July 26, 2017 | Sabrina Clay, CCWP
 
An HRIS is designed to create efficiencies and ensure the easy management of a business’s employees and data.  Where some companies miss the mark is not taking advantage of the available functionality.  We have gathered the 4 most popular (and efficient) Best Practices that will help you further benefit from your HRIS.
 
Best Practice #1:  Enable Self Service

Typically thought of as just a place where employees gain access to pay stubs, employee self-service is a huge benefit of having an HRIS. In addition to pay stubs, employees have access to their tax information and benefits but can also make changes to personal information and manage address changes.
 
And it has a much higher value for you as the employer.  Technology allows for quick approvals to employee-prompted changes and saves time and money from distribution of pay stubs.  Another handy time saving feature enables the employee to populate their information during enrollment.
 
You might even consider self-service as one of your first steps during implementation.  Since the employee population is much larger than the limited team that would otherwise be managing HR data entry, it might make sense to have employees enter their own information, saving tremendous amounts of time and potential errors.
 
So, as you can see, not only will your employee benefit from self-service, you will as well.
 
Best Practice #2:  Use the EEOC Section
You might be surprised to hear that many companies are not capturing employee information in this section.  Keep in mind that reporting capabilities are vast, and will save time and errors when it comes time for government reporting.
 
Best Practice #3
 
Pay Attention to Benefits

Benefits administration is a common element of an HRIS, and has been noted as one of the top reasons some companies invest in an HRIS.  When using this feature, though, it is critical to ensure all data is captured. 
Not only does this provide easy access to hard-to-remember information, keep in mind that insurance companies rely on the employer to house beneficiary and dependent information.  If this information is not detailed, there is a good chance the insurance company will not pay. 
 
Best Practice #4:  Training, Training, Training!

​Do you feel your HRIS isn’t performing as promised? It may be the result of a lack of training, or that the training was focused on the system, but failed to consider process. Perhaps there are inadequate training manuals and documentation.  Whatever the cause, the solution truly resides with recurring training. People come and go, and may not understand complicated training manuals. Creating a toolkit with updated manuals and job aids will go a long way.  Much like football teams attend spring training, it’s important to ensure the people running the system and processes receive proper and ongoing training to succeed.
 
Closing Thoughts
 
As you contemplate the value of your HRIS, dig back to the core of what you were trying to accomplish: improved business performance.  To gain the maximum benefit, it only makes sense to examine the functionality available and ask yourself if it’s worth it not to seize the opportunity.  

If your organization is thinking of changing from one payroll schedule to another, it is important to transition properly. Follow these six steps to change seamlessly to a new schedule.




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1.  Create a team that will guide the change. Having one team in charge will increase ease of implementation and will decrease potential for mistakes during the process.

2. Investigate the details. Charge one individual with the job of researching the legal ramifications surrounding the planned change in payroll frequency. Make sure your new schedule abides by state laws, and confer with your company’s lawyer to discuss contractual issues regarding the change.

3.  Save the date. Set a date for the change and make a timeline. It is especially helpful to make the change occur as close to the end of a fiscal year or the end of a quarter as possible to decrease record-keeping problems.

4. Communicate with employees. Inform your people of the change sooner rather than later. Advance notice will allow workers to plan accordingly for the change. Communication is especially critical if you plan to decrease the frequency of pay as this will impact employees’ monthly budgets.

5. Educate your employees about the change. Hold a question-and-answer session with your employees about the transition. A session like this will allow employees to feel heard and informed, and also helps prevent any confusion.

6. Integrate planned changes into new contracts rather than rewriting all existing ones. Write the new pay schedule into contracts offered to new hires, gradually phasing out the old pay frequency and converting to your new schedule over time.​
Pay frequency is an important strategic decision for management because of its effect on legal compliance and costs, as well as its impact on employees.