Article highlights:
- Why Are Requests For Proposals Important?
- Does it Matter How Well Crafted Your RFP is?
- Are RFPs For a Public Sector HRIS Different?
- 3 Tips to Find The Best HRIS For Your Agency
Why Are Requests For Proposals Important?
There are many reasons why your agency or others prioritize RFPs when considering new software. First, it’s a great way to thoroughly evaluate the market from which you are purchasing. You’ll learn extensive information about various products and services to help you come to the conclusion of which is best for your agency. It helps lay out clearly what each product/service offers, along with the various pricing options. But how do you know it will cover the information you need?
Does it Matter How Well Crafted Your RFP is?
Taking the time to research and include all the appropriate requirements is critical when developing an HRIS RFP. Each agency is unique and warrants higher importance of certain features more so than others. Not taking the time to develop a thorough RFP could result in wasted time, failed software, and frustrated employees. The best thing you can do to save time is to copy from a template or previous RFP from your agency and review to customize it to your new project. This will ensure that the process will be thorough and useful to give you and your agency success in the long run.
Are RFPs For a Public Sector HRIS Different?
If you’ve always worked in the public sector, you might not realize how different it is from the private sector – especially when it comes to payroll, benefits, and timekeeping. It’s important to understand these differences so you can make sure the vendor you choose understands them, too, and can provide the appropriate solution.
When considering an HRIS for a government agency, ask questions that will address specific nuances and challenges you face, such as:
- How are merit increases processed in your system?
- Describe how your HRIS supports payroll for employees working in multiple departments.
- How many of your HRIS customers are government agencies?
- Does the payroll function come with built-in tools for taxes and deductions?
Not all HRIS software has the tools to support public sector processes like steps and scales, leave donations, FLSA overtime rules, complex benefit plans, etc. So the more specific your questions, the easier it will be to weed out vendors that won’t work well for your agency.
3 Tips to Find The Best HRIS For Your Agency
Purchasing new software, especially an HRIS, can be a lengthy and strenuous process. Below, you’ll get tips to help you with three different aspects of the RFP process, along with key questions to ask, real-world applications, and nuances for each section.
Tip 1: Ask Questions Specific to Your Agency's Functionality Needs
Finding an HRIS with the features and functionality you need is crucial. This will ensure you don’t waste time on subpar solutions and give you confidence that the switch is worthwhile.
If you’re switching from one HRIS to another, you already know what features worked well for your agency and what didn’t. But even if an HRIS has a particular feature, it may work differently than the comparable feature you’re used to in your current system. It's important to ask for a demonstration of each system so you understand how each feature works. But before you get to that step, what questions can you ask?
Key Questions to Ask
- Describe how your HRIS supports payroll for employees working in multiple departments.
- Explain how your system retains salary and payroll history.
- How are merit increases processed in your system?
- Is there one dashboard to view updates and navigate to different areas?
- How does the payroll function handle different employee types and manage multiple pay codes?
- What kind of automation and routing features does the HRIS offer to reduce manual processes?
- How does the HRIS support mobile access and self-service capabilities for employees?
Real-World Application
An HR Program manager from Sacramento California was struggling with an HRIS that could not manage FMLA and other leave entitlements. This required her to use separate spreadsheets for gross pay adjustments and exceptions. Once she found a system built for the public sector, she saved over 1250 hours a year just on processing payroll. [Click here to learn more about her experience.]
Nuances
Features are likely top of mind when crafting an RFP because you want to know, Does it have everything we need? Features are important, but it is also valuable to note that every HRIS software is different – and none of them are perfect. While one system may not check all your feature boxes, it may be easier to use or more flexible, which ultimately makes the function you need easier to manage. So, make sure you do a full evaluation of the offer before cutting out a solution that could potentially work better for your agency in the long run.
Tip 2: Dive Deep Into Compliance and Security
A government human resource information system can mitigate the risk of non-compliance by automating the tedious and mundane processes you’re required to follow, such as FLSA overtime, ACA tracking & reporting, or FMLA. While you can “set it and forget it,” it’s best to set it and monitor it. Whether your agency changes internally or legislation has changed, consistently monitoring your automated processes will ensure you can quickly catch what needs to be updated.
Key Questions to Ask
- Does your HRIS comply with Federal and State laws, rules, and regulations, including ACA compliance?
- How does your HRIS handle compliance with auditing standards and Federal legislation?
- Is sensitive data accessible to vendor employees and what security measures are in place (e.g., encryption, background checks)?
- What are the role-based permissions for your HRIS?
Real-World Application
An MIT Analyst in Maryland saw her agency struggle with their previous HRIS. It was too complex for employees to update their own information, so they had to submit paper forms instead. Then, the HR team had to manually enter each employee update into their system. But the risk of error decreased significantly when the agency implemented an HRIS that was easy to use and built for the public sector. [Learn more about their journey here.]
Nuances
You should tweak the questions on your RFP depending on your compliance and security needs. Oftentimes, when an HRIS offers configurability for things like timekeeping and reporting, you can customize it to your needs to ensure compliance. Other times, a vendor will configure everything for you during implementation and it will all be set. It's important to think about what you want control over and what you trust to be pre-built by vendors.
Tip 3: Understand Options for Training and Support
Comprehensive training and responsive customer support are critical for a successful HRIS implementation and ongoing maintenance. Most vendors offer training and support, the extent of training, extra costs, and self-service options can vary between from one vendor to the next.
Key Questions to Ask
- Describe the training available to customers before, during, and after implementation.
- How does the vendor support customers throughout the implementation process? How about after implementation is complete?
- What forms of customer support are included with the subscription, and what are the support hours?
Real-World Application
The Town of Mountain Village struggled with a complex HRIS that required support often – but they typically had to wait 2 weeks or more to get help. This made it hard to work efficiently and posed a risk to accurate tracking of their employee data and timekeeping. When the Town went searching for a better solution, they found an HRIS that’s intuitive and easy to learn. Now, they rarely have to reach out for help – and when they do, they receive prompt support. [Learn more about their HRIS journey here.]
Nuances
It’s difficult to truly know how your support experience will go before becoming a customer. The best way to get an inside perspective of a vendor’s customer support is by talking to another agency that already uses the system. Most agencies will be happy to share their experience and answer any questions you have – some might even be willing to give you a live demo of the system so you can see the usability for yourself.
Where to Start
Whether you have already started your RFP process for an HRIS system or are just starting to explore options, we have a free resource you can utilize today to make sure you’re on the right track. Download 68 example RFP questions that can help get you started:
When going through the process of purchasing a new HRIS for your government agency, you must evaluate features, compliance, and usability. Make sure the system is tailored for the public sector so that you can streamline as many processes as possible. Each vendor provides a unique offering, so it’s important to find the one that best fits the needs of your agency.
NEOGOV offers a comprehensive HRIS solution that’s helping many public sector agencies across the US streamline processes and reduce tedious, manual work. Click here to learn more about how our software can support your agency, too.
