Make HR software procurement easier with YourShortlist.

Looking to save time and money on researching HR management systems for your business?

YourShortlist makes acquiring new HR software simpler, faster, and more cost-effective. Our team of consultants helps to match buyers with their ideal HRM system provider, creating bespoke shortlists from our diverse database of 2000+ trusted Partners.

Whether you’re actively searching for HR database software, dissatisfied with your current HRM system, or looking for a way to enhance your in-house HR function, we can help guide you in the right direction.

What are HR Management Systems?

Human Resources (HR) systems are designed to help organisations manage every aspect of their HR operations through intelligent software.

They help to increase the productivity of HR teams by automating many administrative processes and supporting the business on a strategic level by helping you recruit, develop, and manage your company’s most valuable resource: its people.

With so many HR software solutions on the market for recruitment, personnel management, training and development, payroll, performance reviews, and more, how do you choose the right system for your business?

At YourShortlist, our goal is to make technology procurement simple, transparent, and cost-effective by removing the burden of sifting through hundreds of providers and solutions to find your bespoke shortlist of options that meet your requirements.

Applications of HR Systems

Human resource management has advanced exponentially since its inception, with modern departmental responsibilities covering all aspects of human capital within an organisation and often involving complex processes and policy management.

HR management systems are therefore designed to provide functionality that automates and streamlines several HR operations, including but not limited to:

• Recruitment
• Onboarding & offboarding
• Administration
• Wellbeing, health & safety
• Payroll management
• Tracking and managing employee benefits
• Performance management and appraisals
• Scheduling and rota management
• Absence and leave management
• Reporting and analytics

Many solutions provide all of these functions out-of-the-box, however, some software will require additional modules to be installed to provide certain functionality.

The versatility of HR software solutions allows human resources departments to allocate administrative tasks to be automated or managed through the system, leaving other more specialised or nuanced tasks to the staff themselves.

This means that HR management systems serve as both a way to make back-office tasks more efficient and a way for HR personnel to perform more strategic roles within their organisation.

HR System Benefits for Your Business

Deploying an HR management system within your organisation can provide several benefits to the day-to-day operation of the business.

If your company has yet to leverage modern HR systems or if you’re struggling with your current setup, here’s why a new system might be a valuable investment: 

Working flexibility 

One of the biggest current HR challenges is facilitating flexibility for work-from-home (WFH) or hybrid-working arrangements, as well as shifting staff schedules.

HR software can automate scheduling, make it easy for employees to request time off, and more easily track WFH or flexi-time allocations.  

Employee wellbeing 

Another common human resources challenge is maintaining employee wellness. HR software can make it easy for employees to access benefits like counselling, exercise programmes, or whatever else your business offers.

Even something small like a simple portal to book time-off requests can be good for employee well-being, as it will make it easy for staff to book annual leave when they need it without complication or stress. 

Skills development 

Employees must often learn new digital skills to keep up with the nature of their job.

HR software makes it easier to manage staff training and development and facilitates transparent performance reviews, so employees know how to best progress in their careers. 

Faster automation and information processing

Anyone that has had to manually issue monthly payslips, approve annual leave requests, or sort employee training materials will understand the headache that administrative tasks can cause.

One of the key business areas improved by HR systems is the automation of tasks that would otherwise require large amounts of bookkeeping and information processing.

Employee Self-Service

One often overlooked area of HR management is providing staff with access to relevant or important information, such as their employment details or general company policies.

Many HRM solutions come with self-serve modules that allow employees to access certain key documents or systems quickly and easily by creating and managing their staff profiles.

This can allow employees to directly submit and manage annual leave requests, view company policies, sign company agreements, report absences, and more.

Tracking and monitoring

A benefit of HR software is that it allows teams to track and monitor core functions with more detail and analysis than manual processes.

This can provide HR personnel with a real-time overview of dependencies, employee training and development, and onboarding/offboarding that is easy to manage and report on.

