One of the biggest challenges that HR departments in organizations face, is meeting their objectives with limited resources. In particular, it can be difficult to keep up with ongoing trends in HR and the tools with which to accomplish tasks and strategic goals. There are a number of software companies out there that supply tools to help HR departments and it can be difficult to figure out which tools are a best fit and which companies provide the best service and support.

You’ve implemented a new HRIS but was that implementation successful? And how to measure that success? The system may be functioning perfectly and yet be an utter failure.

It’s tempting to go the ‘gut instinct’ route. After all, everything’s working, the sky hasn’t fallen, and it ‘feels’ like a successful conclusion to months of work.

In this day and age, there are hardly any organizations that do not have an HR system in place. Maybe they are only using Excel and Access for performance, Word for policies, Manual for call-ins, scheduling and discipline; Smart lists for disability management; Great Plains for Payroll and still EMS for employee records. Well, you get the picture now. You must have realized that there are issues with this approach.

The phone rings, I take the call, it’s not pleasant and it happens more than you’d think. I’m referring to prospective clients that are deep into, or have completed an HRIS implementation before they realize that the software will not do the job. They have spent good money, still have their needs unmet, and are exhausted by the failed process.

You’ve initiated a recommendation to proceed with researching, evaluating, and selecting a new human resources information system (HRIS). Now senior management needs to know how much to include in the company’s financial budget to put that solution into place next year.

Security is on everyone’s mind today. No longer is security an IT responsibility alone. All areas of the organization need to be cognizant of security threats. HR can play an important role in securing data by educating employees about their vulnerabilities but also by making sure that whatever software tools HR uses are secure.

“Tell us about the future of HRIS software”

This is definitely something on the mind of most of the prospective customers looking for a new HR system. Many HR professionals are currently over-burdened and struggle with manual processes that result from the use of older, fragmented systems.

Organizations can spend weeks, even months evaluating and purchasing a HRIS. If this purchase is the first ever integrated HRIS for the organization, the process can take even longer as everyone is trying to make the best decision possible. And after the decision is made and contracts are signed, more time and money is invested to implement the system. Finally the go live date arrives and everyone is excited that now all the HR related system deficiencies will be solved.

Most of us are under the impression that those that work in HR are all about people, they are the ones whose job it is to care for others in the workplace. But as people focused as HR is, HR cannot successfully do their job without solid systems in place.

In recent years, we have seen HCM’s move to cloud, with more than 50% of HR solutions in organizations becoming Cloud based [1]. Sierra-Cedar’s HR Systems survey for 2016 forecasted that at least 43% of organizations will have a major HR systems strategy [1].