What Is A HRIS Specialist?

What is a HRIS specialist, and why do you need one?

Human resources (HR) is often one of the least thought out aspects of a small business. There’s good reason for that – many small businesses start out as one person, and as the first few employees join, there are other priorities. By the time it becomes clear that HR requires tools of its own, a company has usually grown quite large.

Putting Your HRIS Specialist to Work

HRIS solutions will usually be set up once the company already has complex HR requirements but before these have started to cause problems other than increased workload. Once in place, they do two things; they smoothly handle the business-as-usual processes involved in HR operations, and provide the data and information needed for better planning going forwards.

What a HRIS specialist does is provide an interface between these complex systems and your company. Depending on specialisation they might work in initial implementation as a consultant or take on a permanent role once the system is in place. They work closely with HRIS managers or administrators.

Specialists may function as technical support or as analysts (business, systems, or data). What roles you need will depend on the size of your business, the size of your team, and the complexity of your HR needs.

Hiring or Being Hired as a HRIS Specialist

Obviously the single most essential step in qualifying an HRIS specialist for a role is familiarity with the HRIS of choice. It’s very unlikely that this will be the only software you need your specialist to handle, however.

You will also need to take into account the specific requirements of the role and the general soft skills needed. If the role has a support aspect, for example, you need someone capable of processing issues calmly, politely, and efficiently. Anyone working with an HRIS should also be able to be discreet if necessary as they may deal with information about which employees are entitled to privacy.

The biggest obstacle to a successful match of candidate and role is always the difficulty in proving (qualifying) the candidate’s skills match those required by the role. It’s always worth making sure these credentials are clear on your CV. However, using a recruitment consultant to fill the role makes this part easier for both clients and candidates.