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There are so many different HRIS systems so making a shortlist of the best can be tricky. You want to deal with employee data and HR processes in an all-in-one platform and need the right tool for your business and team. In this post, I share from my personal experience as an HR and recruitment specialist using many different HRIS tools, and share my picks of the best HRIS systems overall.

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Best HRIS Systems: Pricing Comparison Chart

This comparison chart summarizes basic pricing details for my top HRIS software selections to help you find the best software for your budget and business needs.

Tools Price
Deel Flat rate user pricing, with a free version for businesses with up to 200 people
Rippling From $8/user/month (EOR pricing upon request)
Paycor From $5/employee/month + $99/month base fee
Papaya Global EOR from $650/employee/month or $2/contractor/month; Global payroll from $3 to $12/employee/month
Remofirst From $199/employee/month for EOR and $25/mo for contractors
Paychex Flex From $39/month + $5/employee/month
Trinet Pricing upon request
Insperity Pricing upon request
Justworks From $59/user/month
Arcoro Pricing upon request
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How to Choose an HRIS

An HRIS can help you streamline all your core HR functions into one system, for maximum efficiency. To help you figure out which HRIS best fits your needs, you need to pinpoint your key users and document their specific challenges first.

As you work through your own unique software selection process, keep the following points in mind:

  • What problem are you trying to solve - Start by identifying the challenges you're trying to overcome. This will help you clarify the features and functionality the HRIS needs to provide.
  • Who will need to use it - To evaluate cost and requirements, consider who will use the software and how many licenses you'll need. For an HRIS, you'll likely want employee-level access for your entire workforce, with special access for your HR administrators and managers. Once that's clear, it's also useful to rank the needs of your different users to identify the key priorities for your power users, managers, and employees, to ensure they're all met.
  • What other tools it needs to work with - Clarify what tools you're replacing, what tools are staying, and the tools you'll need to integrate with, such as payroll software, training management software, single sign-on applications, or work operating systems like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. You'll need to decide if the tools will need to integrate together, or alternatively, if you can replace multiple tools with an all-in-one HR software solution.
  • What outcomes are important - Review the capabilities you want to gain or improve, and how you will be measuring success. For example, you may want to gain employee self-service capabilities to cut down on admin requests or digitize several paper or Excel-based tracking processes. You could compare software features until you’re blue in the face but if you aren’t thinking about the outcomes you want to achieve, you could waste a lot of valuable time.
  • How it would work within your organization - Consider the software selection alongside your existing workflows and systems. Evaluate what's working well, and the areas that are causing issues that need to be addressed.

Remember every business is different — don’t assume that an HRIS will work for your organization just because it's popular.

Reviews of the Best HRIS Systems

Below you’ll find a brief description of the 10 best HRIS systems that made it into my top 10 list. To help you in your selection process I’ve explained each system’s best use case and noteworthy features and included a screenshot of each so you can preview their user interface.

Plus, I’ve included 20 additional HRIS systems below if you’d like even more options to consider.

Best all-in-one HRIS for international teams

  • Free demo available
  • Flat rate user pricing, with a free version for businesses with up to 200 people
Visit Website
Rating: 4.8/5

Deel is a global HRIS solution for international teams. It eliminates borders from your talent pool, supporting over 150 countries where you can hire, manage, and pay any contractor or employee.

Why I picked Deel: Their HRIS platform gives you a comprehensive overview of benefits, perks, and salary expenses. You can compare different country costs and see what benefits and withholdings are required. You can set up employees with local health insurance, pension plans, or stipends. Payroll deductions and withholdings are automatically calculated, allowing you to simply schedule a mass payment in one click.

For employees, Deel works as the employer of record, handling full payroll and benefits so you don’t need to open up a foreign entity. Deel’s full-featured user interface gives you features such as contract management, expense reimbursements, and off-cycle adjustments. Their automated onboarding is a great time saver, and the analytics are helpful in keeping track of your HR data.

For contractors, Deel helps you avoid contractor misclassification with legal-reviewed contracts and provides multiple withdrawal options. The platform provides a polished and consistent payment experience, using major payment providers like Wise, PayPal, Payoneer, and Revolut to offer withdrawals in the currency of the contractor’s choice, including cryptocurrency.

Deel Standout Features and Integrations:

Compared to other HRIS offerings, Deel stands out with global payroll, global mobility support, integrated Slack tools, and advanced integrations. Their global mobility service helps companies with visa sponsorship, allowing them to bring in candidates from abroad. The Slack plugins can be used to create an accessible organizational chart, provide self-service PTO management, and even track applicant referrals. They also provide 24/7 client support and live chat. Deel is also fully compliant with SOC2 and ISO 27001 security standards.

