The Value of Optimisation: Making the Most of Your HRIS Software

 

 

As the working landscape continues to evolve and more software products enter the market, HR leaders face the dilemma of retaining their existing HR technology or investing in a new system to deliver business change. 

The New Working Landscape

In the digital era, HRIS software must engage with employees, managers, and HR teams. Employees now want to access and update their information in real time, and managers want to receive real-time interactive data about their team's performance to analyse trends.

In addition, HR teams have also moved beyond traditional back-office tasks, with responsibilities now including recruitment, learning and development, and employee engagement. Therefore, as a HR leader, you must ask yourself whether your current software can deliver these new demands and support your company's new digital direction, often this is all needs to be considered in the context of the available budget.

What is the solution?

The answer to these problems is often right before you. So, rather than seeking a full HCM change, we advise to work with your current software partners to assess how together you can optimise the HR system before considering a full change. Sometimes this can include complementing your existing solutions with best in class software for specific needs.

By optimising their current system, you can extract the value required from your existing HRIS software and work with the software partner to improve its efficiency and effectiveness.

When assisting businesses with optimising their systems, we begin with a system health check. Our team reviews the current configuration, processes, and data and will then issue a report outlining how the existing software can achieve the goals you have set out.  

This is where the decision-making process begins

After completing the system health check, you must stop and think about the cost implications and what decision suits the organisation and its people. This is a crucial stage in the optimisation process, and it's essential to take the time to consider the business as a whole so you have a system that is future-proof for your needs. 

Engaging with the software provider is vital in these early stages of the optimisation process. It is important for HR leaders to explain the direction they want their HR function to go and be upfront with their software provider, as a problem shared is a problem halved. The actual value of optimisation can be realised here, as the provider understands the process, people, business, and environment.

It is essential that the changes must align with business objectives when deciding what optimisations to make. For instance, if the business objective is to have engaging software, then the implementation measures must include the rollout of employee self-service and an engaging and inviting user interface. In addition, the purposes for optimising the software must align with the organisation's overall strategy and vision.

The Delivery Stage

Once the HRIS measures have been chosen, it's time to move to the delivery stage. As with any change, we always see resistance. So, it is crucial to prepare the business and employees for change and ensure sufficient training on the new software and support post-go-live.

In conclusion, HRIS optimisation can effectively lead the way in making better decisions to improve employee recruitment, retention, and performance. By working with your software partners and engaging with them early in the optimisation journey, you can extract the value required from your existing software through existing and complementary functionality.

Remember, the solution to the problem may already be in front of you!

At BDO, we can offer advisory services for companies realigning their existing HR and Payroll processes. In addition, we have a team of experienced and qualified consultants available for short- and long-term projects or BAU support to facilitate companies needing immediate additional resources.

If you would like more information on any of our services, please visit our website or contact one of our HRIS Experts:

Aidan McHugh – Partner BDO aidan.mchugh@bdo.ie

Sean Courtney - Director BDO sean.courtney@bdo.ie

Gavin Buttimore – Manager BDO gavin.buttimore@bdo.ie