HRIS Final Paper Sample

Human Resource Information Systems
Student’s Name
Institution
Human Resource Information Systems
Human resource management (HRM) provides organizations with an opportunity to strategically manage and develop human resources. Over the years, HRM has evolved and part of the evolution is related to the use of information systems. This is where the concept of human resource information system (HRIS) originated. According to Kavanagh and Johnson (2015), HRIS involves the incorporation of HRM and information systems which allows HR managers to effectively conduct HR activities. Primarily, an HRIS has three main objectives; to provide timely information, accurate information, and relevant information (Silva & Lima, 2018). These three objectives have been beneficial to both HR and the overall organization. For instance, the timely and accurate information provided by HRIS enables HR managers to make better, more informed decisions (Kavanagh & Johnson, 2015). An HRIS should collect information from different sources so that an effective database can be developed. Silva and Lima (2018) indicate that the information in an HRIS database should be both internal and external. Internal information includes general information collected from employees, compensation packages, and employee turnover, among others. External information includes the availability of human resources, government policies on employment, and competition, among others. There are different types of HRIS and this paper will explore three of them. Specifically, it will compare UZIO, OrangeHRM, and BambooHR. Further, it will analyze how OrangeHRM, in specific, addresses certain HR topics, and a recommendation on how to improve the HRIS will be provided.
Comparison
Three HRIS have been selected for this comparison. The first one is UZIO, a digital HRIS platform that allows organizations to collect, process, store and distribute HR-related information (Uzio, n.d.). UZIO HRIS helps organizations eliminate operational challenges and inefficiencies by addressing certain elements of the HR function. UZIO is a fully integrated HRIS system that offers various features such as payroll and employee benefits management. The advantage of using UZIO is that it can be easily integrated with other HR tools. It also ensures that the company is complying with the state and federal laws as they change (Uzio, n.d.). UZIO is only available in the United States. The second one is OrangeHRM, an open-source HRIS that facilitates HR administration, employee management, and much more (OrangeHRM, n.d.a). OrangeHRM also facilitates compliance with federal and state laws, especially in relation to minimum wage.The last one is bambooHR, also an open-source HRIS that provides features for employee onboarding, hiring, and overall management of employee data(bambooHR, n.d.). These HRIS help organizations address HR-related issues by addressing different HR topics.
Unlike OrangeHRM and bambooHR, both of which are open-source, UZIO is a proprietary HRIS. Under its general terms of agreements, UZIO has license restrictions that discourage organizations from modifying, copying, or sharing the code (Uzio, n.d.). Only licensed companies can use the code. These three systems provide companies with a free trial and demonstration just so they can explore the features and benefits of the respective HRIS.
The table below outlines the HR topics that each system addresses
Table 1: Comparison
HRIS

Topics addressed

UZIO

Payroll
Employee benefits administration and management
Employee onboarding
Record management
Attendance and time management
Tax compliance
Employee profiles and database
Paid time off tracking

OrangeHRM

Recruitment
Employee onboarding
Performance management
Training
Career development
HR administration
Payroll
Time tracking
Leave management

bambooHR

Hiring
Employee onboarding
Time and attendance tracking
Compensation
Employee records management
Workflows and approval management

Analysis: OrangeHRM
OrangeHRM is one of the most popular HRIS in the world. It serves small, medium, and large organizations and is most preferred because of its ease of use. According to Majeed and Ozyer (2016), it has been designed as a module-based HRIS to regulate the access and ensure that different users only have access to what they need. Further, OrangeHRM comes in different versions, some of which are free (such as OrangeHRM Open Source) and others that are not free (such as OrangeHRM Enterprise and OangeHRM Professional). Below is an analysis of how OrangeHRM addresses specific HR topics.
Recruiting
OrangeHRM has a recruitment module that is quite comprehensive. It offers features such as new staff requests, vacancies approvals, short-listing (OrangeHRM, n.d.b) as well as hiring templates, job posting management, and customized application forms, among others (OrangeHRM, n.d.a). Figure 1 shows a sample of a customizable application form.
Employee Information
OrangeHRM has a personal information module (PIM) where all the relevant employee information is entered and maintained (OrangeHRM, n.d.b). This module has full and restricted access depending on the level of access granted to each user. For instance, the admin has full access and control to the module, but supervisors have limited access because they do not require all the information in this module. There is also another module referred to as the employee self-service (ESS) module which allows all employees to change important personal information such as newly acquired skills, certificates, and licenses, as well as contact information. Although this module is accessible to all employees, employees cannot access information unless they have been authorized to, as per their employer's policies (OrangeHRM, n.d.b). One of the challenges of using HRIS is that unauthorized people can gain access to and use employee information (Berber, Dordevic, & Milanovic, 2018). However, the controlled access in OrangeHRM limits the likelihood of unauthorized access because there is restricted access. Figure 2 shows a screenshot of the PIM.
Training and Development
OrangeHRM has a training module that allows HR managers to plan and implement training opportunities for employees. The training module has a content library feature that allows HR managers to create a training course for employees and add some or all of them. It is even possible to track employee attendance at these training courses (OrangeHRM, n.d.a). The information is then recorded in the PIM module. OrangeHRM also has an individual development plan (IDP) feature that allows HR managers to match the development plan of each employee with their performance goals. Achievement of performance goals can be assessed through performance appraisals. They can then identify areas of development together. Figure 3 and 4 shows a screenshot of the content library and the IDP, respectively.
Performance
OrangeHRM offers performance management solutions to organizations by providing several features. One, it offers a performance review feature in the form of 360-degree employee reviews (OrangeHRM, n.d.a). The 360-degree feedback approach entails assessing employees’ performance from multiple sources and giving feedback from each source (Church et al., 2018). The OrangeHRM allows employees to receive assessment feedback from both their colleagues and their supervisors. In addition, this HRIS has a goal tracking feature which allows HR managers and supervisors to track the performance of employee based on whether they are achieving their performance goals or not. This is important because when such records are kept, HR managers can identify areas of strength and weaknesses and plan for training and development opportunities that can help employees become better performers. Further, after the performance review, the module requires employees and their supervisors to electronically sign off together. This ensures that they have gone through the feedback and created an improvement plan. Figure 5 shows a sample of the performance appraisal feature on the OrangeHRM system.
Termination/Retention
OrangeHRM system has a feature that allows HR managers to track and manage the termination and retention of employees. This feature is found in the admin module and specifies the employee’s employment status, as shown in figure 6. It highlights whether the employee is term...