Integrations are available with major HR, ATS, and accounting platforms, including Ashby, BambooHR, Expensify, Greenhouse, Hibob, Netsuite, Okta, OneLogin, Quickbooks, SCIM, Xero, Workday, and Workable. In addition, Deel's Open API solution allows developers to build their own connections with the Deel platform as needed.

Best online HRIS for third-party integrations, for USA and Canada-based companies

  • Free demo available
  • From $8/user/month (EOR pricing upon request)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.8/5

Rippling is an online HRIS system with features like payroll, time and attendance, learning management, benefits, talent management, PEO, pulse surveys, and workforce analytics. By connecting every business system to one source of truth for employee data, businesses can automate all of the manual work they normally need to do to make employee changes.

Why I picked Rippling: Their software stands out because they built app and device management (basic IT) into their HR platform, which is appropriate for the modern, online, all-digital workforce. You can remotely manage and protect employees’ devices (laptops, smartphones, tablets) as well as easily manage workforce apps like Google Workspace, Slack, and Office 365.

Rippling Standout Features and Integrations:

With robust data collection and custom field capabilities, companies can collect and store any employee information within Rippling. HR teams can then use the data across Rippling to automate access to apps and create policy rules (PTO, overtime, benefits), and more. Rippling can also reflect any organization’s approval processes with advanced approval chains for hiring, terminations, and salary changes.

Rippling’s role-based permission system allows you to automatically give other people—like managers and junior admins—access to specific Rippling services, as well as customers’ third-party apps, based on their department or level. Users can also precisely control what information they can view and change in Rippling—from salary to SSN to device OS. Smart rules allow admins to automatically provision new accounts and policies when employees get promoted or change departments.

Rippling integrates with 500+ apps so instead of entering and managing employee data in 500+ systems, users can enter data in Rippling once and see it updated everywhere. Key integrations include 1Password, Asana, Atlassian, BrightHire, Checkr, Databricks, DocuSign, Dropbox, GitHub, Google Workspace, LinkedIn, Microsoft 365, Netsuite, QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, Slack, Typeform, Zendesk, Zoom, Upwork, and hundreds more.

Best comprehensive, user-friendly payroll and HR solution

  • 90-day free trial + free demo available
  • From $5/employee/month + $99/month base fee
Visit Website
Rating: 4.1/5

Paycor is a comprehensive HRIS (Human Resources Information System). It's a cloud-based platform that offers solutions for managing and optimizing the employee lifecycle. From recruitment and onboarding to benefits administration, payroll, and time tracking, Paycor has got it all covered. It's designed for small to medium-sized businesses, but I've found it to be pretty scalable, so it could work for larger organizations too.

Why I picked Paycor: Paycor is user-friendly and has a wide range of features. It's got a clean, intuitive interface that's easy to navigate, even if you're not particularly tech-savvy. Plus, it offers plenty of features that make managing HR tasks a whole lot easier.

With Paycor, you can post job openings, track applicants, and even onboard new hires, all from the same platform. The payroll system is also easy to use. And it includes tax filing, which is a huge time-saver.

Paycor Standout Features and Integrations:

Standout features include its pay-on-demand feature, which allows employees to access their earned wages before their next official payday. It's also convenient that expense management, scheduling and time tracking, and employee experience monitoring are all also available in the platform.

Integrations include several other tools for wage and salary verification, expense management, employee wellness, certified payroll, and FMLA. Key software systems to note include Certify, ESR, Payfactors, and WageWorks.

Best automated SaaS HRIS for paying a global workforce

  • Free trial available
  • EOR from $650/employee/month or $2/contractor/month; Global payroll from $3 to $12/employee/month
Visit Website
Rating: 4.5/5

Papaya Global is an online HRIS system that helps companies remove barriers to global hiring. Papaya Global's automated, SaaS platform provides an end-to-end global workforce management solution covering everything from onboarding to cross-border payments in 160+ countries.

Why I picked Papaya Global: Their platform supports all employee options (payroll, EoR, contractors), integrates with all management tools, and uses smart technology to ensure compliance and eliminate errors. It creates a highly visible system for tracking payroll spending and real-time business intelligence (BI). Papaya Global can help any company simplify global people management. Enterprises can access Papaya’s state-of-the-art automation, security, and BI without replacing their existing payroll system.

Papaya Global Standout Features and Integrations:

Features that make Papaya stand out from other HRIS software in this list are definitely their advanced payroll functionalities. They've created a proprietary payment network that gives you control over when payments arrive in the bank accounts of your international employees, not just when payments should send.

