How Comparehris.com Can Assist You Through Each Step Of Your Hr Systems Selection Process

The free tools and resources found on CompareHRIS.com are designed to assist HR professionals with the selection of HR systems. The vendors pay to be listed on the site so the site is free for the users of the site. Its not every day you get something for free, so I urge you to take advantage of the tools and expert based suggestions we offer. With this article, I wanted to lay out exactly how to use CompareHRIS.com to assist you with every step of the process from selecting to implementing an HR system.

Selecting an HR system is not easy. I understand this fully. In my prior business as a HR system reseller, I saw firsthand the amount of work that was put into finding a system. During this time, I saw many who were successful and, unfortunately, many who were not. The process is hard enough; you dont want to have to repeat it six months down the road and spend money your employer may not approve. I sincerely hope that CompareHRIS.com and our blog, HR-SoftwareBlog.com, provide helpful resources for your HR system selection process.

I created CompareHRIS.com after I reviewed the various comparison sites and could not find a site detailed enough to offer any real value. This site was created to provide a solution to the difficulty of navigating the online world; in order to quickly and easily find the information needed on HRIS systems to select and implement a product.

Why We Created CompareHRIS.com

Improve your HR System IQ

If you are just starting your search for an HR system, you may not know enough to know where to begin. Our HRIS article database can provide a tremendous resource. The article database currently contains over 150 articles written on every topic from selecting HR systems, to cost justifying HR systems to HRIS implementations. Ill highlight a few of the most helpful articles in this document.

Our HRIS selection tool provides perhaps the most comprehensive list of options and features that are available with todays leading HRIS and HRMS systems. If you want to see what todays leading packages offer, this a great place to start.

White papers offered by our vendors may provide an additional helpful resource for improving your knowledge on the HR software system industry. To view the white papers offered by our vendors visit our HRIS articles page and you will see the white papers listed on the right side of the page. With the white papers, you are required to fill out a short form but after you have done so once, you can download the other white papers and the form will automatically populate.

Download our HR system Buyers Guide

I created this guide to offer a step by step process on selecting HR systems. Think of the guide as an inside the industry advice game plan for selecting an HR system. Before creating CompareHRIS.com, I sold, implemented, and supported HR systems for 15 years. The guide provides my advice based on what I have seen others do well and the mistakes I have seen others make when selecting an HR system. The guide wont guarantee a successful HR purchase and implementation but it will assist with avoiding many of the pit falls. At the very least, it provides a game plan for selecting HR systems.

Downloading the HR and Payroll Software guide will also enroll you for our HRIS tips newsletter. In the newsletter, we provide new articles and tips for selecting, implementing, and supporting your HRIS/HRMS software system. If at some point you wish to no longer receive our newsletter, you can unsubscribe at anytime.

Here are a few examples of informational articles included on CompareHRIS.com:

HRIS Solutions versus HRMS Solutions: Is there a difference?

How many North American Companies List Themselves as an HRIS vendor or HRMS vendor?

HR Systems Selection Do you need an HR consultant?

Typical small business HRMS Systems Attendance tracking capabilities and limitations

Tips on Selecting Human Resource Applications

Should you purchase your Payroll HRIS system from a value added reseller, VAR?

HRMS Software Employee Self Service (ESS) Defined

HRIS Benefits Automation Defined

Avoid the Five Most Common HR Management Software Selection Mistakes

HRIS Planner

HRIS Applications- Employee Self Service

Determine your HR system needs

Now that you have improved you HR system IQ, the next step is to determine exactly what you are looking for a system to do and what problems it needs to correct. Most HR consultants who assist clients with selecting an HR system will tell you this is the most important step and theyre right. The more comprehensive you are with this step, the more likely you are to find a system matching your organizations specific needs. Heres an article I created on this exact topic earlier this year.

What does Determine Your Needs Mean?

Find six to eight HR systems which match your unique needs

You are not going to want to review 20 different HR systems. This takes time. This may be one of the greatest advantages of using CompareHRIS.com. You dont have to go out to twenty or thirty individual product websites; you can review information and features related to the leading HRIS systems all on a single site.

The goal early on is to find a handful of systems that match your basic needs and budget and then review those products in greater detail. Heres what I recommend: Go to our HRIS products page and filter the products by a few of the features listed and by the purchase options offered. Once you have a short list, click compare next to each and select the compare button at the bottom of the screen. Print this page since it may be helpful in your future search. Next, I would recommend completing our HRIS selection tool. This tool will prove very helpful with establishing your needs since the questions presented are perhaps the most comprehensive list of features and options that are available with todays leading HRIS/HRMS software systems. Once you complete the tool, you will be presented with a scored list of the products providing the closest match to your specific needs. Its also a good idea to print this list. At this point, you should have a short list of six or eight products you may want to review in further detail. From the selection tool, simply select request demo for the products you wish to review in greater detail. The vendors will contact you with product information and will want to setup future meetings to determine your needs for a system and demo their product.

