The Role of Global HRIS in Global Business

As the world becomes more global, so has the workforce. Companies big and small are increasingly seeking and hiring talent across borders.
The problem is, with new locations, come new fresh challenges with technological adaption.

In this blog post, we dive into the need and use of global HRIS in solving the tech gap and keeping your business on the steady road to growth.

What is a global HRIS?

An HRIS, or Human Resources Information System, is a global HR software designed specifically to help Human Resource Departments manage their data. It allows HR activities and processes to occur electronically and automatically, primarily for entry of data, data tracking, and the data information necessities of an organization’s human resources (HR) management. It is useful for all HR processes that you want to track and from which you would want to gather data.

Why does your HRIS need to be global?

If you are one of the 58% of small businesses that have international customers, or one of the small American companies that already contribute to the 20% of US exports, then the chances are you have ‘gone global’ or are considering ‘going global’ – i.e. expanding your global presence.

A global HRIS involves a number of related technologies, processes and people that perform together for the input-process-output flow of information about human resources in a global firm

In the USForex survey of 2016, higher quality talent (42 percent) and cheaper talent (28 percent) are encouraging more and more businesses to expand across borders. As organizations grow, they often find that ‘global’ work is happening, but the current HRIS is only built for local needs, without the capability to identify, track, and manage global needs.However, having already established the need to go global with your business you have to think of your HRIS in global terms.

A simple google search on HRIS companies will show hundreds if not thousands of HRIS systems. However, only a small fraction have global HRIS capabilities. Why is this important? Because as your business grows, you will need an HRIS that will grow with it. With each border crossed, your business will face a whole new set of challenges, not least of which is with your HRIS. Each country presents its own unique set of complications with differences in regulations, reporting, language, and expertise availability.

Maintenance can also be difficult and inconvenient when updates have to be applied all at once for different systems in different time zones. Language differences cause translation issues, important in country-specific training, and informational materials.

Having different HRIS systems in different countries can provide a part-solution to these problems, but your organization still needs the manpower, time, and resources to collate, manage, and analyze the different sets of data. The real solution? A true global HRIS. The global system centralizes, connects and manages all the HRIS information for you no matter which country you or your workforce are in.

Top Features of a Global HRIS System

• Local compliance capabilities: The right global HRIS is able to align your processes with local labor laws
• Robust data security measures: Advanced encryption, access controls, adherence to international data protection laws, and more.
• Payroll integrations: Payroll function integrations across multiple countries and currencies.
• Centralized reporting: Wholistic, global reporting capabilities for key HR metrics and trends
• Scalability and flexibility: Ability to scale and adapt to evolving business needs, including new functionalities, integrations, and more.

Advantages of a Global HRIS System

What separates a truly global HRIS from the hundreds of local-only HRIS systems is the ability to connect and manage ALL the HRIS needs from one place, at the same time. An HRIS specifically built with global needs in mind enables your business to apply all the core HRIS capabilities and more, on a standard and consistent basis worldwide.

Global HR capabilities and coordination

Imagine you want to hire small teams in three different countries. Onboarding all of the new employees would require three different local systems. Each has different forms to fill out, different documents to collect, and different obligations on the HR manager.

With a global HRIS, all of those differences would be managed within a single system. The centralized system enables effective collaboration between employees in different countries which can be monitored and measured in a legal, ethical and efficient manner, all in real-time. You can also see your entire workforce through one dashboard and assess your manpower requirements in each location and how it impacts your company globally.

Using a global HRIS, you can make better and more informed decisions by identifying what resources worldwide are already at your disposal, while helping your business manage them automatically.

Payroll Integration

A global HRIS reduces the risk of non-compliance in year-end reporting with auditable processes and database management tools. It connects and automates HR systems and functions, allowing your organisation to centrally manage and monitor HR process regardless of time zone or country.

A global HRIS systems offer a unified global payroll system that ensures compliance to local laws and regulations. A global payroll system ensures your employees and contractors are paid on time, but also compliantly, with the complexity of local labor laws and tax compliance overcome by automation removing the errors from manual processing.

A global HRIS ensures there is never any costly disconnect between gross to net pay. It takes out the time needed by any already overstretched HR department and eliminates any costly mistakes which could result in employee dissatisfaction or government penalties.