They also have an AI-driven account funding feature that can simulate your payroll payments in advance, so you can keep a proactive eye on your company's cash flow. Plus, since their payments don't go through a third party, you can make full-value transfers with no hidden fees.

Integrations include most financial tools, and HR software like BambooHR, Expensify, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Namely, NetSuite, SAP SuccessFactors, and Workday. An API is also available to support additional custom integrations.

Best HRIS for managing global teams in 170+ countries

  • Free demo available
  • From $199/employee/month for EOR and $25/mo for contractors
Visit Website
Rating: 4.3/5

Remofirst is an HRIS platform that specializes in managing global teams in 170+ countries. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools including global employer of record services, international payroll and invoice management, benefits management, and compliance support. This makes it an ideal solution for businesses seeking to hire and manage employees across different countries.

Why I picked Remofirst: I selected it due to its comprehensive feature set that caters to the needs of modern, global businesses. It offers functionalities such as employee self-service, payroll entry, and expense reimbursement, which are essential for efficient HR management. What sets Remofirst apart is its focus on global payroll and compliance.

The platform is recognized for its user-friendly onboarding process, personalized customer support, competitive pricing, and transparency. It is trusted by a wide range of companies, from startups to Fortune 500 corporations, and is a reliable choice for businesses aiming to expand their workforce globally.

Remofirst Standout Features & Integrations

Features include the deployment of international benefits to your team. The platform makes it easy for you to setup payroll and benefits in one go. These can include premium health insurance, equipment, and financial benefits. I also like that a dedicated team of legal experts and HR professionals takes care of compliance matters. They meticulously monitor the local laws applicable to each employee to stay updated on regulations and ensure non-compliance is avoided.

New integrations are being added every quarter.

Best HRIS for remote-friendly HR tools

  • Free demo available
  • From $39/month + $5/employee/month
Visit Website
Rating: 4.2/5

Paychex Flex is a comprehensive payroll and HR solution that caters to businesses of all sizes, with over 730,000 businesses utilizing its services. The platform offers a range of features including payroll processing, tax payment automation, HR and benefits integration, employee management, and dedicated HR support.

Why I Picked Paychex Flex: Paychex Flex allows businesses to create customized workforce management solutions. This is particularly useful for companies with hybrid work environments, where employees work both in-office and remotely. The system can accommodate complex scheduling needs, optimizing employee time and ensuring seamless coordination between on-site and remote workers. This flexibility in managing diverse work setups is a unique feature not commonly found in other payroll and HR solutions.

Paychex Flex provides businesses with access to a team of compliance experts who stay up-to-date with the latest labor laws and tax regulations. This specialized support ensures that businesses remain compliant with federal, state, and local regulations, reducing the risk of legal issues and penalties. The system also offers real-time compliance alerts and updates, allowing businesses to adapt swiftly to changing regulations, a feature that gives Paychex Flex a distinct edge in the market.

Paychex Flex Standout Features and Integrations:

Features include integrated financial wellness programs for employees. These programs include resources for financial planning, budgeting, and investment guidance. By providing employees with tools to manage their finances effectively, businesses can contribute to their employees' overall well-being and job satisfaction. This feature is unusual in the payroll and HR industry and showcases Paychex Flex's commitment to not only streamline HR processes but also to enhance the overall quality of work life for employees.

Integrations are available with 300+ commonly used applications, including BambooHR, Epicor, Infor, JazzHR, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Dynamics, Sage, SAP, and many others. Plus, Paychex Flex has an API to support any custom software integrations you may need.

Best HRIS system for extra customer support and HR consulting services

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request

Trinet's cloud-based HRIS software is designed to support your core HR needs including payroll processing, time and attendance tracking, benefits enrollment, and workforce analytics operations. Businesses of various sizes can benefit from bringing their HR operations into a single platform. If needed, you can also use Trinet for additional customer support and HR consulting services too.

Why I picked Trinet: In addition to their software, Trinet also offers additional guidance on HR-related issues such as compliance and risk management. This is a very valuable service, especially for smaller organizations with no in-house legal expertise. Instead, you can use Trinet to protect your organization from employer liabilities like wrongful termination lawsuits, discrimination and harassment claims, and unlawful retaliation.

Trinet Standout Features and Integrations:

Trinet's payroll capabilities include handling complex payroll regulations in several countries, making it a suitable choice for globally operating companies. Tax withholdings and employee benefits can also be managed through the system. One of the software's unique features is its compensation benchmarking database, which provides salary data on over 15,000 job titles and 225 industries.

