Ready to automate cumbersome administrative processes? Learn about the types of HRIS systems available to your public sector organization.
Article Highlights:
- How software improves public sector HR employee management
- Top HR payroll software companies for Government HR
- Choosing the right HRIS software for your agency
Your employee data management and payroll processes don’t need to be error-prone and time-intensive any longer. While you’ve been triple-checking employee timesheets and manually calculating overtime hours, we’ve been researching top public sector software solutions.
And we’re excited to share what we’ve learned.
This post will discuss the four best HRIS software companies that serve the public sector. We’ll also share the key features and benefits of the most popular HRIS systems and how to choose the right products for your agency – so you can finally ditch those manual processes once and for all.
How Software Improves Public Sector HR Employee Management
An HRIS for human capital management helps organizations manage HR processes to streamline administrative tasks, payroll distribution, employee benefits and data management, and attendance and time tracking. More specifically, the best employee management and HR payroll software:
- Centralizes and streamlines core HR functions and employee data management.
- Gives employees better visibility into their data, benefits, payroll, and more.
- Empowers staff to update important information.
- Reduces errors and duplicate tasks, saving time and increasing productivity.
Let’s dive into the specific features that provide these benefits next.
Employee self-service
Employee self-service empowers employees to access critical information and make requests exactly when needed. Employees might access their self-service module to track their timesheets, see how many hours of accrued PTO they have, and request paid time off.
Workflow automation
Workflow automation efficiently moves tasks from contributor to contributor, streamlining processes that are typically cumbersome and time-intensive. For example, workflow automation can route an employee’s PTO request from the system straight to anyone who needs to sign off on the request.
Benefits administration
Another critical feature of HRIS software is benefits administration. Employees can easily manage their benefits, and HR can look holistically at benefits needs for the organization. For example, a new employee might use the HRIS to sign up for health insurance, while an HR professional might analyze the cost of providing benefits organization-wide.
Payroll management
HR payroll software gives organizations a straightforward way to distribute paychecks to employees. Employees can track timesheets within the system, reducing the need for duplicate entries and minimizing the likelihood of errors.
Analytics and reports
Finally, analytics and reports in the software enable organizations to analyze human capital needs. This includes pulling vacancy reports or calculating how much an agency spends on health insurance each year.
4 of the Top HR Payroll Software Companies for Government HR
Each of the HRIS software companies below provides government agencies with the critical features mentioned above. In this HRIS softwares list, we’ll highlight what differentiates these software companies from one another.
ADP
ADP provides payroll software and human resources solutions to small-, mid-, and large-sized agencies. This company sells each product individually, making it a good choice for organizations that want to pick and choose functionalities instead of pursuing a comprehensive HRIS.
Because this system is a merge of different products, you may incur additional costs to meet more comprehensive public sector software needs. Additionally, ADP doesn’t exclusively serve the public sector, so products may require customization.
Pros:
- Solutions are sold individually, so you can potentially save money by only purchasing the products that you need
- Mobile app allows employees to log into the system and make updates from anywhere
- Integrates with other HR management systems, including Microsoft Outlook, iCIMIS, and SAP Concur
Cons:
- Customers report difficulty navigating the website and a clunky interface that isn’t always user-friendly
- Customers give mixed reviews about the quality and response time of customer service, including implementation and setup support
- Customers said the reporting tools are challenging to use and could use improvement
UKG
UKG offers a unified, centralized system for HR management needs. This software company offers several solutions focused on the public sector, including TeleStaff for law enforcement workforce scheduling and bidding. That said, not all of its solutions are public-sector focused. As with ADP, this solution may require more customization to suit public sector organizations.
Pros:
- Easy-to-use interface with highly customizable features
- Mobile app allows employees to access the product from their phones
- Includes advanced technology, including business and artificial intelligence, to support HR processes and workforce management
- Integrates with other systems, including TurboTax, OneLogin, and Slack
Cons:
- Some customers report that time/attendance and payroll integration are disjointed and don’t work together smoothly
- If you’re looking for a comprehensive HRIS suite, you’ll need to add functionalities for an additional price
- Can be more expensive than other solutions
Tyler Technologies: Munis
In contrast to other HRIS software companies on our list, Tyler Technologies has a public sector focus. As a result, its HR payroll software, Munis, requires less customization than other HR payroll software products on the market. Its many features all work together, making it highly customizable across industries.
That said, this payroll platform is not an all-in-one solution. To build a full suite, government agencies must purchase payroll, benefits, and time-tracking solutions separately. These add-ons make the software increasingly expensive, depending on your unique HR information management needs.
Pros:
- Mobile app allows employees to access information and make updates conveniently from their phone
- Different packages available for small, large, and mid-sized businesses
- Offers API toolkits and connectors to integrate with other systems
- Solutions are sold individually, so your organization can save money if you only need a few products
Cons:
- Because it’s a large platform with many features, Munis requires more extensive training than solutions from other public sector software companies
- Running reports is complex and not always user-friendly
- Customers reported having to “manipulate” some areas of the payroll solution to analyze the correct information
- Customers had mixed reviews about the lack of adequate product support and slow follow-ups
NEOGOV HRIS
NEOGOV centralizes all HR employee data and information management needs in a single platform. With over 20 years of experience in the public sector, NEOGOV incorporates functionality and customization options that make payroll a cinch – all while meeting the unique needs of public sector agencies.
Employees benefit from NEOGOV’s unified self-service, which provides opportunities for employees and managers to see and interact with all of NEOGOV’s products at a single source, from HRIS to individual modules like Onboard, Perform, and Learn. Government HR professionals can even perform cross-product analytics and reporting. NEOGOV also recently launched a library of APIs for HR and time data, allowing customers to build integrations with third-party systems.
Pros:
- Easy-to-use interface that both managers and employees say is simple to navigate and learn
- Mobile app allows employees to access information and make updates conveniently from their phone
- Product users say NEOGOV’s customer service is easily accessible, helpful, and quick to respond
- Customization options include checks and balances features, such as limiting self-service updates allowed by employees and defining workflow approval processes
Cons:
- This comprehensive HR data management solution can be more expensive upfront (that said, NEOGOV handles a large portion of the implementation and setup for you)
- Your agency must employ at least 100 full-time employees to implement the system
- Not made to support corporate businesses
Choosing the Right HRIS Software for Your Agency
To choose the best payroll HRIS software for your agency, you must first identify your available budget. Then, clarify your needs with your team and research products on the market that meet both those criteria. After you’ve identified a few software providers you’d like to meet with, schedule a demo to learn more.
Before demoing with these public sector software companies, prepare a few questions in advance, such as questions included in your HRIS RFP for government. Below are some examples of questions to ask solution providers that can help you identify whether a particular public sector software is the right fit:
- How customizable is the HRIS to meet my agency’s specific human capital management needs?
- How long have you been working with public sector organizations?
- What size organization do you typically service?
- Can my agency integrate this payroll software with other vendors we use?
- Is this a cloud-based solution? How do you keep data secure?
Final Thoughts
HRIS and HR payroll software companies like NEOGOV help agencies like yours streamline core HR functions, reduce errors, and save valuable time. If you’re excited to learn more about public sector software to support your human capital management needs, don’t hesitate to visit our HRIS Learning Center.