Centralising HR processes

With any business software solution, a key advantage is being able to centralise and streamline multiple business functions within one interface.

Most HR management systems can serve several HR functions right out of the box, with additional functionality able to be added through modules or integrations.  

How YourShortlist Helps

For IT buyers, finding a manageable, relevant, and profitable HR software solution can involve several months of research, comparison, and project management.

Long lead-in times are often required, and it can be very easy for the scope of the project to grow exponentially. This leads to stretched budgets, missed deadlines, and headaches for IT managers.

So, how does YourShortlist hope to provide an answer?

• Our team of consultants works with buyers to simplify and clarify the software market. We make it easy to see which providers and solutions are relevant to your needs.
• We handle the lengthy process of procurement for you. This cuts down wasted time and money spent searching for, deploying, and maintaining a new HR system.
• We offer free advice and informative content that is relevant to you at every stage of the procurement and implementation process.    

How YourShortlist Works

YourShortlist uses best practice and data insights to make business technology procurement simple, transparent, and cost-effective for buyers.

We efficiently connect our ever-expanding community of technology buyers with technology Partners who can best fulfil their project requirements.

When using YourShortlist, you can trust that recommended Partners not only meet your needs but have been vetted and reviewed by other Members.

Becoming part of our exclusive Members community ensures a dedicated solutions consultant will always be on hand to assist you with any projects.

Types of HR Management Systems

On-premise HR systems

Some older or long-running HR systems are available as on-premise software. These solutions require software to be installed onto desktop hardware and can be an excellent choice for larger enterprises, especially as privacy is paramount when it comes to sensitive employee data that is processed through HR software.

The only downsides with this approach can be the cost of implementing and maintaining on-premise software and hardware and the lack of flexibility afforded to hybrid workforces spread between the office and remote working.

Cloud HR systems

Many modern HR systems are available through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, which often offers more flexibility and agility than an on-premise solution, as well as opportunities for collaboration and automation.

Cloud HR systems can potentially run the risk of an external data breach, however, with cloud security becoming more advanced every year, this risk is minimal.

And while the advantage of cloud HR systems is their lower cost of adoption, this can sometimes be at the expense of functionality that may require additional modules to be bought and installed to provide the level of operation required by larger companies.

Employee self-serve systems

A subset of cloud HR systems, some systems offer the core or optional functionality for employees to manage their HR data, such as annual leave requests, return-to-work forms, and documents requiring their signature.

These systems also allow HR departments to centrally store key documents that can be accessed anytime, anywhere by anyone with a staff profile, further minimising the admin required by HR personnel.

When Do I Need HR Software?

Even if you feel you can currently manage your HR processes using your existing solution, as your business scales you may encounter challenges that necessitate an upgrade to your HR software or a new system entirely.

Here are 4 challenges that indicate your business might require new HR software:

Too many admin tasks

If you’re a small to medium business with no HR software or a few unconnected solutions, you should consider an integrated HR suite to automate your simpler administration functions within a single system and create efficiencies that will allow you to scale effectively. 

New staff required quickly

To scale your candidate pool and talent base quickly, a recruiting and applicant-tracking HR solution might be your best option. They can automatically post vacancies on job boards and social media while simplifying candidate tracking and onboarding new employees.

Large shifts to manage

Assigning shifts, approving time-off requests, and coordinating payroll for a growing team can be incredibly complex and laborious. Many HR tools streamline this task to increase efficiency and integrate with your current payroll software to ensure all hours are accounted for.

Workforce Development

It pays to ensure that your best employees are recognised and rewarded so they stay with your company and continue to do great work. Talent management HR solutions help to achieve this, from performance appraisal systems to peer feedback and employee training tools. These solutions also contribute towards higher morale and greater employee productivity.

Considerations When Choosing HR Software

To ensure your new HR system can help you achieve your company’s goals, consider your future objectives and projected growth.