Employee goals can be set and tracked through the software, and connected with broader business objectives. Managers and employees can use the system to document ongoing feedback exchanges and performance discussions. When annual reviews come around, this information can be used and managers can either select from the system's existing performance review templates or create their own structure.

Integrations are available with BambooHR, Carta, Greenhouse Software, Lattice, Oracle NetSuite, QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, and Xero.

Best HRIS with payroll, benefits, and performance management

  • Pricing upon request

Insperity's HR software was designed to help small to midsize businesses streamline their HR processes, automate administrative tasks, and provide access to HR experts and resources. While their software is technically a human capital management (HCM) system, it includes all the features you'd expect in an HRIS, and more.

Why I picked Insperity: I included Insperity in this list because, in addition to their HR software, they're also an HR service provider. The company offers consulting to support you with implementing and making the most out of their software platform. Plus, their platform can facilitate a wide range of HR functions, including hiring, onboarding, talent management, payroll processing, and benefits administration.

Insperity Standout Features and Integrations:

Employees can input their personal information and keep it up-to-date through their self-serve portal to the system. This portal can also be used to access paystubs and tax documents. The software can also store important employer documents like an employee handbook and policies, serving as a source of truth for all staff members. Employee training and performance management can also be facilitated through the platform, keeping a documented history of employee development and goals achievement.

Integrations are available with various third-party applications, such as QuickBooks, Salesforce, and ADP. Insperity also has a public API and API dashboard that can be used to configure custom integrations with your existing tech stack.

Best HRIS with 24/7 HR expert support

  • Free demo available
  • From $59/user/month

Justworks is a user-friendly and comprehensive HR software that simplifies employee data management for businesses. It can serve as a centralized platform for HR professionals to store, organize, and manage employee information efficiently, and provides access to a 24/7 HR expert support team.

Why I picked Justworks: I included Justworks in this list because they offer more than just software. If you need it, you can also lean on them for their more advanced HR offerings such as their professional employer organization (PEO) service, payroll service, or compliance monitoring support, which are all included in their Basic plan. Their customer support team is also available to you 24/7 by phone, email, chat, Slack, or SMS too.

Justworks Standout Features and Integrations:

Justworks' self-service portal empowers employees to take control of their data—they can update personal information, access pay stubs and tax forms, and enroll in benefits, all of which reduce the administrative burden on HR professionals. The platform also provides a centralized repository for storing and sharing important files, such as employment contracts, performance reviews, and training materials. This feature eliminates the need for physical paperwork and ensures data security.

HR experts can extract valuable insights from employee data with reporting and analytics capabilities. The platform provides pre-built reports and customizable dashboards, enabling HR professionals to monitor trends, track key metrics, and make data-driven decisions. And by leveraging the 24/7 support team, admins can maximize the value they get out of the platform with expert guidance for building the perfect reporting dashboard.

Integrations include QuickBooks, Greenhouse, Xero, Slack, Vanguard, Fidelity, Citi Bike, and E-Verify.

Best HRIS for construction companies

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 3.9/5

Arcoro is a human resources information system that's designed to streamline and automate HR tasks, making it easier for businesses to manage their workforce. It's a cloud-based solution, meaning you can access it from anywhere, anytime, which is a big plus in today's remote working environment.

Why I Picked Arcoro: Arcoro is a robust HRIS designed exclusively for construction companies, providing efficient management of various HR functions within the industry. Its comprehensive tools automate recruitment, onboarding, and employee record management, streamlining workflows and ensuring compliance with industry-specific regulations. With dedicated modules for tracking certifications, licenses, and safety training, Arcoro's construction-focused HRMS guarantees that workers meet project requirements and maintain compliance. Moreover, it offers features for time and attendance tracking, labor cost management, and workforce scheduling, empowering construction companies to optimize resource allocation and enhance project efficiency.

Arcoro Standout Features and Integrations:

Features include its succession planning module. This is something not all HRIS systems have, and it's a real game-changer. It helps you identify and develop future leaders within your organization, ensuring you're always prepared for any changes in leadership. It also has a robust performance management system, which makes it easy to track and evaluate employee performance.

Arcoro excels in offering robust and comprehensive people profiles and data management capabilities, equipping organizations with a centralized hub to efficiently manage and access vital workforce information. Businesses can create detailed employee profiles encompassing personal details, job history, skills, certifications, performance metrics, and more. Advanced data management features ensure data accuracy, security, and compliance.

Integrations include Acumatica, Procore, Quickbooks, Sage, Viewpoint, and Foundation Software. They add that they connect with other onboarding, core HR, and time tracking apps but they don't list which ones by name. 

