Business Intelligence has become an indispensable tool for the human resources department. From the implementation of management dashboards to reporting, all HR data can now be processed and used with a human resources information system (HRIS).
What is a human resources information system?
A human resources information system (HRIS) is a tool for managing and automating most of the tasks of the HR department.
Thus, it facilitates the management of administrative processes and personnel administration, while improving the overall performance of the company. It is designed to make life easy for employees, while helping to optimize the employee experience and quality of work life (QWL).
Main features of an HRIS
HRIS is a scalable human resources management tool. This means that it can be adapted to the specific needs of each organization. However, it has a number of key features:
- Leaves and absences: Requesting and granting employees’ leaves, monitoring absences, monitoring remote work, etc.
- Employee data: Digital personnel files, HR dashboards, document sharing, etc.
- Scheduling: Online scheduling, employee availability tracking, time sheets, work time tracking, etc.
- Expense reports: Expense reports digitizing, accounting exporting, receipt archiving, etc.
- Recruitment: Storing applications and CVs, tracking published job adverts, etc.
- Payment: Digitizing pay slips, centralizing payment-related items, etc.
- Employee training: Training record, managing training devices, online training catalogues, etc.
- Employee skills: Job descriptions, skills assessments, etc.
- Quality of work life: Analysis of employee feedback, QWL barometer, etc.
- Internal communications: News feed, dissemination of information, surveys or events, etc.
And this is just a glimpse of the many features available with an HRIS tool, a real asset for the HR department, which is at the heart of the company’s HR processes.
For more on this, download the free White Paper ‘Business Intelligence for Human Capital Management’.
HR performance indicators to be taken into account
Among the modules offered, HR dashboard creation and reporting is one of the main benefits of a human resources information system. However, to exploit their full potential, it is still necessary to choose the KPIs that are most relevant to the company.
HR indicators for managing salaries
- Total number of employees
- Breakdown of salaries by age, degree, CSP or gender
- Average seniority
- Breakdown of employment contracts (permanent, fixed-term, temporary, etc.)
- Turnover per employee
- Production per employee
- Profit per employee
- Average salary
- Salary evolution
HR indicators for recruitment management
- Turnover rate
- Average duration of the recruitment process
- Average number of applications per job offer
- Percentage of valid trial periods
- Average cost of recruitment.
HR KPIs for measuring the social climate
- Absenteeism rate
- Breakdown by reason of absence
- Average duration of absence
- Number of accidents at work
- Number of resignations
‘With DigDash, we are able to regularly report the activity of each employee at the budget and share volume levels, for instance. This is all done while taking into account the geographical aspect, i.e. by territory, by municipality, etc.
We are also involved in developing dashboards using DigDash’s predictive analysis and mapping features’.
Read the complete testimonial of Solène POTET-LINDER, functional project manager in the Directorate for Buildings of the Yvelines Department Council.
What are the different types of HRIS?
Developing relevant HR dashboards and indicators requires a suitable tool. There are two main types of HRIS software, each with its own specificity.
SaaS HRIS software
A human resources information system in SaaS (Software as a service) mode is unique in that it is entirely hosted on the cloud. It is therefore an entirely digitized solution, accessible simply from a web browser or a mobile application.
This option has several benefits, starting with its ease of deployment and functional evolution. Indeed, the HRIS does not require any particular infrastructure and can be enhanced continuously according to the needs of the organization. Moreover, the HR data is stored and centralized in the cloud, making it accessible at all times to all authorized employees.
The main point to be carefully considered before adopting this type of software concerns data security and respect of the regulations in force, in particular the GDPR. That is why it is advisable to choose a France-based software company offering HDS-certified cloud hosting.
‘We compared various solutions and tried them out over almost two years, but we never really found the right solution. Then, we came across DigDash, which immediately stood out for its agility.
DigDash is fully available online: That is why we fell in love with this management tool. It is actually very easy to disseminate among its users, since they do not need to install a heavy software solution on their workstation. Read the testimony of Jasmin BRUSSELLE, CEO of Clinitex in its entirety.
On-premise HRIS software
Unlike SaaS, an on-premise HRIS is installed directly on workstations and is hosted on the company’s internal servers. It therefore allows the company to retain full control over their HR data, which remains accessible even without an Internet connection.
On the other hand, the deployment of on-premise software is a much heavier investment in terms of infrastructure and budget. Furthermore, the responsibility for data accessibility, protection and backup rests exclusively on the shoulders of the company.
How to choose an HRIS tool
It is not easy to select an HRIS that meets the expectations of the human resources department and management, while being easy to deploy and use by the company’s employees.
Choosing the right tool from among the available software is therefore a matter of compromise.
- On the one hand, a SaaS-based HRIS stands out for its flexibility and scalability, but also for its attractive cost, which makes it the perfect choice for SMEs.
- On the other hand, an on-premise software provides a guarantee of data control and security, but at a high cost.
However, there are many other criteria that can be considered when selecting a human resources information system.
Learn more: How to choose an HRIS tool
Payroll and salary management, social climate, recruitment… all the needs and tasks of the human resources department are covered by the HRIS, which constitutes the basis of any Business Intelligence approach aimed at managing human capital. However, the choice of the most suitable tool depends largely on the features desired by the company, as well as the type of software.
