Few Not for Profits have an HR system, often called an HR Information System or HRIS. This is true for some of the largest organisations.
Instead, I usually see a hodgepodge of manual processes and functional apps, such as recruitment software, being used.
It boggles my mind that Not for Profits rarely see this as an important piece of back-office technology when there are so many valuable reasons why they should be a part of most organisations’ tech stack.
What is an HRIS?
So, let’s start with this basic question, “What is an HR system or HRIS?”
Much like a Finance system handles financial information and a CRM manages stakeholder or customer information, an HR system manages Human Resources or employee information.
Depending on the modules you choose (which can often be bought separately), this may include:
- Position descriptions
- Recruitment – from job ads to interviews
- Compliance management
- Onboarding including employment contracts and the assignment of assets like laptops and uniforms
- Performance management
- Staff surveys
- Resourcing planning
- Offboarding
When each module is in an integrated package from the same vendor, it can really streamline the entire employee administration lifecycle process.
What doesn’t an HR system do well?
Sometimes HR systems are confused with other systems. So, it’s important to point out that while some vendors may include these functions within their product, it’s usually an add-on rather than a strong feature that other kinds of vendors will do much better.
Things an HR system doesn’t normally do well include:
- Learning Management System (LMS) – Many vendors have a mini-LMS feature, but rarely are they good enough for larger or more complex organisations.
- Payroll – Never confuse a payroll system with an HR system, even though the two should be integrated whenever possible. Payroll can be incredibly complex for Not for Profits in Australia. So, it’s more important to find a good payroll system that can meet your needs (from rostering and awards interpretation to payments) rather than an HR system that appears to do payroll, too.
- Work, Health & Safety Management (WHS) – I’m increasingly seeing HR (and Payroll) systems trying to add WHS functions to their feature list. However, if you need to track a lot of WHS insurance claims or maintenance work done to your facilities to remove hazards, HR systems are rarely fit for purpose with these more complex functions.
When these functions are not good enough for your organisation’s needs, it’s more important to find a purpose-built solution and integrate it with your HR system instead.
What are the benefits of an HR system?
HR systems can provide substantial benefits for the job applicant, employee, administrator and the organisation as a whole.
Some of these benefits include:
- Reduce manual processes significantly – This is one of an HRIS’s greatest benefits. With the information from an applicant flowing through the entire onboarding and offboarding cycle, no more retyping of information. Automations can reduce email requirements and send reminders as needed for various tasks, whether it’s for the hiring manager, an HR staff member, an employee or a job applicant.
- Speed up the hiring process – When a Not for Profit needs to fill a position, it can take months… often because the administration process requires a lot of proactive actions and follow-ups to keep the process moving forward. Automations in an HR system can significantly reduce this time when deployed well.
- Improves the first impression of the org for new employees – The recruitment and onboarding process is vital in giving new employees a good impression of your Not for Profit. If you get this wrong, your employee may regret their decision on Day 1 of joining your organisation.
- Reduce data privacy risks – Too many organisations collect personal data from job applicants and employees via email and store that information in multiple places. Copies of identifications like driver’s licenses, passports and certificates are then sitting inside mailboxes and shared drives that can be too easily accessed by others – internally and potentially externally.
- Automate compliance management – How does your organisation track employee compliance? Whether it be for regulatory requirements such as police checks and professional certifications or policy sign-offs, too many Not for Profits are tracking renewals and general compliance via memories, employee goodwill and spreadsheets.
- Single Record of Truth – Employee records are often stored in multiple locations, like 3rd party apps, SharePoint, shared drives, paper folders and email. This makes it very hard to have a complete picture of any applicant or employee when needed.
- Historical Memories – I was grateful to work for an organisation where the HR manager had been there for decades. She remembered every job applicant and employee like they were her family members. Every now and then, a “known” person would apply for a job with us, and it was so helpful to understand that person’s history with the organisation – for better or worse. However, had the org had an HRIS, her amazing memory would have been unnecessary – reducing the resource dependency risk on her.
Final thoughts
Few Not for Profits have an HR system or HRIS. I think they are undervaluing this important system that can provide significant benefits to the organisation including reducing privacy data risks.
If you are working for one of those organisations, it may be time to explore this valuable system further.
Few Not for Profits have an HR system, often called an HR Information System or HRIS. This is true for some of the largest organisations.
Instead, I usually see a hodgepodge of manual processes and functional apps, such as recruitment software, being used.
