The realities of a globalized workforce and business have necessitated companies to look for HR tools or Human Resource Management Software tools (HRMS) that come integrated with new solutions rather than the customary CRM, time management and payroll processing. Companies are always on the move for HR solutions that provide advantages such as better employee experience, cost advantages, flexibility, self-service, and analytics among others.
A cloud subscription model works best when you want transparency and flexibility to meet the demands of a growing workforce and expansion to new locations. Choosing an ideal HR solution involves an in-depth understanding of the organizational pain points and a solid grasp of what works best. If you are looking to transform your HR services solution, get cracking with these critical questions before you begin your search:
- Should I choose on-premise or cloud?
Cloud-based solutions come with different subscription plans and offer a distinctive advantage. With an on-premise solution, you are not fully covered against costly exigencies; you will have to bear the cost of network and security upgrades, fixes, patches, hardware maintenance, downtime, and performance tuning among others. On the other hand, a cloud application is designed to be up-to-date always, with updates and patches working in the backend to give you the best user experience.
- Do you want the advantages of both on-premise and cloud?
For companies using a stable on-premise HR solution, they may not want to immediately transition to the cloud. However, they can benefit from integrating various cloud-based services to their system—this is called “Hybrid HR environment,” which combines elements of both on-premise and cloud-based software.
- Do you want to own the data?
This is an important question to consider when your data resides on the cloud. It is imperative you have full data ownership, although the cloud service provider provides the necessary security apparatus, including encryption, privacy and backup. However, choosing the location of data centers may be out of your control—the decision rests with the cloud provider. In any case, consider the security and privacy laws of the cloud provider.
- Do you want the solution to integrate with other systems?
Most cloud solutions offer seamless data integration, enabling you to implement comprehensive workflows and customized reporting functionalities. However, reporting capabilities greatly differ and come with different levels of integration. Be wary of cloud-based HR solutions that do not permit integration with third parties.
- What is the level of training involved and how fast can it happen?
You should have a clear understanding of the level of training required and the time involved. There are bound to be specific tasks that are cumbersome and require support. It is important to know the level of services support, storage and application support, and the length of the licensing contract provided by the cloud service provider.
