HRIS Essentials: 35 Key Stakeholder Questions

If you're in the market for a new HRIS, the first step you should take before talking to vendors is to work with stakeholders to create a requirements checklist. Here are 35 questions they're likely to ask about managing employee information.

Creating a requirements checklist is a critical step in researching document management systems because it provides a structured framework to narrow down vendors. This checklist should incorporate input from various stakeholders to ensure it addresses the diverse needs and priorities within the organization.

• Get early buy-in to reduce resistance to change and increase adoption
• Consider the needs of all stakeholders so you can make a better decision
• Identify and address potential challenges early
• Identify new use cases and build a more compelling business case
• Enrich the vendor selection process with diverse perspectives

This guide will help you navigate this process by giving you an overview of the typical questions your key stakeholders might have so you can have informed conversations and move the project forward expeditiously.

Before we begin, however, you should know:

Who makes the decision to acquire an HRIS?

These days, it's usually HR leaders who lead the project to find and acquire a new HRIS. After all, they're the primary users of the system in day-to-day life. But as we'll explain in a moment, if you want to choose the right online HR software for your business and get a return on the investment, stakeholders from across the organization should - and want - to be involved in the selection and purchase process.

Choosing an HRIS: Key Stakeholder Priorities

Here are the key stakeholder priorities to consider when choosing an HRIS - from HR to the CEO.

HRIS Checklist: HR's Requirements

The pain of an outdated or poorly adapted HRMS system is felt across the organization, but HR is responsible for the project, so we should start there.

1.Does the system have the features we need?

Your exact HR software requirements will depend on your systems, processes, company size, industry, and priorities. However, here are some of the most common features you might want from an HRIS:

• Recruitment
• Onboarding
• Training and learning
• Performance management
• Compensation and rewards
• Absence management
• Self-service
• Mobile access
• Compliance

Get the opinion of professionals who can contribute to your list of requirements. For example, for payroll, you will need software that is RTI compliant and offers BACS approved office services.

2.How can the HRMS system help us do more with less?

Once you have identified the features you need, it's all about understanding how those features will benefit your business. This could include:

• Automating processes
• Increasing efficiency
• Optimizing HR spend
• Reducing errors and rework
• Reducing compliance risk
• Reducing training costs
• Reducing turnover costs
• Improving the employee experience

3.How easy is the system to use?

Ease of use should be a key priority because even the most sophisticated HRIS is only as good as the value you get out of it. If your software makes life harder rather than easier, it won't add value.

4.Can we customise the branding of our HRMS system?

Most HR teams want an HR system that looks and feels like theirs to reinforce their employer brand.

5.Does the provider have experience supporting organisations in our sector and of a similar size to us?

This is a common priority because it means the chosen provider has experience of the issues you face. Charities will likely prefer providers that provide HR software for charities, and so on.

6.What does the implementation process look like?

Anxieties around implementation are often at the forefront for HR teams. Knowing that your preferred vendor has a transparent, standardized implementation process gives your team confidence and ensures you can allocate sufficient resources for a successful launch.

7.What training and support does the vendor offer?

Good training and support will help your team get up and running with your HRIS faster and see its benefits.

8.How much does the software cost?

HR software is a significant investment, with upfront and ongoing costs that HR needs to know to decide if the software fits into their annual budget (or to request more funding).

9.What integrations are available?

HR analyst Josh Bersin found that the average large enterprise uses an average of 9.1 core talent applications in 2021, up from 7 in 2018. In this complex landscape, it's important to choose software that integrates with other systems you use.

Or, opt for an HR system that integrates many of your HR functions into one platform to simplify and streamline your tech stack.

10.Does the vendor take security seriously?

When you handle sensitive employee data, breaches can not only undermine employee trust, but also result in legal consequences. HR teams will want to trust that vendors take data security as seriously as they do.

11.What customer support does the vendor offer?

In other words, will we be able to get help when we need it? This speaks to HR's concern that your new HRIS will be useful for years to come.

