After conducting an analysis of your internal organization, the conclusion is clear: to optimize your HR processes and support your business strategy, you must implement or change your HRIS solution.
According to Software Path's 2020 HRIS Software Report, the main reasons for implementing HR management software are numerous:
- To increase efficiency (26.2%)
- To be more efficient (21.7%)
- To support business expansion (16.4%)
- To consolidate fragmented systems (14%)
You know about these HRIS solutions, you may even have used them, but you still have questions.
More importantly, you need to allocate sufficient funds for them: what do they cost?
There is no universal answer regarding the cost of HRIS software as we are talking about complex and customizable systems, not uniform one-size-fits-all solutions.
As a result, the cost of acquiring HRIS software will vary depending on several elements:
- The number of employees and therefore users
- The organizational structure
- The number of plug-ins included
- The specific development
- Professional services
THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES AND THEREFORE USERS
One of the first aspects to consider when choosing HRIS software (and the budget needed for its implementation) is the number of employees in your company.
Indeed, the bigger and more important your departments, the more the number of users in the system will increase.
Many departments mean more employee files to integrate into the solution, more sensitive data to host and secure, more hierarchical trees, precise granularity of access...
The structure of your HRIS software will be much more complex if your teams have 3,000 employees than if they had 300!
Note: some HRIS publishers display prices "per user". This kind of "off the shelf" products are often dedicated to smaller companies.
THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
In addition to the number of employees, the solution must also consider the specificities of your company as a whole.
Does your company have several departments and/or branches? Are they all located in the same city? In the same region? Or even in the same country?
The more different locations your company has, the more complex your internal structure will be.
Some branches do not always operate in the same way as other branches within the same institution. Some companies even opt for separate payroll systems for each of them.
Obviously, your HRIS software must reflect this structure, which is why you should choose a customizable and configurable solution that will be able to recreate your internal hierarchies and systems!
THE NUMBER OF PLUG-INS INCLUDED
Some HRIS editors offer "off the shelf" solutions, including standard plug-ins and functionalities common to all customers.
Although they are often less expensive and more interesting at first glance, they are often synonymous with limitations, especially for larger companies.
Indeed, with these solutions, it is difficult, if not impossible, to select the plug-ins you want included in your solution. You pay for the package offered by the editor. No more, no less.
As a result, your solution may include features you do not need and will still be billed for them!
Also, as these solutions are not (or only slightly) customizable, they will not be able to adapt to your internal constraints and specificities. You will have to adapt your processes to the platform.
Again, to avoid this, turn to customizable and configurable solutions.
You will only pay for what your teams need and will only implement the plug-ins required to digitalize your specific HR processes.
In addition, these solutions will adapt to your processes and the work habits of your teams and departments.
Note that the more plug-ins you implement, the more complex and therefore expensive your HRIS software will be.
However, these "tailor-made" HRIS solutions always offer a base of plug-ins required for the solution to function, such as HR administrative management for instance.
SPECIFIC DEVELOPMENT
If the HRIS software you are interested in is not configurable enough, the software editor may offer specific development to meet your needs.
In other words: if the solution fails to recreate some of your more advanced or unique processes, the editor's development teams will have no choice but to create new functionalities from scratch.
We are talking about custom feature additions that will greatly increase the final costs, but also the time required to develop and implement the solution.
Once again, make sure you understand how the solution will fit your needs and look for customizable solutions that are used to dealing with unique customer cases.
In short, look for HR management software that is built with a high degree of customization flexibility.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Professional services represent a significant portion of the total HRIS investment. These services are often calculated in days and their number will vary depending on the complexity of the project.
By professional services, we mean the software publisher's teams which will work alongside your teams to set up your customized solution, implement it and even train users.
Indeed, companies often do not think about it, but an optimized software is not enough: an integration plan must be planned before the solution is put into service within the teams.
That is why you should check what the different editors offer in terms of professional services.
- What is the project methodology used for the implementation?
- What is the level of support for the configuration?
- What is the availability of the teams in case of need or question?
- What are the different levels of support offered?
Professional services have a key role to play in the adoption of a HRIS solution. They are not to be taken lightly.
This is especially true when it comes to the implementation of a central software that will have a major impact on the management of the company's HR processes.
Look for publishers who offer support during the implementation of the solution within your company. They will have the necessary keys to help you adopt this new tool.
IN SUMMARY
To summarize, "tailor-made" HRIS solutions, which can be customized and modulated according to your needs, will require a greater investment at the beginning of the project, but will guarantee you considerable flexibility and a better return on investment in the long run.
The professional services teams of these editors will be at your side, from the creation of your customized solution to its implementation in your company.
However, many HRIS solutions exist on the market, all meeting different needs, different markets, different demands. Always consider the specificities of your organization and/or your industry to make your choice.