It boggles my mind that Not for Profits rarely see this as an important piece of back-office technology when there are so many valuable reasons why they should be a part of most organisations’ tech stack.
What is an HRIS?
So, let’s start with this basic question, “What is an HR system or HRIS?”
Much like a Finance system handles financial information and a CRM manages stakeholder or customer information, an HR system manages Human Resources or employee information.
Depending on the modules you choose (which can often be bought separately), this may include:
- Position descriptions
- Recruitment – from job ads to interviews
- Compliance management
- Onboarding including employment contracts and the assignment of assets like laptops and uniforms
- Performance management
- Staff surveys
- Resourcing planning
- Offboarding
When each module is in an integrated package from the same vendor, it can really streamline the entire employee administration lifecycle process.
What doesn’t an HR system do well?
Sometimes HR systems are confused with other systems. So, it’s important to point out that while some vendors may include these functions within their product, it’s usually an add-on rather than a strong feature that other kinds of vendors will do much better.
Things an HR system doesn’t normally do well include:
- Learning Management System (LMS) – Many vendors have a mini-LMS feature, but rarely are they good enough for larger or more complex organisations.
- Payroll – Never confuse a payroll system with an HR system, even though the two should be integrated whenever possible. Payroll can be incredibly complex for Not for Profits in Australia. So, it’s more important to find a good payroll system that can meet your needs (from rostering and awards interpretation to payments) rather than an HR system that appears to do payroll, too.
- Work, Health & Safety Management (WHS) – I’m increasingly seeing HR (and Payroll) systems trying to add WHS functions to their feature list. However, if you need to track a lot of WHS insurance claims or maintenance work done to your facilities to remove hazards, HR systems are rarely fit for purpose with these more complex functions.
When these functions are not good enough for your organisation’s needs, it’s more important to find a purpose-built solution and integrate it with your HR system instead.
What are the benefits of an HR system?
HR systems can provide substantial benefits for the job applicant, employee, administrator and the organisation as a whole.
Some of these benefits include:
- Reduce manual processes significantly – This is one of an HRIS’s greatest benefits. With the information from an applicant flowing through the entire onboarding and offboarding cycle, no more retyping of information. Automations can reduce email requirements and send reminders as needed for various tasks, whether it’s for the hiring manager, an HR staff member, an employee or a job applicant.
- Speed up the hiring process – When a Not for Profit needs to fill a position, it can take months… often because the administration process requires a lot of proactive actions and follow-ups to keep the process moving forward. Automations in an HR system can significantly reduce this time when deployed well.
- Improves the first impression of the org for new employees – The recruitment and onboarding process is vital in giving new employees a good impression of your Not for Profit. If you get this wrong, your employee may regret their decision on Day 1 of joining your organisation.
- Reduce data privacy risks – Too many organisations collect personal data from job applicants and employees via email and store that information in multiple places. Copies of identifications like driver’s licenses, passports and certificates are then sitting inside mailboxes and shared drives that can be too easily accessed by others – internally and potentially externally.
- Automate compliance management – How does your organisation track employee compliance? Whether it be for regulatory requirements such as police checks and professional certifications or policy sign-offs, too many Not for Profits are tracking renewals and general compliance via memories, employee goodwill and spreadsheets.
- Single Record of Truth – Employee records are often stored in multiple locations, like 3rd party apps, SharePoint, shared drives, paper folders and email. This makes it very hard to have a complete picture of any applicant or employee when needed.
- Historical Memories – I was grateful to work for an organisation where the HR manager had been there for decades. She remembered every job applicant and employee as if they were her family members. Every now and then, a “known” person would apply for a job with us, and it was so helpful to understand that person’s history with the organisation – for better or worse. However, had the org had an HRIS, her amazing memory would have been unnecessary – reducing the resource dependency risk on her.
Final thoughts
Few Not for Profits have an HR system or HRIS. I think they are undervaluing this important system that can provide significant benefits to the organisation, including reducing privacy data risks.
If you are working for one of those organisations, it may be time to explore this valuable system further.
I regularly help Not for Profits with IT investment decisions. Let me know if you need some help.
P.S. If you found this article helpful, you might want to read these too:
- How tech impacts payroll compliance for Australian charities
- What’s the difference between a Student Management System (SMS) and a Learning Management System (LMS)?
Tammy Ven Dange is a former charity CEO, Association President, Not for Profit Board Member and IT Executive. Today, she helps NFPs with strategic IT decisions, especially around investments.
