In 2018, 3.4% of the American workforce was remote. Now in 2020, 89% of businesses have remote workers. Many experts are shouting the benefits of remote work from the rooftops, but the reality is that many HR departments are struggling with the transition. On paper, remote work may boost engagement and increase employee satisfaction. But what if paper is part of the problem?
In-person processes are quickly being replaced by digital tools. Employees used to put their documents on your desk. Now they’re sending them to you in digital files. Most of us were thrown headfirst into this Olympic-sized remote workforce pool and lack the workflows, systems, and processes to react to these changes quickly. Luckily, reviewing, securing, receiving, and reviewing digital documents doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) can help your business drive engagement and productivity — regardless of employee location.
What is an HRIS?
A Human Resources Information System (HRIS) is an HR system that helps you track people-related data and tackle employee management. In a nutshell, an HRIS digitizes your HR processes and collects, maintains, and retrieves data about employees. So, instead of manually filling out paperwork or grabbing a W4 off of an employee’s desk, an HRIS allows you to handle these requirements on the digital end.
Depending on the exact HRIS you use, you can expect features like:
- Record-keeping: An HRIS acts as a liaison between your HR team and your employees’ data. Any necessary changes that happen to employee data (e.g., W4 changes, life changes, etc.) will be tracked and managed by your HRIS.
- Payroll: Your HRIS may be able to completely handle payroll. It will track employee attendance, log work hours, and process that data against pay information and employment status to automatically generate a paycheck for each employee.
- Employee Self-Service: Your HRIS should also provide employee self-service capabilities. Seventy-three percent of employees want self-service options, and giving employees the ability to go in and make critical changes to documents after major life events, view withholding information, and check their benefits packages saves you time, money, and headaches.
- Compliance: An HRIS also enables compliance. By accurately tracking hours and making changes to documents, an HRIS mitigates compliance errors, automatically complies with wage and hour laws, and helps you securely store employee data.
The unfortunate truth is most HR teams aren’t ready for the remote shift. Forty-two percent of HR teams use HR systems that are over 7 years old. Yet, when businesses make the investment in newer HRIS solutions, they see estimated savings of 22% per employee. The value of a robust HRIS is tremendous. And it’s difficult to justify not having an HRIS in today’s digitally-fueled world.
What are the benefits of using an HRIS?
Let’s quickly cover some of the core benefits of having an HRIS. However, it’s important to note that there are further benefits. Leveraging an HRIS is a truly transformative process, and it impacts nearly every layer of your human resources department.
- Speedy onboarding for new employees: An HRIS can also help with the onboarding process. Since your HRIS will process paperwork digitally (and nearly instantly), you can quickly organize, secure, and analyze employee data. This expedites the onboarding process. In fact, 62% of companies that simply have a structured onboarding process see faster time-to-hire and time-to-productivity rates.
- Reduction of paper: An HRIS helps eliminate paperwork, and paperwork costs serious money. Let’s ignore the tangible costs of paper itself. Employees spend up to 40% of their day looking for paper documents. Over 7% of paper documents are misfiled (which is serious considering that it costs you $700 to replace a paper document on average). Ready for the big problem? Almost all HR processes are still based on paper. According to an AIIM survey, that includes 53% of employee file management, 48% of employee onboarding, 35% of recruiting and selection, and 48% of employee separation. An HRIS digitizes those dusty paper processes.
- Easily distribute updated company policies and procedures: Need to update company policies and procedures due to market changes, new regulations, or disruption? An HRIS can help you instantly distribute that crucial information to employees.
- Employee self-service options: A best-in-class HRIS solution also provides employee self-service. Not only do ESS solutions help employees rapidly change crucial documents (which frees HR time in the process), but they provide critical opportunities to remote workers.
- Streamlined open enrollment for benefits: Imagine this: a completely digital open enrollment process. Employees can pour through benefit plans at home, quickly enroll in their preferred benefits, and ask critical questions without ever leaving their home computer. HRIS-enabled open enrollment simplifies the entire process for both parties.
- Improved training with LMS: If your HRIS has an integrated Learning Management System (LMS), you can expect more intelligent, driven, and personalized training for all of your employees. In fact, businesses that leverage learning personalization see 9% higher growth and productivity. Given that companies rated highly on training see 53% lower attrition, an HRIS can significantly impact your retention.
- Reduced payroll errors: 54% of Americans suffer from payroll issues, and 49% of workers will start looking for a new job after just two payroll errors. In fact, over 50% of business owners admit they need better payroll systems. An HRIS can help you eliminate payroll errors by automatically processing accurate paychecks based on to-the-second data.
- Detailed analytics and organizational data: An HRIS also provides detailed analytics and access to organizational data. Since an HRIS is already digitizing HR processes, you have access to rich data analytics that can help you create more efficient, accurate, and intelligent HR workflows.
That’s just the start! From scheduling to targeted recruitment, an HRIS provides thousands of nuanced benefits that help you run a smarter digital HR ecosystem.
Are You Ready to Experience the Future of HR with an HRIS?
From payroll to benefits, onboarding, training, and compliance, an HRIS can transform your HR landscape. But how do you pick the right one? For a value-added solution, partner with a PEO. A quality PEO will deliver a robust HRIS that is in some measure customizable to your unique business needs. Are you looking for a flexible, productive, and efficient HRIS solution that will add value to your business? Contact us. Let’s digitally transform your human resources department to adjust to the future of work.
