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. It’s 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 the site to assist you with every step of the process from selecting to implementing an HR software solution.
Selecting an HR system is not easy. I understand this fully. In my prior business as a 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 don’t 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 for HRIS options and 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 database currently contains over 250 articles written on every topic from selecting HR systems, to cost justifying a system to HRIS implementations. I’ll 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 today’s leading HRIS or HRMS systems. If you want to see what today’s 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 industry. To view the white papers offered by our vendors, visit our 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. However, after you have done so once, you may download other white papers and the form will automatically populate.
Download our HRIS Buyer’s 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 a 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 a system. The guide won’t guarantee a successful HR software purchase and/or implementation but it will assist with avoiding many of the pit falls. At the very least, it provides a game plan for successfully selecting an HR system.
Downloading the Buyer's guide will also enroll you for our monthly HR/payroll tips newsletter. In the newsletter, we provide new articles and tips for selecting, implementing, and supporting your hr software system. If at some point you wish to no longer receive our newsletter, you may unsubscribe at anytime.
Here are a few examples of informational articles included on our site:
Determine your HR system needs
Now that you have improved your 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 they’re right. The more comprehensive you are with this step, the more likely you are to find a system matching your organization’s specific needs. Here’s an article I created on this exact topic: What does Determine Your Needs Mean?
Find six to eight 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 the tools on compareHRIS.com. You don’t 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. Here’s what I recommend: Go to our 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 today’s leading HR 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. It’s 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 solution providers 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/products you have selected to evaluate, go to their individual product pages and review the presented information. This will include pre-recorded 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 product pages. This is an article which offers guidelines on how many products/vendors you should evaluate during your search: Searching for new HR Software, How Many Vendors Should you Review?
Pre-qualify your short list of HR system vendors
On your first contact, it’s a good idea to pre-qualify the vendors. With this initial call, you may want to ensure they offer a system that you will be able to afford. The vendor won’t be able to provide a detailed quote but they should at least be able to provide a range of cost. You may wish to review an earlier article on Why it's so Hard to get a Price for an HR System. You may also have a few high level options or features that are required. For example, maybe you need the 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 RFP’s 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. It’s 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. If you choose to use the RFP or not, with this step, you are trying to shorten the list of vendors you will evaluate in greater detail.
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. You may wish to review How your HRM Sales Person can Assist with Determining your Needs so you may get a better understanding of how to better utilize your interaction with each vendor.
HR Software Demo Tips
The demo may be performed either onsite or via phone with a web meeting option. Regardless of how it’s 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 you create a spreadsheet of needs and 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, you ask to see processes and score the vendor on these as well. You may, for example, ask to see the process of hiring or terminating an employee. If you need a specific report, you may want to see exactly how it is created. Here's an article which will help you to 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
This article about Checking References on HRIS software 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.
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.
Implementation Tips
Just because you have selected a system does not mean you won’t 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 founder and former President of compareHRIS.com who worked for 15 years selling, implementing, and supporting HR applications. Listed below, along with other articles, is an article he wrote on actual mistakes he made when implementing HRIS systems.
Check back often and let others know about our free tools!
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 HR Information Systems. We currently list more than 15 of the industry’s leading systems. We expect this list to expand. In the future, we may also start to work with additional vendors in the HR software world including Applicant Tracking systems and Talent Management solutions.