• Your HR department should identify key requirements and establish a project team to highlight requirements across the entire business.
• Allocate responsibility for internal software support and maintenance post-implementation.
• Guaranteeing external software partner support in the early stages will negate the need for training further down the line.
• Review and map out your business processes to gain a picture of how the software will support and impact your company.
• Ensure buy-in from the team and that the HR system will be utilised by all relevant members of staff (as well as ensuring they are trained in its use).
• Look for well-supported software that provides longevity and scalability to adapt to changes and growth within your business.

Keeping all the above considerations in mind can make the procurement process much easier.

Challenges of HR System Procurement

Even with careful planning and foresight, you may still encounter issues in the procurement process that will cause delays or result in problems further down the line.

Before you begin HR system procurement, keep the following challenges in mind:

Undefined Goals

Clearly defining your goals for the HR solution from the outset will narrow down your search criteria and keep your focus on systems that are relevant and achievable to implement.

Rising Costs

As the scope of HR procurement escalates, so too can the associated costs. Keep in mind the scale of your organisation and staff database. The more data you must migrate to a new HR management system, the longer and more costly the process becomes.

Return On Investment

A key factor will be ensuring a return on investment with any shortlisted software. New software can be costly to set up, so you should be confident that the solution can achieve your desired results and provide the necessary functionality to make it a worthwhile investment.

Other challenges worth considering include:

• Disruption: Your chosen software should be easy to implement and should not disrupt ongoing business.
• Functionality: The software should provide functionality that supports and improves your current HR processes.
• Reputation: You should undertake sufficient research to ensure the software provider can deliver as they claim
• Expansion & Support: The software should be able to expand and grow with your business. The software provider should be able to support you during and post-implementation
• Change Management: Your team might be used to working and managing HR functions in a certain way. Ensure buy-in from the team to make the transition to a new solution as smooth as possible.
• Implementation Time: Consider how long a particular solution will take to implement for your business.

Timescales are one of the most important things to consider throughout the procurement and implementation processes. They will allow you to effectively plan an entire HR system procurement and implementation project from start to finish.

Timescales for HR System Implementation

Typically, a review process for selecting and onboarding an HR system can take between 6 and 12 months.

This would involve comparing options on the market to narrow down a longlist of around 10 to 12 providers. This would then be narrowed further to a shortlist of 6 to 8 providers before you compare options to determine the best overall solution.

Implementing a new solution can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months, depending on the extent of the software functionality and any integration or data migration that is required.

Rather than waste time and money sorting through hundreds of potential options, why not speak to someone that can manage the procurement process, so you don’t have to?

YourShortlist can help you cut straight to a tailored list of 2 to 4 providers with solutions suited to your requirements and project timeframe. This ensures a smooth and effective implementation that prevents long-term issues with your chosen solution.

Your HR System Needs, YourShortlist

As a key decision-maker, you’ll have to do your research before choosing the best HR solution for your business.

At YourShortlist, our goal is to make technology procurement simple, transparent, and cost-effective by matching businesses with the right software providers.

We’re all about helping our members understand, choose, and implement the solutions that will facilitate successful growth. We manage a diverse database of over 2000 software partners providing solutions in ERP, CRM, cyber security, cloud migration, HR, and more.

With the help of YourShortlist, buyers across the globe have made better-informed decisions on new software, infrastructure, and managed services to improve their business.

Our non-chargeable service includes:

• Independent buying advice on the best HR solutions and providers on the market
• A bespoke shortlist of specially selected partners experienced in implementing HR solutions for your industry
• Partner background information
• Free call-backs from partners with no obligation to purchase

If you’re on the hunt for a new HR system, discuss your requirements with a member of our team. Begin the journey today towards a free, no-obligation shortlist tailored to your business; YourShortlist

Book a meeting with our team or call us at +44 (0) 20 4532 5532 and we can match you with the software partner you need.