Other HRIS Software

Here are a few more options that didn’t make the best HRIS systems list. If you need additional suggestions for managing your HR tasks, check these out:

  1. Eddy

    Best HRIS system for easy customized onboarding

  2. Kallidus Sapling

    Best HRIS for a distributed workforce

  3. Zenefits

    Best HRIS system for benefits management and group insurance

  4. bob

    Best HRIS system for employee engagement

  5. Built For Teams

    Best HRIS for ease of use & quick onboarding

  6. monday.com

    Best HR tool for creating custom HR processes and workflows

  7. GoCo

    Best HRIS for a user-friendly hiring and onboarding pipeline

  8. IntelliHR

    Best HRIS software for performance & people analytics

  9. Factorial

    Best HRIS system for small businesses

  10. Sage HR

    Best HRIS for its employee lifecycle supporting features and mobile capabilities

  11. Connecteam

    Best for a mobile-first employee management solution

  12. Homebase

    Best HRIS tool for employee scheduling & time/clock records

  13. Cezanne HR

    Best HR software for UK-based global organizations

  14. Oyster HR

    Best HRIS platform for international recruiting and payroll management

  15. Freshteam

    Best HRIS with applicant tracking

  16. UZIO

    Best HRIS platform for payroll & benefits integration

  17. Deputy

    Best HRIS with employee scheduling tools

  18. BambooHR

    Best HRIS for a user-friendly employee experience

  19. Gusto

    Best HRIS for startups & small teams

  20. Zoho People

    Best HRIS for those already using the Zoho software suite

If you still haven't found what you're looking for here, check out these other related tools that we've tested and evaluated:

Selection Criteria for Human Resource Information Systems

Selecting the right HRIS requires a thorough understanding of how this software can alleviate common pain points within HR administration. My approach to choosing the best HRIS for this list is grounded in my 9 years of experience maintaining an HRIS system, which allowed me to pinpoint the features that will truly save time and make your processes more efficient.

I started my selection process by reviewing recent HRIS market data to create a long list of popular HRIS systems. Next, I dug into each system using the selection criteria below to further hone my selections and assess the depth of their key features. If you're considering an HR system that's not on my list, I recommend using these criteria in your own evaluation process too.

Core HRIS Functionalities (25% of total score): To be considered for inclusion in my list of the best HRIS, the solution had to fulfill these common use cases first:

  • Digital management of employee records
  • Streamlined payroll and benefits administration modules or integrations
  • Tools for recruiting & talent acquisition (e.g., an applicant tracking system)
  • Employee onboarding and offboarding workflows
  • Tools to enhance performance management and employee development
  • A suite of tools to track employee work hours, time-off requests (including paid time-off accruals), and other leaves of absence
  • An employee self-service portal to cut down on administrative requests on your HR professionals
  • Integrated compliance monitoring features to monitor regulatory requirements

Additional Standout Features (25% of total score): To help me narrow in on the best HRIS out of the numerous options available, I also took note of any unique features, including:

  • Unique customization options, including data dashboards, custom workflows, and company branding abilities
  • Advanced features that address talent management, employee retention, and performance reviews
  • Advanced reporting and analytics capabilities that provide deeper insights beyond basic HR functions
  • Innovative use of AI and machine learning for predictive analytics and automation
  • Advanced integrations with payroll solutions (if not part of the HRIS already), document management systems, single sign-on applications, and work operating systems (i.e., Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace)

Usability (10% of total score): To evaluate the usability of each HRIS, I considered the following:

  • An intuitive design and user interface, with a minimal learning curve to master
  • Clear and concise on-screen instructions and tips to improve ease of use and create a positive user experience
  • A user-friendly mobile experience or dedicated mobile apps for Android and iOS mobile devices to support remote and on-the-go HR management
  • Role-based access controls that are straightforward to configure

Onboarding (10% of total score): To get a sense of each software provider's customer onboarding process, I considered the following factors:

  • A streamlined setup process and clear configuration guidelines
  • The availability of training materials such as videos or interactive tutorials
  • The availability of live support or chatbots for real-time assistance during setup
  • Customizable templates to speed up the onboarding process
  • Support for migrating historical employee data into the new platform

Customer Support (10% of total score): To evaluate the level of customer support each vendor offered, I considered the following:

  • The availability of multiple support channels, including email, phone, and chat
  • Whether a dedicated account manager is provided for personalized support
  • The existence of a self-service knowledge base, an FAQ repository, or other self-help resources to speed up troubleshooting
  • The overall quality, responsiveness, and helpfulness of the support team during customer onboarding and post-purchase, as inferred from customer reviews

Value for Price (10% of final score): To gauge the value of each software, I considered the following factors:

