HRIS Comparison
Most companies are currently using human resource information systems (HRIS) in managing their human resources. The HR department uses HRIS to keep track of all the employees and their progress and also to record all issues that need follow-up (Westfall, 2021). As Yasar (2022) defines it, “HRIS) is software that provides a centralized repository of employee master data that the human resource management (HRM) group needs for completing core human resource (core HR) processes.” Many forms of HRIS have been developed for organizations to adopt. Choosing the most suitable HRIS to use in a given situation may be difficult because there are suitability factors that should be considered before making such decisions. Various forms of HRIS apply differently depending on the presented issue and the objective to be achieved. This is why a discussion that demonstrated the differences between various HRIS systems and their suitability in addressing various organizational issues may be pertinent in guiding the effective use of HRIS.
HRIS Systems Comparison
- Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is a multi-component online marketing, collaboration, and automation software platform for all kinds of organizations – from businesses to nonprofits. As an online cloud service, it can be accessed via web browsers and mobile apps for Android and iOS devices. It also has on-premise deployment options (Westfall, 2021). Among its components include CRM, online documents, chats, online meetings, tasks & projects, website builder, and others, all cross-integrated and available as part of a single platform. It serves many purposes, including sales, customer service, communication, marketing, project management, and online collaboration, especially for hybrid or remote teams.
Within the Bitrix24 application, one can maintain records of all employees, create an org chart, and manage a knowledge base with all of the HR process materials employees need to access (Westfall, 2021). Bitrix24 provides both a free plan and an upgrade which is monthly payable. The free plan comes with a package of 5GB of storage, self-help support materials, and 12 users (unlimited during the covid-19 pandemic). The upgrade starts at 10GB of storage for 2 users at $19/monthly
- Fluida
Though based in Italy, it is used across the globe to monitor customers. Managers can use Fluida to track overtime, manage paid time off (PTO), maintain an employee directory, and determine employees working remotely and those working from the office using a shared calendar. Attendance reports are auto-generated (Westfall, 2021). Time off requests is also given as notifications. It is also a cloud-based HR tool that can be accessed via web browsers. Tracking check-ins and employee locations can be done using hardware devices. It also has both a free plan and an upgrade. The free plan accommodates 10 users and offers access to email support, time and attendance functionality, and the company directory (Westfall, 2021). For the upgrade, each user should pay €2 (~ $2.50) per month and get access to live chat support, data exportation capabilities, and advanced reporting.
- Freshteam
Freshteam is offered from Freshworks. It is the only one that allows applicant tracking capabilities. It enables recruiters to maintain a separate recruiting email inbox, use a pipeline track to job applicants, maintain an employee referral roster, use a scorecard to rate applicants, creates a basic career site, and post a maximum of 3 job postings (Westfall, 2021). It is cloud-based – can be accessed via web browsers and apps for both Android and iOS devices. It has both a free plan and an upgrade. The free plan allows 3 simultaneous job postings, up to 50 employees, basic time and attendance, core HR management, and supports applicant tracking. There are also basic time off management features, an employee directory, and an org chart under the free plan for better HR Department operations. The upgrade plan cost $50 monthly and accommodates a maximum of 50 users and 250 employees (Westfall, 2021). The paid or upgrade plan increases free plan offers by allowing more advanced time and attendance features, more customization, more job postings, and live chat access.
Table 1: A table of information displaying the topics of the chosen HRIS systems
| Properties | Bitrix24 | Fluida | Freshteam |
| Cloud-based accessed via web browsers and mobile apps for Android and iOS devices | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deployment options | Yes | Yes | No |
| CRM | Yes | No | No |
| Online documents | Yes | Create a basic career site. Post a maximum of 3 job postings | |
| Org chats | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Online meetings | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tasks & projects | Yes | Tracking check-ins and employee locations. Track overtime | |
| Website Builder | Yes | No | No |
| Maintain records of all employees | Yes | Attendance reports are auto-generated | Maintain an employee referral roster, use a scorecard to rate applicants, |
| Employee monitoring and monitoring | Yes | Yes.
Time off requests are also given as notifications |
|
| Allows applicant tracking capabilities. | No | No | Yes |
| Maintain a separate recruiting email inbox | No | No | Yes |
| Free plan | 5GB of storage, self-help support materials, and 12 users (unlimited during the covid-19 pandemic) | Accommodates 10 users and offers access to email support, time and attendance functionality, and company directory | Allows 3 simultaneous job postings, up to 50 employees, basic time and attendance, core HR management, and supports applicant tracking |
| Upgrade | 10GB of storage for 2 users at $19/monthly | €2 ($2.50 USD) per user per month and get access to live chat support, data exportation capabilities, and advanced reporting. | Cost $50 monthly and accommodate a maximum of 50 users and 250 employees. |
Cascading Application of Bitrix24
Bitrix24 allows and performs many HR Functionalities as described below:
- Talent management
Bitrix24 supports talent management by providing all the required tools for efficient staff organization. It offers HR responsibilities, such as recruitment, personal and professional development, performance management, and compensation (Bitrix24, 2022m). Users can simply add user-friendly dashboards and automated workflows to enable this. This is supported by basic features, such as Company knowledge bases, Workgroup/project knowledge bases, Multiple knowledge bases, Mind Maps, Wiki, and Polling and discussions (Bitrix24, 2022m).