HRIS Checklist: Finance's Requirements

Finance pays particular attention to the financial impact, risks, vendor stability, and overall impact on financial operations when selecting a vendor.

12.What return on investment (ROI) does the platform offer?

HR leaders may be interested in issues such as employee engagement, but finance leaders want to see a concrete quantification of the investment to understand how the HRIS will impact the company's overall financial performance.

Cost savings and efficiency improvements tend to be the most compelling to finance leaders. Maybe HR loves your preferred HR system because it reduces manual work - but can you quantify that in terms of full-time hours saved?

13.How long does it typically take to achieve ROI?

Finance teams will also likely ask about the payback period or time to ROI so they know how long it will take to pay off the investment.

14.How will the new HR software impact finance operations?

Finance will want to understand the impact of the proposed software on operations like payroll and benefits to weigh the wider implications of the investment.

15.What is the total cost of ownership?

Finance leaders will want to have a clear understanding of the total cost of ownership. These span the entire lifecycle of the product and can include:

• Licensing fees
• Implementation costs
• Integration costs
• Training costs
• Technical support costs
• Maintenance costs

Finance will also likely want to learn about the process of reviewing and renewing contracts when the time comes.

16.Is it a risky investment?

Risk is a major concern for financial stakeholders, whose job it is to protect the business and ensure long-term stability. They will likely want to know how the vendor handles security and compliance, and learn about the vendor's reputation and long-term financial stability.

HRIS Checklist: Procurement Requirements

If your company has a procurement team, there are likely a number of requirements that drive vendor and system selection.

There's nothing worse than going through the vendor selection process and settling on an HR system you like, only to find that there are insurmountable obstacles to procurement - so make sure procurement is part of your project from the start.

17.Does this process comply with our procurement policies?

If you have a procurement team, they probably have solid internal policies that govern every new investment. Familiarize yourself with this process so you can stick to the policies.

18.Is this process consistent with external standards, policies and laws?

Procurement is also responsible for ensuring that new investments comply with relevant external standards, such as anti-corruption laws. Identify these requirements up front to avoid major headaches later.

19.Is the vendor trustworthy, reliable and financially stable?

Like finance teams, procurement is typically risk averse, so they want to be sure about the vendor's reputation, credentials, track record and financial stability.

20.Are the vendor's values ​​aligned with our procurement policy?

Procurement will also want to know how the selected vendor stands on issues such as sustainability in business, especially if these are important priorities for your business.

21.What is the total cost of ownership, and does it align with our procurement policy?

Like finance, procurement teams will typically have concerns about total cost of ownership. They may have specific requirements for the pricing model and also want to understand the contract renewal process.

22.What are the risks of procuring this new HR system and how are we legally protected?

Procurement's job is to protect your business from risk when you make new investments, so they usually want to know what happens in the worst case scenario.

They may want to know more about dispute resolution processes, understand potential liabilities and get full information about contract terms.

23.What ongoing support does the vendor offer to ensure the system is used effectively and securely?

Procurement is often interested in the vendor's ongoing training and support offering to ensure the risk does not grow over time as new users or data are added.

HRIS Checklist: IT's Requirements

The IT department brings technical expertise to the vendor selection process and seeks to understand how the proposed investment will and could impact the organization from a broader IT perspective.

24.What are the technical requirements for the HR system, and is it compatible with our existing IT infrastructure?

While HR is primarily concerned with functionality, IT is mostly interested in what's under the hood: hardware and software requirements, cloud-based or on-premise hosting, the underlying programming language, and so on.

IT will likely have fairly inflexible requirements here, guided by the company's overarching technical environment and philosophy.

25.What does implementation mean from an IT perspective?

IT will want to ensure that your new HRIS can be integrated into the existing technical infrastructure and security framework with minimal disruption.

They will also want to know how much IT support HR will need to implement and maintain the system. The vendor's support system, training offering, escalation procedures, and response times (often referred to as service level agreements or SLAs) typically play a role here.

26.What does maintenance include?