  • The availability of free trials or demos to test the software before purchasing
  • Competitive and transparent pricing models that reflect the software's feature depth and explain which features are included at each level
  • Tiered pricing plans that cater to different business sizes, from small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) up to enterprise-level organizations
  • A clearly demonstrated positive ROI through efficiency gains and cost savings

Customer Reviews (10% of final score): Evaluating customer reviews is the final element of my selection process, which helps me understand how well a product performs in the hands of real users. Here are the factors I considered:

  • Whether a product has consistently high ratings across multiple review platforms, indicating a broad level of user satisfaction
  • Specific praises, criticisms, or trends in customer feedback that indicate the software's strengths or areas for improvement
  • Whether customer feedback specifically mentions issues with ease of use, customer support responsiveness, or lacking features
  • Any testimonials that highlight significant improvements in HR processes or employee management capabilities

By using this assessment framework, I was able to identify the HRIS that goes beyond basic requirements to offer additional value through unique features, intuitive usability, smooth onboarding, effective support, and overall value for price.

As of 2024, the HRIS software landscape continues to evolve to meet the demands of modern workplace dynamics, changing organizational needs, and technological advancements, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Here are the most important trends currently impacting HRIS development:

  • Increased Integration with AI and Machine Learning: There's a clear trend toward leveraging AI and machine learning to automate routine tasks, provide predictive analytics, and enhance decision-making processes. This technology is rapidly evolving within HRIS platforms to offer more personalized employee experiences and streamline HR operations.
  • Focus on Employee Well-Being and Engagement: Features that support employee well-being, such as wellness program integration, mental health resources, and engagement surveys, are becoming increasingly prevalent. This reflects a broader organizational shift towards prioritizing employee satisfaction and retention.
  • Enhanced User Experience (UX): There's a concerted effort to improve the UX of HRIS platforms, making them more intuitive and accessible. This includes the adoption of natural language processing (NLP) for easier navigation and the implementation of more engaging, user-friendly interfaces.
  • Mobile Accessibility and Flexibility: As remote work continues to be prevalent, HRIS features that offer mobile accessibility and flexibility are in high demand. This includes mobile apps and cloud-based systems that allow employees and managers to access HR functions from anywhere, at any time.
  • Advanced Analytics and Reporting: The demand for sophisticated analytics and customizable reporting capabilities is growing. HRIS platforms are evolving to include more advanced data analysis tools, enabling HR professionals to generate actionable insights and make data-driven decisions.

These trends reflect a broader shift toward creating more efficient, employee-centric, and data-driven HR processes. By embracing AI, focusing on employee well-being, enhancing analytics, and improving user experience, HRIS platforms are addressing current organizational needs and setting the stage for the future of human resources management.

What is an HRIS System?

An HRIS (or human resources information system) is a type of HR software that organizes your employee data. The main purpose is to integrate core HR functions into one interconnected piece of software. Key features include centralized employee data management, payroll processing, benefits administration, attendance tracking, recruitment, performance evaluation, and self-service portals.

Features of an HRIS

An HRIS serves as the backbone for efficiently handling HR tasks, offering a centralized platform to streamline operations, enhance compliance, and improve decision-making. Here are the most important features to look for in an HRIS to ensure your organization can manage its HR functions effectively:

  • Employee Self-Service: This feature allows employees to manage their personal information, benefits, and leave requests independently. It significantly reduces administrative workload for HR staff and empowers employees by giving them control over their data.
  • Payroll Management or Integration: An HRIS should have integrated payroll payroll functions within the HRIS or the ability to connect to a separate payroll software solution for accurate and efficient processing. This ensures employee compensation is managed effectively, reducing errors and saving time.
  • Benefits Management: Many HRIS systems include tools to administer and track employee benefits, including health insurance and retirement plans. Comprehensive benefits administration is essential for maintaining an attractive benefits package and ensuring compliance with regulations.
  • Time and Attendance Tracking: Integrated time-tracking features that track employee work hours, attendance, and leaves are vital for payroll accuracy, labor law compliance, and managing workforce productivity.
  • Recruitment and Onboarding: This refers to tools that streamline features that the hiring process from job posting, to attracting top talent, reducing time-to-hire, and ensuring a smooth onboarding for new hires.
  • Performance Management: Many HRIS include features to support performance reviews such as feedback collection, appraisals, and goal-setting tools. Performance management tools are crucial for employee development, recognition, and aligning individual objectives with organizational goals.
  • Learning and Development: This refers to any tools to help manage or track internal training programs and professional development opportunities. This feature supports continuous learning and skill enhancement, which are key to employee retention and organizational growth.
  • Reporting and Analytics: HRIS offers comprehensive reporting tools and analytics to support informed decision-making. This allows HR professionals to generate insights on workforce trends, helping with strategic planning and the optimization of HR processes.
  • Compliance Management: Integrated compliance monitoring features help ensure that HR practices adhere to legal and regulatory requirements, which is essential for mitigating risks and avoiding potential fines or legal issues.
  • Mobile Accessibility: Having an HRIS that's accessible via mobile devices offers flexibility for employees and HR professionals to access information and perform tasks on the go. This also enhances user engagement and productivity by providing immediate access to HR services.

