Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) have been making their mark on the human resources function for decades: in addition to the power of their memories and their computing capacity, which make it possible to automate administrative tasks, they have recently been joined by the multiplication of terminals and the sophistication of decision support tools, which open up their use to all employees, both operative employees and decision makers.
We talk about Digital Transformation of the HR function. Its challenges are as much about a better Employee Experience as they are about the necessary Data Quality, not to mention Privacy, in the interconnected world that the recent pandemic is accelerating.
The question then arises: are these systems being used properly by their users?
a) Definition of the survey framework
This Barometer was conducted as part of the production of our White Paper on the adoption of HRIS in organizations.
The was administered online from January to April 2022 to 85 HR and HRIS professionals. It was not intended to be representative in any way, but was not intended to be representative, but served to frame the subject and to identify the broad outlines, particularly in terms of the area of functionality, and to prepare the qualitative survey.
b) The survey panel
Respondents came from companies of all sizes:
- Less than 1,000 employees: 32%
- Between 1,001 and 5,000 employees: 26%
- Between 5,001 and 10,000 employees: 12%
- More than 10,000 employees: 31%
They have HR and HRIS responsibilities but mainly HR:
- Human Resources Managers: 46%
- HRIS Managers: 36%
- Training Managers: 7%
- Data managers: 5%
- Other HR functions: 6%
c) Average HRIS adoption
The quantitative survey shows that the adoption of HRIS is still poorly controlled. Many companies have partial or no adoption of their tool.
According to our respondents, the average HRIS adoption/acceptance by their users is 3/5.
d) Reasons for the difficulty of adopting/appropriating the HRIS
74% of respondents believe that HRIS usability is the major reason for the mediocre adoption of HRIS in companies. Indeed, Applications can sometimes be the cause of their own poor adoption. Poor usability can hinder the adoption of an information system. A tool that does not meet the needs of the user, whose interface seems off-putting, all the more so if the path to access the functionalities is complicated, will hinder the effective use of the tool. The tool must therefore be user-friendly and intuitive, otherwise it will be more difficult to convince them of the advantages and benefits that it represents for them.
The second place goes ex-aequo to the training and support of users. Assuming that the ergonomics of the new tool are well thought out and that it is sufficiently specified according to the needs of the end users, the deployment phase still needs to receive all the attention it deserves. Supporting users in learning how to use the new tool and, more generally, managing change is one of the dimensions of any HRIS project. Finally, training and the adoption of the HRIS does not stop with the deployment. Training must be ongoing, in order to maintain a high level of employee skills on the tool, as practices and tools are evolving more and more rapidly.
Nevertheless, 57% of respondents to our quantitative questionnaire found their training not at all or moderately effective. Solutions in terms of support and user training must therefore be found to ensure the sustainability of projects.
Finally, whether due to resistance to change or a lack of HRIS functionality, 64% of respondents believe that HRIS adoption is hampered by a lack of desire among employees to use their HRIS.
👉 To find out more, read our article “8 barriers to HRIS adoption in the organization”.
e) The impacts of poor adoption on organizations
If your HRIS adoption is poor, it can have a real impact on your organisation.
Firstly, over 90% of respondents agree that it can impact on employee and manager satisfaction.
There is also an impact on data quality, as 79% of respondents believe. Indeed, a poorly adopted HRIS can indicate poor understanding and entry of data into the HRIS, impacting the quality of reporting and decision making.
More generally, our study showed that HRIS systems today operate in silos. Some HRIS juxtapose applications and databases, at the risk of limiting their interoperability and making interface management more cumbersome When the various applications and databases are not well connected, there is a risk of duplicate entries, in different formats, or missing entries in a database, not to mention the ever-present possibility of entry errors. The quality of the data is affected.
Finally, for more than 70% of respondents, the impact is on the reputation of the HR function and the employer brand image, with the user experience and particularly the candidate experience now at the heart of concerns.
f) Systems put in place to train employees on the HRIS
The majority of organizations still use paper-based training materials such as user manuals, training via key users and local relays, or face-to-face training.
However, the contents tend to be digitalized and to be integrated into the work tool itself. As Pauline Lucas, HRIS, TAM and Payroll functional support manager for a French company in the nuclear sector, explains: “Employees don’t have time to read a 60-page operating manual. They want to get into the tool and understand how it works.” Thus, video tutorials, webinars, e-learning, or even step-by-steps and contextual help integrated into the tools, such as those offered by Shortways, are becoming more and more popular in the company.
Similarly, documentation, refresher courses and information/training sessions are increasingly done remotely.
g) Areas with particular adoption/appropriation difficulties
For the 2022 edition of this HRIS Adoption Barometer, we asked ourselves whether the difficulties in adopting HRIS concerned the HRIS as a whole, or whether it only concerned applications specific to certain HR domains: the obstacles to adoption would be specific to their activity.
The quantitative survey reveals the areas with the most difficulty in adoption: Time and Activity Management (31%), Annual Reviews and Objectives (25%), Training (22%), and Administration / HR Core (21%).
First of all, reported at 31% in our survey, TAM is in first position of the domains encountering a particular adoption problem. Its adoption is complicated by the size of the workforce (TAM applies to all employees in the organization), the large number of management options and the associated legal constraints.
Next, with 25% of the votes, comes the management of annual interviews and objectives. The difficulties in adopting the module stem from the cyclical nature of its use, so that learning it has to be repeated periodically.
Coming in third, training is an area where adoption is difficult, first of all because of the lack of intuitiveness and functionality of the software used. this process requires more support from HR and HRIS teams.
Finally, there is the administrative / HR Core domain. Our respondents note the reluctance of employees to enter their own data into employee portals.
👉To find out more, read our full analysis and the testimonies of 20 HR and HRIS professionals in our White Paper «The adoption of HRIS in organizations», in partnership with the Master’s degree in HRIS at the Sorbonne.
