I came across an HR Technology data point recently that I felt was worthy of sharing. It is worthy to share because I think this piece of trivia can not only make you seem smarter and more interesting at your next cocktail party, but it can also provide you with a great conversation starter with your clients when introducing them to your services available through MillsonJames. As discussed within this blog over the last several years, an HRIS system serves as the Central Nervous System for an organization. It houses absolutely critical data that helps an organization manage its most important and expensive resource – its people. The data housed in an HRIS database can and should drive strategic decisions made by executives within an organization. A highly effective and robust HRIS database can help an organization achieve effectiveness in the following areas….

• Succession Planning (who has the requisite skills to progress in the organization?);
• Compensation Strategy (which roles and people are above the industry compa-ratio for a particular role?);
• Safety/Compliance (which licenses or certifications are coming up for renewal in the next few months?);
• Compensation Budgeting (what is the financial impact of a 5% across-the-board market adjustment to compensation of XYZ Department); and
• Organizational Charts (who reports to whom?)

Plus, much, much more. Some organizations believe that their payroll system is capable of maintaining all this necessary data or maybe they feel that they have a good grasp on the above with various systems and disparate databases that are managed within HR. While some of this may be true, it more than likely would rank low on our relative market assessment tool, HR Tech Assess (www.hrtechassess.com). As your client’s trusted advisor and through your partnership with MillsonJames, it is incumbent upon us to help our clients see the value of a tried and tested, fully-functional HRIS database. Oh, and the answer to our question of which HRIS system is the most utilized in the world today….no, not PeopleSoft. Not Oracle. Not SAP. It is…Microsoft Excel. Sad, but true.