Selecting an HRIS with these features will ensure your software can handle the complexities of modern HR management, including strategic HR initiatives, and your core workforce operations. For more details on core HR features, take a closer look at these core HRIS functions you should be aware of.

Benefits of an HRIS

An HRIS will increase the efficiency of your HR functions, ensuring all members of your HR department have access to the same real-time information about an employee. Many HRIS systems also have integrated functions to help companies assess employee engagement, improve employee performance, curate company culture, and act as a central repository for internal communication, document management, knowledge sharing, and learning management.

By investing in the best HRIS for your HR needs, you can expect to gain the following primary benefits:

  • Improved Data Management: Centralizing your employee data will improve the accuracy and consistency of employee information, simplify reporting and analytics, and enable better decision-making.
  • Increased Efficiency: By automating tasks such as payroll processing, time tracking, and benefits administration, an HRIS significantly reduces the time and effort required to manage these processes, allowing HR staff to focus on more strategic activities.
  • Enhanced Employee Self-Service: Employee self-service features allow employees to update their personal details, apply for leave, and access payslips without HR intervention, fostering a sense of autonomy and satisfaction, and reducing demands on your HR staff.
  • Streamlined Recruitment and Onboarding: By automating and organizing the recruitment process, an HRIS makes it easier to attract, hire, and onboard new employees, improving the overall candidate and employee experience.
  • Enhanced Compliance: An HRIS helps organizations stay up-to-date with labor laws and compliance requirements, reducing the risk of penalties and legal issues associated with non-compliance.

Implementing an HRIS can transform the way organizations manage their human resources, offering benefits that extend beyond mere operational efficiency. For a more in-depth analysis, take a look at our summary of the different ways an HRIS can benefit your business.

Costs & Pricing for HRIS

Let's be honest — often it all comes down to price. That's why it's important to get a realistic understanding of your budget before you spend lots of time searching for the best fit.

HRIS software comes in a range of plans to accommodate the diverse needs and sizes of organizations, from startups to large enterprises. Many also offer free trials or demos so you can get a hands-on sense of the system's ease of use before you commit to a contract.

Below, I've outlined the typical plan options and their approximate pricing.

Plan Comparison Table for HRIS

PlanAverage PriceCommon Features Included
Free$0Employee database, basic reporting, time tracking
Standard$5-8 per employee per monthCore HR functions, employee self-service portal, leave management
Advanced$8-12 per employee per monthStandard features plus performance management, recruitment tools
EnterpriseCustom pricingCustomizable solutions, advanced analytics, API integrations
A breakdown of pricing plans for HRIS software.

Sometimes software vendors only provide pricing details upon request due to the modular nature of their system. However, you can often still get a clear understanding of their different plan levels and the features they include by visiting their websites.

If cost is your biggest factor, this article digs into the costs of HR software and how you can decide what's best for your company.

HRIS FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions and answers about employee information systems. These FAQ will clear up a few things that HR professionals often ask about HRIS.

How does an HRIS help with employee management?

An HRIS helps HR personnel, managers, and employees themselves to manage information by centralizing employee data into a single source.

At the employee level, your staff gain the ability to update their own basic personal information as needed (called employee self-service). This is helpful because it will reduce the demands on your HR departments to manually enter data or update paper-based filing systems. To keep things locked tightly, employees can typically only update basic details such as their contact information, emergency contact details, and sometimes direct deposit details.

Similarly, management and HR teams gain the ability to organize employee records into teams, departments, or however they choose, so they can dive deeper into their workforce management data easily. By digitizing all your employee data, your HR team will be able to produce key HR metrics with a few clicks, instead of relying on hard-to-maintain spreadsheets or, even worse, manually calculated HR analytics.

Wondering what steps to take next? Take a look at our summary of employee data best practices to give you an idea of what’s possible.

Are there different types of human resource information systems?

Yes! HR management software generally falls into three tiers, determined by the cost and the level of features included in the platform. Those three tiers (from lowest to highest cost + features) are:

As long as the system you choose has the features you need, it doesn’t matter if they identify themselves as HCM software, HRMS software or an HRIS solution.

