Your HRIS Wasn’t Built for Performance Management

If you’ve worked in an office, you would have noticed that almost all of the routine processes had some digital solution attached to it. As of 2020, almost 70% of total software for company use is SaaS. And between applicant tracking systems (ATS), time tracking tools, payroll, employee surveys, and other software, it would be fair to say that HR’s workforce management tools make up a huge portion of that statistic. 

With quite a number of disparate systems to track routine HR tasks, it is understandable that teams would prefer to consolidate their processes in a single system that can house all their HR needs in one place. And the most obvious contender for that spot is the Human Resources Information System (HRIS). Businesses usually go for this model because they bundle up people management functions like attendance & leave management, payroll, benefits management, recruitment, goal tracking, engagement, performance management, and more. 

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And while some of these functions lead themselves to being clubbed into a bundle, processes like performance management, don’t. While many HRIS come with the promise to offer the ROI of performance management, often the convenience and cost-savings are too good to be true. 

In an operation that is already strife with processes and glitches, it can be frustrating to deal with a poorly designed performance management system. If the process isn’t smooth form the moment of implementation to administration to organizational use, then there’s no cause in adopting a system that no one likes. 

Your modern performance management system guide may not give you reasons why you shouldn’t settle for HRIS that clearly wasn’t built for performance management. So let's choose a stand-alone performance management solution for the organization instead. 

Thanksgiving turkey without the stuffing

HRIS platforms are excellent at all things involving Core HR, such as attendance and leave management, benefits administration, and making sure all employee information remains in sync across all HR systems. And therefore, it serves as the reliable backbone of all things back-end HR.

However, in the case of performance management, most HRIS platforms don’t deliver the same quality experience that users would receive from a performance management system. Most HRIS platforms provide a complicated user experience for HR admins and managers. Inconsistent data storage can make it difficult for managers to pull out historical review data and metrics from the system, making the performance appraisal cycle a nightmare. 

Debashis G., Head HR at Calibo, a PaaS platform, realised early on that he could not compromise on quality when it concerned getting the best resources for their employees. To him, a streamlines HR platform meant, “A socially looking platform, ease of use, ease of backend operations and capturing data and workflow management as is practiced within the organization.” peopleHum, futuristic, easy to use, and uncluttered platform provided the social look and feel he was in search for, which was why he selected it as the performance management platform of choice for his organization.  

Choosing a performance management system can help managers streamline their efforts and reduce the time they spent on administrative work. Performance reviews done right gives managers the time to focus their efforts on sharing constructive feedback with their employees and having career-defining conversations with them. Therefore, instead of wasting their time on ineffective systems, choosing the right performance management platform enables leaders to build a company culture that values feedback. ‍

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"Professional growth" who?

More often than not, the performance modules offered by HRIS systems follows the traditional annual review system of one-off conversations. That means that after these important conversation are held, managers and employees are never prompted to revisit their 1-on-1 notes and evaluate their progress, which leads loss in progress and growth. Not only that, organisations often tend to disregard mistakes managers during 1-on-1 meetings. The true value of performance reviews lies in revisiting and reporting one’s growth with regard to the employee’s previous performance. 

Conversation on performance can only remain focused when they are ongoing or in real-time - two approaches that HRIS vendors struggle with but specialised performance management solutions excel at. 

For an an organization like o9 solutions that prioritise 360-degree feedback questions, and HRIS was not an ideal solution. Kanika Mendiratta, People Department Manager at o9 solutions, was looking for a solution that enables employees to give and receive feedback, but at the same time maintain anonymity and the transparency that an international team like theirs needs. 

By adopting peopleHum, not only were they able to fulfil those parameters, but they were also able to conduct a comparative analysis of employee performance based on the historic data that was available on demand for managers to access. 

Performance review solutions like peopleHum can modernise the way performance reviews and employee growth takes place with the help of continuous feedback tools like 1-on-1s, feedback cycles, goal tracking, and OKRs. With all of this information conveniently stored in one place, managers can easily refer to previous discussions, check in on goal progress, assign new  goals, share feedback with their direct reports, and even recognise their employees' hard work — rather than having to refer to multiple systems, spreadsheets, or files. 

A platform, minus the experience

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Functionality and user experience isn’t always on the cards for an HRIS’ performance management solution. Having a system in place is only half a battle won; the other half is ensuring that the system is actually being used by managers and employees. 

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User experience matters, because if the review system becomes confusing to use, it will lead to frustration and disengagement during the review session. Cumbersome systems could affect the quality of feedback during the peer and self-appraisal process. This eventually leads to a cycle of suffering where everyone misses out on learning how they can improve their work habits and process and help their team and the organisation at large. 

Adedotun Lawal, Head of People Operations and Admin at Bigibet, was in search for an HRIS system that was robust when it came to creating and tracking goals & managing the entire review cycle seamlessly. While most HRIS systems are not designed to be flexible to the specialised requirements of the customer’s performance management needs, performance appraisal software is. With peopleHum’s performance management system, Adedotun came the closest to finding the solution he was looking for. 

peopleHum understands that every business is first a people business, and always puts people first in every sense. Every tool from engagement surveys, polls, recognition to performance reviews for remote employees is easy to understand and implement. 

Lack of support and resources

Since HRIS platforms primarily focuses on Core HR processes, the expertise of the support staff will specifically focus those disciplines. But when it comes to additional HR product offerings like AI in performance management and employee engagement modules, you might find it hard to find the subject-matter expertise and the support that you require. Instead, managers might end up with a haphazard workaround which only increases the hassle of managing an ineffective system. 

With peopleHum’s performance management solution, every customer has access to a Customer Success team and 24/7 support, which has helped organizations across the globe. Customers have access to peopleHum’s IT support and can receive quick turnaround regarding any queries regarding implementation, enablement, or queries related to the module. peopleHum follows the customer journey at every step of the way with our ideal elements of a performance management system.

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While HRIS vendors excel at HR, payroll, and benefits administration, managing employee performance and engagement requires a different breed of software. This is where a performance management solution can really shine.

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peopleHum's Performance Management Solution is an agile solution that can improve and grow your company's performance and engagement. You can even see our software in action by a free demo. Sign up for one today.