- Recruiting
Bitrix24 uses artificial intelligence to fully or partially automate the hiring process. It integrates recruitment programs to enable users to communicate with candidates, access detailed reports, schedule interviews, and use analytics that drives organizational development (Bitrix24, 2022l). It runs recruitment software that is composed of Job board access, Candidate info in a single place, Data analytics, and Automated communication. Such capabilities are supported by Bitrix24 features such as Newsfeed and social network structure, Polling and discussions, Chats, calls, video conferences, Document sharing, Calendar and scheduling, and Access rights configuration (Bitrix24, 2022l).
- Employee information
Bitrix24 runs an employee database software that automates business processes. It enables users to manage, store, and search all data concerning employees. Such data include name, position, age, education, duties, salary, working hours, date of service, and so on for all employees (Bitrix24, 2022k). Data security is maintained via controlled access that prevents unauthorized use of the data, tracks attempt to view and edit the data, set up access rights, and spread roles. The system also enables Self-service, no double recording and multiple updates, and One-click access to data. Features of the system, such as Searchable private and public chats, Customizable employee profiles, Employee directories and profiles, and Contact information (phone, e-mail, social profiles), enable these capabilities (Bitrix24, 2022k).
- Training and development
Bitrix24 knowledge management system provides both formal and informal knowledge management tools. It has an eLearning module for creating online training courses, conducting tests, and certifying users (Bitrix24, 2022j). Internal functionalities include professional development and employee grading/training, while external ones include partner certifications or licensing. The eLearning module enables teleconferencing, insertion of audio and video content, exportation and importation of SCORM files, and creation of an unlimited number of online training courses (Bitrix24, 2022j). Grading can be done by automatic testing or manually.
- Performance
Bitrix24 runs a performance management software that tracks and analyzes employee strengths & weaknesses to inform on developing strategies to work with them. The program allows the creation of goals and objectives, allocation of duties, workflow monitoring and adjustment, standard setting, gathering data and analysis of task reports, and running a rewarding program for assessing good performance (Bitrix24, 2022i). It enables users to plan, observe, evaluate, and reward employees.
- Termination and retention
Bitrix24 has employee and customer retention software for requesting clients to repeat purchases and determining the current buying process and stage (Bitrix24, 2022h). This software collects information about clients’ feedback, employees’ performance, mistakes, weaknesses, and strengths, and also compiles and presents metrics about consumers’ interactions (Bitrix24, 2022h). It also ranks organizational sales managers by the number of won deals. Such information will tell whether to terminate or retain both customers and employees.
- Payroll and taxes
Bitrix24 has a payroll & work time management that tracks working hours via an online time clock. Employees clock in and out of the systems to enable tracking ease (Bitrix24, 2022g). It offers ease of navigation of multiple pay rates. It also enumerates accurate payments & tax calculations for every pay period. There are two types of taxes that can be used, namely, Location-dependent tax (sales tax) for the total order amount and Item-dependent tax (VAT) for each individual item (Bitrix24, 2022g).
- Holiday, sickness, vacation, and absenteeism
Bitrix24 offers free Absence Management Software with capabilities, such as reporting or process automation, attendance management, and tracking of performance, KPI, and workload. There is a company-wide absence chart that tells employees on medical leave, holidays, and who are just absent (Bitrix24, 2022f). The mandatory clock-in and clock-out also track attendance and tardiness.
- Compensation
Bitrix24 allows compensation management via the punch clock integrated within. The punch clock forces employees to clock in and clock out of the system to monitor their attendance (Bitrix24, 2022e). It tells if the salaried employees have met the 40-hour workweek threshold to merit the payment of their fixed salaries (Bitrix24, 2022e). It also counts the hours of work for hourly workers to facilitate the calculation of their wages.
- Health insurance
Bitrix24 is also a well-known insurance industry. It comes with over 35 online tools for carrying out various organizational activities. It performs nurturing and drip marketing, scheduling, lead qualification, and prospecting and manages helpdesk and product catalogs, makes phone calls, sends emails, and develops quotes and invoices (Bitrix24, 2022d). This makes it capable to act as a health insurance broker.
- Direct deposit
Bitrix24 has a well-developed payment system. Various payment system apps, such as authorize.net, Billplz, BKM Express, Braintree, Carte Bancaire, GrabPay, Ingenico, Iyzico, Zlarna, Lydia, and so on, have been incorporated into Bitrix24 (Bitrix24, 2022c). It allows direct deposit, bank transfer (invoice) for companies, bank transfer (invoice) for contacts, quotes for companies & Paypal, quotes for contacts, and online pay stubs via the use of Wave accounting (Bitrix24, 2022c).
