What is the difference between HRMS and HRIS?

Having functional HRMS and HRIS systems helps you better look after the people-related aspects of your business. However, there’s often confusion over the difference between an HRMS and an HRIS. This uncertainty can lead to poor decision-making, where teams misunderstand the unique functionalities of these essential HR tools.

Regardless of its size, your business will thrive from having these different HR systems in place.  Many employers and SMEs across Canada are already using HR tech to achieve better organizational efficiency. Can you afford to fall behind your competitors?

As you’ll discover in this article, there are various unique features and applications that make an HRIS distinct from an HRMS. So, if you’re wondering what one will work best for your business, you’ll be better equipped to make informed decisions when choosing HR technology.

Defining HRMS and HRIS

These similar acronyms give little idea about the purposes and capabilities of each type of HR management system. They’re often used interchangeably, even among professionals. However, HRMS stands for human resource management systems, whereas HRIS describes human resource information systems. But what does this mean for your business in practice?

Human resource management systems

An HRMS is structured to help you in many ways. It helps you provide adequate support to your workers throughout the entire employee lifecycle. Therefore, HRMS contains information that’s expected to be updated frequently.

Think of it as a master HR dashboard. It’s a place where your HR leaders can look at relevant legislation across different jurisdictions, such as:

• Taxes

• Regulations

• Working hours

Thanks to the analytics offered, they can create (and access) the reports your wider business requires for peak efficiency.

Human resource information systems

The scope of an HRIS in HRM (human resource management) isn’t as comprehensive as HRMS. However, they still support SMEs by storing employee recruitment and personal information such as their:

• Full name

• Home address

• Phone numbers

• Email address

• Social insurance number (SIN)

Both of these different HR systems contribute towards streamlining your business operations while increasing its efficiency. This makes them popular among businesses of all sizes and industries.

Functional Variations

One of the significant differences between HRMS and HRIS is the extent of the available functions each offers. In terms of managing HR data, the HRMS will hold in-depth (often fluctuating) data across broader areas. In contrast, HRIS will collect and store general information about your employees or candidates that are less likely to need amending regularly.

HRMS allows business owners to do more with this data than HRIS can, backed by in-depth analytics. Tasks include monitoring:

• Payroll

• Leave

• Schedules

• Meetings

• Attendance

HRMS software also allows HR professionals to access and manage this information efficiently.

HRIS lists fewer categories of information about the workforce. However, employees’ contact details, qualifications and tax status can be retrieved in moments. This accessibility streamlines your admin team members’ responsibilities when adding new hires to the payroll or emailing employees when necessary.

Although not as comprehensive as an HRMS, HRIS features let you monitor recruitment-related:

• Applications

• Resumes

• Job postings

New hires can undertake onboarding procedures and training throughout their time with your company easily with the right software. There’s the option to design workflows for enhanced efficiency. And let’s not forget its ability to track each employee’s health insurance, salary and PTO.

Often, employees can log in to their version of the HRIS to see their available vacation days, absences, and hours worked. In contrast, an HRMS is created to meet the needs of business owners or managers. An HRMS features a broader selection of applications than an HRIS and can be customized in greater detail to suit your business moving forward.

Both include automation elements, but these can achieve very different outcomes. HRIS’s automation makes managing candidates a breeze as it can receive resumes after creating job adverts. This streamlined approach echoes its ability to reduce the risk of errors and skip tedious tasks like data entry. While HRMS can not only store information but create reports based on various data points.

The bigger picture

HRIS and HRMS serve different HR needs which support other functions within your business. The first system (HRIS) is ideal for recruiting and supporting staff throughout their time at your company. It also streamlines administrators’ workflow by saving time retrieving information and minimizes manual data entry errors.

The second system (HRMS) can go further. Thanks to its data, it can assess your employees’ performance and inform you and your managers’ everyday decisions. Overall, HRMS supports decision-making throughout the workplace with more in-depth processes.

Integration and data management

Can you integrate with BrightHR?

With BrightHR, you can integrate HRMS and HRIS with other systems. This frees up precious time so you can focus on growing your business.

With Zapier integrations alone, you can sync more than 5,000 web services. Or use Zaps–aka automated connections–to integrate with other web-based tools in minutes. You won’t need someone with coding skills either.

Working with Xero, HubSpot, Slack, and other popular services becomes not only achievable but also simple. This includes Microsoft integration, with world-famous Word, Excel and Outlook providing data consolidation within BrightHR. This includes cloud-based and Microsoft Office 365.

Find out more including the ease of making reports by visiting our simple HR system integration page.

Continued security and trust

We know that your business and employee data needs to be held securely.

As a Canadian customer, we’ll store this data in your country to comply with the Privacy Act and local laws. Highly secure, our local data centers ensure that data management, storage and security are prioritized within both our HRIS and HRMS frameworks.

Learn about our security measures, such as defining the user’s role and two-factor authenticity, on the BrightHR security page.

Selecting an HRMS and HRIS system

As an employer, you should thoroughly assess your HR technology and business needs when selecting a system. The differences between HRMS and HRIS noted above may sway you here.

Consider your company’s scale, the various functions (HR, admin, management) operating within it, and how you intend to use the different HR system(s). Make this choice knowing what your business needs are.

However, you’ll be pleased to hear that BrightHR is a combination of both HRIS and HRMS.

Use both HR systems in one subscription

The difference between HRMS and HRIS concerns the types of information, users and extent of help it will offer across your organization. However, BrightHR’s dual HR systems will continue to support you as your business grows. It’s an all-in-one solution that 100,000 global customers rely on. 

Check out the features of our HRIS and the features of our HRMS today. Or see how BrightHR can transform your people management for yourself by booking a free demo with one of our friendly advisors.