In addition to the initial implementation, IT will also have an eye on the long-term lifecycle of the product. How will the HRIS be maintained and updated, and what does that mean for IT? (This is a huge benefit of cloud-based HR software, as your vendor handles software updates seamlessly).

27.How does this platform comply with data protection regulations and our IT security policies?

This is essential for IT, who will need to evaluate the system's security features and procedures. IT's priorities are to keep employee data protected, ensure compliance, maintain audit logs, minimize risk, maintain access integrity, and enable rapid resolution of potential incidents.

These requirements may vary across industries. For example, IT leaders in finance will have an eye on compliance with SMCR regulations, while schools will have single central file requirements and protection obligations.

Like procurement teams, IT managers typically want to be able to foresee the worst-case scenario and therefore want to learn about the disaster recovery and business continuity plans of the selected provider.

28.How does the system adapt to future changes?

IT leaders tend to have an eye on the future and want to know if the investment you choose is scalable and future-proof as your IT infrastructure changes.

HRIS Checklist: The CEO's Requirements

Ultimately, any major new investment needs to be signed off by the CEO, with the extent of their input depending on your business. Typically, the CEO won't need a detailed explanation of the features, but will want to understand at a high level how the proposed system will contribute to the company's goals.

29.How does this HR system support our key strategic goals?

It's critical for the CEO to link the investment in HR software to the company's overarching strategic goals.

Perhaps the HRIS you choose will make absence management easier and improve employee engagement. That's an obvious benefit for HR - but why should your CEO care?

On the other hand, if you communicate how the online HR system will enable you to better manage and reduce absences to improve workforce efficiency, that will be a much more compelling benefit.

30.What data and analytics does the HRIS provide to help you make strategic decisions?

Many CEOs today expect HR to play a strategic role, and the data and analytics available in your core HR software play a critical role in that. To decide on an investment, your CEO will likely want to know how the software you're proposing will enable you to leverage HR data for business insights.

31.Can I trust that this procurement process was thorough?

The CEO may not play a central role in the HR software selection, but they want to know that they can trust the recommendations you've made. This is where it pays to involve a broad group of stakeholders up front - it proves that you've considered all aspects and makes it easy to trust you.

32.How will this software impact other operations?

Before the CEO signs off on your new HRMS software, they will likely consider the wider implications of the investment. How will the investment you are proposing impact other functions? How much resources will it require, now and over time? Could there be unexpected consequences?

33.What does success look like?

For any proposed investment, CEOs typically want to see a clear vision for success. What does success look like and how will we measure it? How will we know where we need to improve? Your chosen vendor should work with you to develop firm targets here.

34.Is this HRIS future-proof?

Of all your stakeholders, the CEO is typically the most focused on the future. For example, they may want to see your preferred vendor's development plan to understand how your preferred software will evolve with the business.

35.Are these partners we want to work with?

Aside from the actual HR software, the CEO is also likely to be interested in the software vendors. Do your values ​​align? Are they trustworthy and reliable? Are they a good team to work with? Would you like to work with them?

There are enough HR software vendors out there, you don't have to choose a team you don't like.

HRIS Checklist: Executive Requirements

Executives may not have decision-making power, but they are often critical to the success of your new HR system.

If managers don't like or understand the software, they will be reluctant to use it - often leading to slow, manual, non-compliant and inconsistent workarounds that you have no visibility or control over. The result? You need managers on your side.

HRIS Checklist: Employee Requirements

Even if employees are not decision makers, you need their support for a smooth implementation.

Involving employee representatives early on will help ensure buy-in, prevent concerns, smooth out teething issues, and build champions for faster implementation.

Creating a comprehensive HRIS requirements checklist is crucial for a successful selection process. By involving stakeholders and addressing their key concerns, you can ensure buy-in, mitigate potential challenges, and build a robust business case. Tools like IceHrm can help streamline this process, offering features that align with diverse organizational needs, from recruitment to performance management. This thorough approach will not only facilitate a smoother implementation but also enhance the overall efficiency and effectiveness of your HR operations.