Software functionality - good HR software should:

Have high functionality

Have the functions included within the software, rather than as add-ons

Perform the HR functions:

• required by your organisation
• the vendor claims the HR software performs
• required by statute / regulatory authorities

Provide the following HR and system wide functions (depending upon your requirements)

Core HR software functions:

• flexible organisational structure, unlimited companies / employees
• recording basic employee details eg personal, contract, contact, membership, pay and bank details
• employee benefits
• job position history
• previous employment history
• full employee history eg of salary, promotion, contract, location
• education and academic qualifications
• employee surveys
• HR professional portal / knowledgebase
• grievance and discipline
• employee identity cards
• employee correspondence
• exit interview

Additional public sector HR requirements:

• job posts
• grading structures eg spine grades and points
• grade reviews
• spine uplifts

Recruitment:

• vacancy recording and job profiling
• vacancy advertisement and response analysis
• selection processes, stages and campaigns
• applicant details
• pre-employment screening
• immigration checks
• applicant selection and interview
• applicant tracking
• letter production
• convert applicant to employee
• e-recruitment and workflow enabled selection

Time and attendance / workforce management

• resource (workforce) planning, forecasting, scheduling
• work breakdown structures
• schedule variations
• flexible time sheet design
• integration with data capture equipment
• capturing time data
• configurable data processing rules
• monitoring and analysis
• working time directive (WTD)

Absence management

• track employee absences
• absence rules, types, categories, details, reasons
• holiday / leave entitlement and amendment
• leave requests, authorisation and tracking
• maternity / adoption / paternity leave and tracking
• sickness recording and monitoring
• other authorised and unauthorised absences
• absence cost calculation

Talent management

• job evaluation, competency and skills management
• compensation management
• manpower planning
• employee development
• succession planning
• appraisal / e-appraisal
• goal setting
• employee performance records / diary
• continuous peer review
• pay for performance

Training

• training administration
• course details / directory
• training provider and venue records
• funding arrangements
• training needs analysis
• course / training scheduling
• course delegate details and training arrangements
• course evaluation and results analysis
• employee training and CPD records
• investor in people (IIP) accreditation
• e-learning

Health and safety records administration

• employee health tests, assessments, records, programmes
• accident and incident recording, reporting and follow up
• risk management

Car fleet administration

• vehicle details plus financing, details for taxation purposes
• vehicle usage and costs
• driver details

System wide functionality:

• e-HR ie fully web enabled, to operate over the internet / intranet
• employee self service (ESS) / manager self service (MSS)
• employee portals
• workflow enabled
• alerts
• document image processing (DIP)
• euro compliance
• multi company, country and currency
• support multiple Windows versions

Be a fully 'open system'

Be written in a widely used programming language

Be fully integrated, or easily / seamlessly integrated with other relevant systems (if stand alone modules)

Provide links to other systems eg payroll, desktop software

Have the scope to grow with the business

Be flexible to accommodate changing user or business requirements

Support good HR practice

Management information - good HR software should have:

Full online enquiry and drill down / around capability

Multiple search and select facilities

A suite of ready-to-use standard HR software reports / screen enquiries

Standard reports that can be tailored to the user requirements, saved and then reused when required

Interactive graphics

Reporting across modules

E-reporting ie reports that can be prepared, reviewed and sent over the internet

Easy to use, flexible report writer either from within the HR software or provided by third party software

Business intelligence tools eg

• advanced analytics
• OLAP
• data warehouse
• data mining

For additional ‘key software criteria’ visit: Software efficiency criteria / Vendor criteria or for the current HR software trends visit: HR software trends

For other software criteria, click: Accounting software criteria / CRM software criteria / Payroll software criteria