If you still need some additional help, take a look at our article: HRIS vs HCM Systems: The 5-Point Guide You Need to Make the Best Choice.

Can HRIS systems be customized?

Some aspects of HRIS systems can be customized to meet specific business needs or incorporate company branding elements. Here’s a breakdown the typical customizations that are available in HRIS systems:

  • Adding or removing modules: HRIS systems are modular by design. This makes it possible to add or remove modules your organization doesn’t need, to reduce system clutter.
  • Corporate branding: Most HRIS systems allow you to customize the look and feel of their software’s user interface to incorporate your company logo, colors, and other branding elements.
  • Dashboard design: Many HRIS systems allow you to customize the metrics you want displayed on your HR dashboard, or create multiple dashboards for different purposes or user groups.
  • Workflow automations: HRIS systems allow organizations to create automated workflows, often for approval processes, that follow a series of rule-based actions. For example, two common automations are for approving time-off requests and expense reports.
  • Reports: Many systems allow you to create custom reports to analyze specific data that matters for your business. Some even allow you to set up automations to create those reports at pre-scheduled times, such as at the end of each month, or end of each quarter.
  • Integrations and APIs: Most HRIS systems do come with native third-party integration abilities with other popular systems. APIs also allow organizations to create their own custom integrations with other specialty programs.
  • User-based roles and permissions: When you get into the back end of an HRIS you’ll have the ability to control which features each user group has access to. You’ll want to create different user groups for your employees, managers, payroll administrators, HR administrators, IT administrators, and top-level administrator or power user.
  • Localization: More advanced HRIS systems may offer the ability to customize system preferences based on the geographic region of each user. Another common customization for distributed workforces is the ability to translate content into different languages.

Setting up your own HRIS from scratch can be a little complicated, but these HRIS certification courses are a great way to expand your technical competence.

What is the average implementation time for an HRIS?

The average implementation time for an HRIS can vary widely depending on the complexity of the system, the size of the organization, and the extent of customization required. Generally, it can range from a few weeks to several months. Small to medium-sized companies might expect a quicker turnaround, often within 1 to 3 months, while larger organizations with more complex needs may take 6 months to a year or more to fully implement an HRIS.

If your HRIS offers payroll functionality, it’s common practice to complete two payroll test runs before you switch your payroll over to the live system. This way you’ll have complete confidence that your payroll run will be problem free when you eventually switch to your new system.

Keep reading for other implementation tips and tricks to gauge your readiness for new HR technology.

What are the training requirements for HRIS users?

Training requirements for HRIS users largely depend on the complexity of the system and the roles of the users. Basic users will only need a few hours of training to navigate the system, while administrators or those responsible for setup and maintenance will require in-depth sessions over several days.

Many HRIS vendors provide a range of training options, including online tutorials, live webinars, and even on-site training sessions to ensure users are proficient in using their system.

How do HRIS systems handle regulatory compliance?

HRIS systems are designed with features that help organizations comply with various employment laws and regulations, such as tax laws, labor standards, and data protection directives. They often include automated updates to ensure compliance with the latest legal changes, reporting capabilities for audit trails, and secure data management practices. Many HRIS providers also offer localized versions of their software that are specifically tailored to meet the legal requirements of different countries or regions.

If you’re after more advanced compliance monitoring tools, our list of the best compliance software for HR teams is a good place to start.

Other HR Software Reviews

Keen to see what other types of HR management systems are out there? Look no further! Here are some helpful links to show you what else is out there and point you in the right direction:

Final Thoughts

I hope this article got you one step closer to finding the right HRIS for you. If you've looked into all of these and you're not sure you can handle it, perhaps an HRIS Analyst could help?

Looking for software specifically for the recruitment process? My list of the 10 Best Recruiting Software will definitely have what you need.

If employee scheduling is your main concern, read our list of the 10 Best Employee Shift Scheduling Software. We even have a list of Open Source Employee Scheduling Software if you want something you can really customize.

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By Kim Behnke

Kim Behnke is an HR Tool Expert & Writer for People Managing People. She draws on her 9 years of human resources experience and her keen eye for systematic processes to support her analyses of the top HR tools on the market. She is passionate about maximizing efficiencies and streamlining workflows to ensure internal systems run smoothly. Kim's HR experience includes recruitment, onboarding, performance management, training and development, policy development and enforcement, and HR analytics. She also has degrees in psychology, writing, publishing, and technical communication, and recently completed a Certified Digital HR Specialist program through the Academy to Innovate HR. When away from her desk, she can usually be found outside tending to her ever-expanding garden.