If you own or manage a small to medium sized business, you may have dismissed the idea of using an HRIS to help run your business as too costly and unnecessary. However, HR software can be of enormous benefit to smaller firms if it is chosen carefully and meets the unique requirements of the business. Here are five reasons to use hr software in your small to medium-sized business:

1. Improved decision-making effectiveness.
Having relevant data immediately available makes decision-making easy. Poor decision-making can arise from having inadequate information or a lack of correctly interrelated information. Good quality hr software allows for a number of relevant areas to be updated simultaneously and can ensure that you remember to input useful and important information on all aspects of human resources.

2. Improved Productivity.
Manual record keeping is very time consuming because all related records have to be up dated by hand. Using software to record information can free up staff for higher order functions. Additionally, employee inquiries can take up a lot of a human resource department’s (or manager’s) time and HR software can provide a self service option for employees to obtain relevant information themselves as well as saving staff time in obtaining it for employees. It can also save time and improve effectiveness for every step of the recruitment and selection process as well as for employee evaluation and training. This can lead to substantial productivity gains.

3. Measurable ROI:
Investment in HR software can lead to substantial cost savings despite the high initial investment required. If you choose software that specifically meets your business’ needs, you will be able to reduce your labor costs as many functions will be completed by the software itself and others will take a lot less time as a result of the software.

4. HR Modules Help Business Management Efficiency:
Easy integration of the human resources function into other aspects of business management is another benefit of HR software. Most software has modules that can be included or not according to your needs and which can also be linked to external software such as accounting and other reporting software to streamline all aspects of business management.

5. Improved Security:
HR software can also improve your business’ security by reducing the amount of paperwork and related security risks. Security has become a problem or at least a consideration for many businesses and reducing the number of ways in which security can be breached is certainly one way to limit the risk.

If you are unsure about which software package to purchase, install a trial version of the most likely HR software and test it out or take part in a live demo. This way you are not risking a lot of money if you make a mistake. Many of the better programs offer trial versions. Simply assess your business needs, look for HR software most likely to meet those needs and download or obtain the trial version. You’ll probably wonder why you waited so long.