2025 Issue 3 | GearedUp

You should think of your HRIS system just like a member of the team because it is here to support, promote and engage with the company to ensure the employees’ and the company’ s needs are being met. The primary job description of your HRIS system is to connect employees to managers, managers to their costs, and costs with accounting, so selecting the right system for you, your culture and department are extremely important.

Just like when you hire the next great member of your HR team, you should select your HRIS because it is the best culture and service fit for your organization. Not all HRIS systems are created equal, and not all systems will work for everyone and every organization. It is extremely important that you fully vet your system to ensure you are making the right choice.

What do you look for when you are

looking to either enhance your current system by adding new modules, or you are selecting a new vendor that better meets your current and future needs? You interview the software just like you would interview any other potential candidate coming into your organization. Now ask yourself, how do you interview an HRIS system? Just like you would interview someone for a job.

First, you establish a list of questions to ask the vendors so you can ensure the system is right for you. These questions should address your pain points and desires for the system. Once you have received and reviewed the answers to your questions, you will narrow down that candidate pool a bit more so that you can go on to next steps. Next, you will look into three main areas to establish if the systems are right for the organization. You are going to want to focus your attention on features, automation and price. These three areas will lead you down the right path to ensure that the system is going to work best for you and your team. Finally, you are going to demo the systems to ensure that what you are being sold aligns with what you are looking for. Keep in mind your current organizational needs, as well as any plans to scale, shrink or modify your organization in the next three to five years.

Features

Features are the essential skills or functions you need from a candidate or software solution. When looking at the features of an HRIS and payroll system, you want to

by David J. Gilbert-Paduano

start with your current system to ensure the job description you are writing meets your needs. You need to look at what you have and make a detailed list of the features you are working with today because you do not want to lose features or skills in this process. Remember to include any automated file feeds, such as with your general ledger, benefits and 401( k). Note which features are included in the base system or package since vendors differ, and capture any“ nice-to-have” options your current system provides, like artificial intelligence, reporting and integrations.

Next, review your department as a whole to identify where third-party systems are being used, where manual or paper processes still exist, and where non-HR team members have expressed frustrations. The goal is to ensure the features of your new or enhanced solution directly address

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