to date on any required recertifications.

Central Storage for Company Documents : Serving as a centralized location for any information your employees might need, your HRIS should be a place where employees can find employee handbooks, emergency evacuation procedures, and safety guidelines.

Benefits Administration: Your HRIS should enable employees to enroll in health insurance, manage their 401k, and track their benefits information. Many HRIS offerings also have payroll solutions so that when an employee updates their benefits information, that information is automatically updated in the payroll system and you can ensure that paychecks are correct. However, many times payroll is an additional charge that your hr department needs to be aware of.

Compensation management: To reduce the risk of error when handling employee compensation, HRIS’s often offer payroll and compensation management functions. This allows you to handle many forms of compensation including salaries, paid time off, overtime pay, and bonus programs automatically. This will streamline a lot of your HR processes.

When you start demo’ing various HR management software, it’s important to prepare questions that get at the cored needs your organization has from a functionality standpoint, as well as the various items internal stakeholders will care about (security, data migration, self-service portals, etc). Here are questions we think HR and People teams should have in their back pocket to make sure they have covered all their bases.

• How will information be exchanged with carriers (for benefits)?
• How can we put important data into this system? (API, Excel spreadsheets, documents, other databases, and paper documents)
• Does it accommodate benefits carriers’ rules?
• Does it integrate with ATS/payroll system/any other systems you might have that impact workforce management?
• What built in security measures does it contain?
• Does this solution have SSO capabilities?
• Are there multiple authorization levels for different types of users?
• Is there a maximum number of employees it will support across the workforce?
• What types of reporting capabilities does it have?
• Does it include features to help HR communicate with employees (i.e. mass emails, filtering messages by criteria)?
• How much technical training will be required?
• What kinds of technical support are provided?
• What recruiting capabilities are built in?
• What hr processes will be automated?

As Richey points out, "demoing software can be painful, but it pays to go into the weeds for every single module." When approaching a demo Stacey likes to get a feel for what every workflow will feel like for her employees, to make sure they're getting a tool that makes their lives at work easier. Often, this also involves testing out the software after the demo.

While very small companies may be able to handle all of their employee information just in spreadsheets, an HRIS can benefit any company and becomes increasingly important as your business grows. If you’re still not sure if an HRIS is right for your business, here are some key signs that you should definitely be thinking about implementing one:

You have more than 25 employees:

While 25 employees is not a rigid threshold, it is a good place to start thinking about using an HRIS for your core HR management. With much more than 25 employees, keeping track of employee data becomes a chore, and at a certain point, it becomes impractical to enter and update all employee data manually.

Many of your jobs require licensing or certification: If you are in an industry where employees legally require up-to-date certifications, it’s important to stay on top of when employees need to be re-certified. An HRIS can play an important role in reminding you when employee certifications will expire to ensure that all of your employees’ are compliant and your business continues operating smoothly. This is one HR process it makes sense to automate.

You’re growing fast: As companies grow and pass different size thresholds, they face changing legal requirements. Keeping up with the legal requirements of a growing company is much easier to do automatically with an HRIS rather than by hand in spreadsheets.

You want your HR team to play a more strategic role: Having one easily searchable system that stores employee information, runs payroll, and handles benefits saves a lot of time for your HR team. This allows them to focus on more strategic projects for your business such as increasing employee retention or improving company culture.

You manage hourly employees: With hourly employees, you often have to track hours and manage changing schedules. Keeping track of all this information becomes much easier with a best in class HR tool.

You need custom data reports: As businesses become increasingly data driven, data-based reporting about the life of your company becomes more and more important. Many HRIS solutions have features that easily create custom reports for you so you can get a better idea of the health of your company.

What is an HRIS?

An HRIS is an employee management platform that allows HR teams to store employee records as well as interface with payroll systems, performance reviews, and the other core HR functions.

What does HRIS stand for?

HRIS stands for Human Resource Information System.

What are the benefits of having a top HRIS system?

A top HRIS can help your team in many ways:

• Compliantly maintain employee records
• Streamline employee onboarding
• Help run payroll each cycle
• Keep track of and automate employee reviews
• Plan future hiring
• Facilitate performance reviews
• What does HCM stand for?
• HCM stands for Human Capital Management.

What does HRMS stand for?

HRMS stands for Human Resource Management System.

What’s the difference between HRIS, HCM, and HRMS?

On a surface level, there isn’t a huge difference between HRIS, HCM, and HRMS. They are all people management systems for companies. However, there can be some subtle differences. An HRIS is an all-encompassing in-house software for managing people, procedures and policies. An HCM has all the features of an HRIS, but often includes talent management capabilities. An HRMS has all of the features of an HRIS and HCM, but often includes payroll and time and labor management capabilities.

What are some key features of an HRIS?

There are many key features of HRIS systems, such as:

• Employee self-service portal
• Time and attendance management
• Onboarding capability
• Custom reporting
• Benefits administration
• Employee database
• Recruiting functionality
• Training and development management
• Company document storage
• Compensation management

What are common mistakes companies make when buying HRIS software?

Danielle points out three. “Oftentimes leaders will fail to engage the end user of the product during the sales process which leads to a mismatch between the business need and the system's capabilities. For example: the system may not integrate well with payroll, benefits, or HR processes. Additionally, the HRIS system may not be compatible with other software already in use. Lastly, it's a mistake to prioritize getting a bargain over quality. As with most things, you get what you pay for and you want a system that will serve the organization's needs over time.”