- Job postings
Under the recruitment software, Bitrix24 has an internal job board program for career opportunities. It is used for publishing professional and career growth opportunities, job descriptions, and vacancies on other platforms while remaining compliant with Bitrix24 CRM design (Bitrix24, 2022b). It also has a resume database that has information on all applicants for future consideration.
- Employee assistance programs
Bitrix24 offers employee assistance via online documentation and training and the Free helpdesk chat software. The training and documentation offer courses for advanced users, administrators, and API documentation (Bitrix24, 2022a). There are also free webinars and Bitrix24 partner assistance for product consultation, customization assistance, training, online demo, and so on. Free helpdesk chat software facilitates communication to telephony, social networks, email box, and popular messengers to seek these provisions. There are other options, such as Bitrix24 Help, Bitrix24 SCRUM Guide, and Installing and configuring Bitrix24 Self-hosted for further assistance (Bitrix24, 2022a).
- Job descriptions
As described under the job posting, the recruitment software has an internal job board program for career opportunities advertisements (Bitrix24, 2022b). It gives job and vacancy descriptions for interested job seekers. It also has a hiring team made up of Bitrix24 work groups to finalize job descriptions, create custom workflows, assign reviewers, communicate with other members of the hiring team, and store all data in a manner that enables easy access (Bitrix24, 2022b).
Recommendations
Most reviewers report four major problems with Bitrix24, including user interface, difficulty to work, team members, and high costs. Customers are calling for Bitrix24 to extend its email history to more than 3 months in the case of webmail (TrustRadius, 2022). The SCRUMBAN methodology should also adopt the Kanban view visualization for projects to enable a better view. Customer service provision should be enhanced to ensure prompt replies to users’ concerns and grievances for better service provision. Users report late replies to their concerns that, in turn, inconvenience them. The current charges are reportedly high for most clients who are appealing to Bitrix24 to lower them and enhance affordability (TrustRadius, 2022). For instance, it charges $19 per month while competitors like Fluida charge only $2.50 per month. These shortcomings should be addressed to boost Bitrix24 growing ability (TrustRadius, 2022).
Conclusion
Human resource information system (HRIS) is very vital in all organizations in managing their human resources. Almost all companies should implement them to reap their benefits. However, given that there are various categories of HRIS, users should seek an adequate understanding of these categories and their applicability to choose the most suitable one. Users should consider the provisions offered and costs, among other features to choose the best benefits they can afford. Bitrix24 is one of the HRIS systems that has been widely adopted. Still, it also has some shortcomings, including high costs that should be addressed by developers or tolerated by clients.
References
Bitrix24. (2022a). Free helpdesk chat software. https://www.bitrix24.com/uses/free-helpdesk-chat-software-help-desk-live-support-box.php
Bitrix24. (2022b). What is Recruitment Software? https://www.bitrix24.com/uses/recruitment-software.php
Bitrix24. (2022c). Top Free Accounting Software For 2018. https://www.bitrix24.com/about/blogs/business-development/top-free-accounting-software-for-2018.php
Bitrix24. (2022d). Free CRM for insurance agents. https://www.bitrix24.com/uses/free-crm-for-insurance-agents.php
Bitrix24. (2022e). Hourly Payroll Calculator now inside Bitrix24. https://www.bitrix24.com/about/blogs/applications/hourly-payroll-calculator-now-inside-bitrix24.php
Bitrix24. (2022f). Free Absence Management Software. https://www.bitrix24.com/uses/free-absence-management-software.php
Bitrix24. (2022g). HR Management System With a human touch. https://www.bitrix24.com/solutions/industry/hr.php
Bitrix24. (2022h). Customer Retention Software. https://www.bitrix24.com/uses/customer-retention-software.php
Bitrix24. (2022i). Performance Management Software. https://www.bitrix24.com/uses/performance-management-software.php
Bitrix24. (2022j). Knowledge Management in Bitrix24. https://www.bitrix24.com/solutions/hr/knowledge-management-wiki-elearning.php
Bitrix24. (2022k). Employee Database Software. https://www.bitrix24.com/uses/employee-database-software.php
Bitrix24. (2022l). What is Recruitment Software? https://www.bitrix24.com/uses/recruitment-software.php
Bitrix24. (2022m). Talent Management Software. https://www.bitrix24.com/uses/talent-management-software.php
TrustRadius. (2022). Bitrix24. https://www.trustradius.com/products/bitrix24/reviews#comparisons
Westfall, B. (2021). 5 Best Free and Open-Source HR Software Systems. Capterra. https://www.capterra.com/resources/free-hr-software/#methodology
Yasar, K. (2022). HRIS (human resource information system). TechTarget. https://www.techtarget.com/searchhrsoftware/definition/HRIS