Choosing the Best HRIS for Your SMB: The Innovitech Case

employée heureuse
Case studies
September 30 2021

Innovitech is a firm of innovation consultants specializing in medical technologies, aerospace and the cities of tomorrow. For the past 30 years, Innovitech has been assisting companies in their strategic process and implementation in Quebec’s innovation ecosystem. With a workforce of about fifty employees, the firm offers numerous services and advice to its clients to carry out their innovation plans. Following the organization’s significant growth, it became necessary to implement a software platform to manage human resources. Altina Hripacov, a human resources consultant at Innovitech, agreed to tell us all about the process of selecting the best HRIS for her organization as well as her experience with the implementation of Folks within the company.

Background

In three years, Innovitech has seen its workforce grow from 20 to 50 employees, in addition to the firm’s summer internships. Innovitech had no choice but to structure HR information, which was initially done with numerous Excel and paper files. The HR consultant quickly realized that this method, although functional, was not optimal. Indeed, double – and sometimes even triple – data entry was unavoidable given that the different files related to payroll management, benefits management or the hiring process were stored separately.

At Innovitech, as HR, my clients are innovators, people who live in the future. How do you renew HR management in this context? For us, it’s natural to stay innovative, hence the need for digital transition, all the while keeping the human context a top priority!

In short, there was an urgent need for an efficient human resources software to support the HR department’s transition to a more strategic role. Mrs. Hripacov decided to implement a basic plan to select the best HR software for her business processes.

Action plan to choose the best Human Resource Management System

  • Analysis and comparison of 10 HRIS available on Quebec and international markets;
  • Selection of 3 potential suppliers and meetings;
  • Final decision, implementation and deployment of the chosen solution.

The first step of the action plan consisted of comparing 10 human resources management software solutions available in Quebec and international markets. A comparative grid for the analysis of HRIS needs was set up to evaluate solutions according to different criteria, notably the different key features offered and the pricing. After that, Innovitech scheduled meetings with representatives of the three solutions that best met the organization’s criteria. After various demonstrations and discussions, they decided on Folks for several reasons.

Human Resources Software Flexibility

One of Folks’ strengths is the ability to offer great flexibility for better user experience. Whether it is access to a module or a solution, nothing is forced on our clients. Ms. Hripacov only needed specific features available in Folks HR management software. Therefore, a custom solution adapted to her company’s needs was offered without imposing features that she wouldn’t have used anyway.  It should be noted that, if she were to need them in the future, all these modules will be available on the platform, at no extra cost.

Possibility of integration with other systems

In order to optimize user experience, Folks’ IT team is always open to integrations with complementary solutions. For example, for Innovitech, Folks’ solution will soon be integrated with their payroll services and time management software.

Recommendations

In addition to the coaching, presentations and personalized follow-ups offered by the team, Folks’ solution had been recommended to Ms. Hripacov on several occasions by other HR professionals who were already using it. According to her, this further helped consolidate her decision.

Result - Best HRIS for Innovitech

Folks’ implementation allowed Innovitech to better manage certain files remotely during the COVID-19 crisis and greatly facilitated remote work. The continuity of administrative tasks and plans was ensured thanks to the direct access to data hosted in the cloud. For example, thanks to Folks’ features, tasks related to employee performance reviews and the management of time-off requests and vacations could all be completed online and remotely. Before the implementation of the solution, these tasks were completed on paper. Even under normal circumstances, these processes were not optimal. In a remote work context, they would not have been sustainable.

Using Folks’ platform allowed Ms. Hripacov to continue to run her HR processes and helped Innovitech’s workforce gain autonomy, all the while relieving managers of the administrative burden of managing absences and time-off thanks to the employee self-service access. Performance reviews and employee onboarding were also greatly facilitated thanks to our advanced features, saving time and increasing benefits throughout the whole company.

In addition, Folks’ response to COVID-19 was, according to Ms. Hripacov, very quick and efficient. The wide range of features offered, such as the reminder of preventive health measures on the platform and the user access to a telemedicine service, were appreciated by managers and employees alike. The work climate survey is adapted to the COVID-19 situation and designed to understand employees’ needs: it also proved to be useful for Innovitech.

Folks’ management has been very flexible. Within the first few days, they offered our employees the option to use the Access M online clinic.”

Conclusion

Folks software has become an invaluable human resource management system in achieving the client’s goals, allowing her to:

1- Save time and increase efficiency;

2- Simplify HR management by centralizing all their employee records in one place;

3- Adding value to the organization’s human resources management and increasing employee engagement while allowing her to focus on the more strategic dimension of her role.

Beyond that, it was the relief expressed by the client during our interview with her that stood out; the relief of seeing Innovitech’s HR management optimized and its work simplified despite the unfavorable context faced during the COVID-19 crisis. Folks’ mission has always been the same: to support small and midsize businesses in managing their HR with a complete, user-friendly and affordable HRIS. Testimonies such as the one given by Mrs. Hripacov continually show us that our customers’ satisfaction is our greatest achievement!

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