Enhanced Workflow

A good global HRIS ensures that workflow is improved and time is saved by removing inefficient information handling between various locations in different nations. It allows your business to insert and importantly, connect, ALL the HRIS information for your global contingent workforce. This includes; employee contracts, pay roll, benefits (vacation, sick days, pensions), cost planning, expatriate management and processing. By enabling employee self-service, employees and managers can input and access key information without having to bother HR.

Transparency

The global HRIS offers a level of data analysis that simply can’t be found in local HRIS systems. It enables reporting on all employees with a simple mouse click regardless of what country or time zone they are in. Everyone gets the same consistent view of employee-related information at anytime and anywhere in the world making data analysis easy, meaningful and all of which in real-time.

Accuracy and Transparency are two of the core foundations of the best global HRIS systems. The level of accuracy in the amount that is reported provides unparalleled transparency within an organization’s Human Resource department.

Global Connection

An HRIS that has been built for global use provides a connection within your business like no local HRIS can. From onboarding to global people management to payroll, a global HRIS uses advanced technology and a complete professional network to ensure your company’s global needs are met in the best way possible. Language, local expertise, and global compliance requirements are all accounted for to remove the stress, time and cost of dealing with multiple separate local entities.

Data Management

The importance of compliant data management and the need for effective global HRIS solutions can be best seen in how GDPR is impacting heavily upon global employment services and data handling. Failing to manage your data compliantly can be costly. Fines levied on organizations in the UK for non-compliance of data management have doubled since 2015, with Brexit and GDPR only adding further concerns to HR leaders.

An effective global HRIS system utilizes an employee self-service function. Providing employees with access to view or edit information and upload documents improves the overall efficiency of the HR department and aids in compliance. Key information required for the year-end reporting is made available at the touch of a button.

Using a global HRIS system from the very onset of the onboarding process to the time of offboarding, enables an applicant to be turned into an employee with similar ease and all the time, the data being stored and managed with full compliance.

How to Choose a Global HRIS

What to Consider

Scalability:

The HRIS in question should have the ability to accommodate a business’s growth and shifting needs across multiple locations.

Compliance Capabilities

Compliance capabilities and expertise in cross-country regulations make up a major component of a successful global HRIS. Make sure that the provider of your choice takes into account factors like data protection laws and labor regulations.

Integration Flexibility

For countries operating globally, integration is that much more important – streamlining processes and maintaining accurate records and exchanges of data.

Data Security

As operations become more spread out across multiple countries, data security becomes that much more crucial – and that much more complicated. This makes data security measures a major factor to consider.

User Experience:

User experience is everything in global HRIS. Make sure you take into account ease and intuitiveness of software across all geographical locations your workers are based in.

The Step-by-Step Process

1. Assess Needs: Define HR needs, workforce size and geographical spread, and compliance concerns.
2. Research solutions: Look into existing HRIS solutions – think of factors like scalability, integration capabilities and reputation
3. Request demos: schedule demos with the relevant vendors to assess their capabilities more accurately
4. Evaluate Integration: Take into account how your HRIS integrates with your other systems – including automation and data exchange
5. Review Contracts: Review final contracts, including pricing structure, SLAs, and data security provisions.
6. Implementation Planning: next comes the implementation plan, which should include timelines, resource allocations and other factors.
7. Training and Adoption: ensure your staff is fully equipped to handle the new software Monitor and Adjust: Keep monitoring HRIS performance, focusing on feedback and making adjustments where needed

Going Global Hassle-Free with Papaya

Papaya’s total global workforce management solution provides a global HRIS enabling you to manage and connect your global workforce enabling your Human Resources department performs other vital functions.

The Papaya HRIS enables your organization to effectively manage its global workforce through three powerful pillars – HR, international Payroll, and Payments. Your organization can fully utilize the talents of your global workforce while ensuring global compliance.

Say goodbye to the headaches and hassles of collating endless Excel sheets and manually inputting your data and say hello to the full transparency, centralized reporting, and the full control of your global workforce. The Papaya HRIS system will adapt and grow as your business grows, too. Contact us to find out more.