To review additional information on the vendors you have selected to evaluate, go to their individual HRIS products pages and review the presented information. This will include pre-recorded product demos, if they offer them, product feature sheets and brochures. Vendors also occasionally offer information related to special features or promotions on their systems via the individual vendor product pages.

Searching for new HR Application Software, How Many Vendors Should You Review?
How many North American Companies List Themselves as an HRIS vendor or HRMS vendor?

Pre-qualify your short list of HR system vendors

On your first contact, its a good idea to pre-qualify the vendors. With this initial call, you may want to make sure they offer a HR system that you will be able to afford. The vendor wont be able to provide a detailed quote but they should at least be able to provide a range of cost. I wrote an earlier article on whys it so hard to get the price for a HRIS system. You may also have a few high level options or features that are required with the system. For example, maybe you need the HR system to interface to your existing payroll product. It is a good idea, on this first phone call, to make sure the system meets this basic need before proceeding further with the evaluation.

Pre-Qualifying your short list of HRIS Vendors

For Pre-qualifying vendors early on, you may want to use our free HRIS/HRMS RFP template. This 58 page RFP template, which you can download in a word format, contains an extremely comprehensive combination of RFPs we have seen presented by others in the industry. You may want to narrow down the RFP. It might take a while for the vendors to complete all 58 pages. Its also important to note that for smaller, simpler implementations an RFP may not be required. Also, you might receive some resistance to complete this form from smaller vendors for smaller sales. Regardless, if you use the RFP or not, with this step you are trying to shorten the list of vendors you will evaluate in greater detail.

Free HRIS RFP Template

Your First Meeting HR System Needs Assessment

On the first or second call with the vendor, they are likely to interview you about problems you have with your existing system and your needs for a new product. The vendor does this for making a case for their product. The prospect, however, may receive very helpful information in this step as it may uncover needs or problems they were not previously aware of.

How Your HRM Sales Person can Assist with Determining Your Needs

HR System Demo Tips

The demo may be performed either onsite or via phone with a web meeting option. Regardless of how its offered, my advice is to make sure the sales person is showing the features and options you identified in your needs assessment. If you need to see a particular report or capability, ask to see it in the demo and score how well the vendor meets that need. In our HRIS buyers guide, I recommend that you create a spreadsheet of needs and that you score the vendors during the demo on their ability to meet those needs and how easy the system is to use. I also recommend, during the demo, that you ask to see processes and score the vendor on these as well. You might, for example, ask to see the process of hiring or terminating an employee. If you need a specific report, you might want to see exactly how it is created.

Tips on Selecting Human Resource Applications

Standardize your HR Software selection process

At this point, the vendor should have enough information to provide a proposal for the software and any services needed for setup or training. The pricing should certainly help with narrowing down the list to two or three systems.

Checking References and Reviewing Proposals

I wrote an earlier article on checking references on HRIS systems that may prove helpful. As for reviewing the proposals, my biggest advice here is to make sure all of your needs for the system are identified in the scope of the engagement. If you need a particular interface created or a report offered, make sure there are line items for these requirements in the implementation portion of the proposal.

Checking References on HRIS software

Making the HR System Decision

With all printouts of CompareHRIS.com comparison screens: our HRIS selection tool results, proposals, comments from references, and your vendor scored spreadsheet, the final decision should be easy. That is not to say, however, you are finished with the process. If the budget for the engagement was not pre-approved, you may find difficulties getting the system approved. If this becomes the case, we also have a list of articles pertaining to cost justifying HR systems.

HR System implementation tips

Just because you have selected a HR system does not mean you wont find additional value from using CompareHRIS.com. We also offer a number of articles with tips for implementing and supporting your HR system. Most of these articles were written by the President of CompareHRIS.com who, before creating CompareHRIS.com, worked for 15 years selling, implementing, and supporting HRIS software applications. Listed below, along with other articles, is a recent article Clay Scroggin wrote on actual mistakes he made when implementing HRIS systems.

A Few Human Resources Software Implementations That Went Very Bad!

Five Reasons HR Application Software Implementations Exceed Budget

What type of HRIS Application training works best?

Tips on setting up security groups and access to your HRIS, HRMS or HR Software

System Challenges for Organizations in a Recession

HRIS Software - Can you Implement it yourself?

HRIS help from Human Resource Software Tech Support Departments

Understand the HRIS Input Requirements

How to Fix Problems with your HRIS System

HRIS Systems Implementation Tips

Who Will Perform Your HRIS Implementation

Check back often and let others know about our free service

In the years ahead, we will continue to add to our comprehensive list of articles and tools designed to assist you with every challenge that arises from selecting to implementing HRIS systems. We currently list 20 of the industrys leading systems. This list will expand as well. In the near future, we may also start to work with additional vendors in the HR software world including Applicant Tracking systems and Talent Management solutions.