The Best HR Software of 2022

What Is HR Software?

While most HR software covers the same basic pillars of human resource management — payroll, time tracking and benefits administration — HR or HRIS software can have a wide variety of different takes on what needs to be emphasized, how specific features and functions should be approached and what added features or integrations are most crucial. There is no “right” answer to these questions. Everything depends on the approach that makes the most sense for a specific target user or market and that delivers the best results for your specific company.

Three general rules of thumb are worth keeping in mind:

• When HR software places a major emphasis on customization, this also is likely to make setup more work.
• The more extensive a solution’s features list becomes, the more work will have to go into making its UI easy to use to keep it from needing specific training to use by your company. Sometimes, it isn’t possible to close this gap.
• Having access to a deep list of features sounds great, but remember that for smaller-scale organizations, too many features can become overwhelming in themselves.

Benefits of HR Software

Human resource management without software support can be immensely time-consuming, labor-intensive and frustrating. Having the advantage of a quality HRIS suite can cut the amount of time spent on HR tasks by as much as 40% or more.

Freeing up that much time can make a decisive difference to businesses of almost any size, but it can be a particular lifesaver for small businesses, where small teams often already feature multiple team members trying to cover multiple bases without burning out. The time and energy that HRIS can save can mean the difference between success and growth as opposed to faltering and burnout, which all on its own makes it an investment worth looking into.

Must-Have Features of HR Software

HR software packages, unless they are extremely specialized toward one aspect of HR management, should offer the following core feature sets:

• An employee database that cuts down on redundant data entry and keeps information together
• Payroll management
• Applicant tracking
• Time and attendance tracking
• Benefits administration

Multiple sub-features are possible within any of these general categories. You can see plenty of examples in the guide above. In addition to these core HR functions, good HRIS suites should generally offer at least some of the following added benefits:

• Self-service employee portal
• Third-party integrations
• Performance management
• Employee engagement and satisfaction
• Reporting

Most modern systems should offer real-time “smart” reporting, though the quality of this is still highly variable. And finally, most modern HR suites should offer mobile apps or mobile compatibility as standard features.

The Cost of HR Software

As you’ll note in the above guide, HR/HRIS software is so often priced by specialized quote that it’s hard to make general statements about its pricing. There are, however, a couple of things to look out for: training costs, which can rapidly escalate the price of a HRIS plan (this is one of the reasons we placed so much emphasis on ease of use as a criterion) and modular structuring of HRIS suites, which can lead to the separate licensing of various kinds of features and functions, bumping up the overall costs even further.

The presence of either of these things does not necessarily mean you should avoid the solution in question, simply that you’ll have to keep a careful eye on the final cost and assess whether the features it’s delivering are worth it. In the end, your goal is simply to find the solution that’s right for your business at a price point you can sustain.

Related Resources

• How To Set Up Human Resources for Your Small Business
• How To Use an Applicant Tracking System for Your Small Business
• The Best HR Practices for Small Businesses
• What Is a Digital HR Strategy?
• What You Need To Know About HR Before Hiring Your First Employee