HRIS Checkup Time—Try This Checklist

Here are recommended items to check to see if your HRIS is up to the mark. (It’s just as useful for those considering HRIS).

Records Maintained

Does your system maintain the following personnel records:

• Employee personal data?
• Marital status? 
• Number of dependents? 
• Spouses and dependents covered by other health plans? 
• Part-time/fulltime? 
• Leased employees? 
• Employees’ skills? 
• Employees’ education? 
• Highly compensated employees? 
• Promotions? 
• Transfers? 
• Training? 
• Employees’ schedules? 
• Employees’ attendance? 
• I–9 forms completed? 
• Expiration dates of employee work permits? 
• Employee anniversary dates? 
• Hours worked per week? 
• Overtime? 
• Employees exempt from overtime? 
• Employees not exempt from overtime? 
• Withholding from employee paychecks? 
• Pay rate/compensation history?
• Place in range?
• Performance data?
• Employee eligibility for benefits? 
• Participants in benefits plan? 
• Beneficiaries of benefits plan? 
• Cost of benefits plan? 
• Employee covered by other health plans? 
• Date employee admitted into benefits plan? 
• Date of termination?
• Reason for termination?
• Rehire classification? 
• Terminated employees entitled to 401(k) distribution? 
• Terminated employees entitled to COBRA notice? 
• Turnover?  
• Total number of employees? 

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Confidentiality

• Is one person responsible for information system security?
• Are passwords and user IDs required to gain access to your computers?
• Are the passwords changed at least quarterly?
• Are passwords a minimum number of random combinations of letters and numbers?
• Is the area in which you keep your computers secured from unauthorized entry? 
• Are screensavers activated?
• Does your system record which user ID and password are used to gain entry into the system?
• Does the system reflect what programs are run or data are accessed with respect to a particular user ID and password?
• Are there varying levels of user access so that individuals only have access to information they need in order to perform their duties?
• Does the first screen that appears when your computer system is accessed state that the information in it is confidential?
• Do you require employees with access to the computer system to execute confidentiality statements?
• If your system allows remote access, have you taken steps to block unauthorized access?

Emergency Planning

• Are certain individuals designated to be on call in the event of a computer failure? 
• Do you arrange for access to other computer systems in the event yours is not working? 
• Do you maintain a duplicate set of your computer records in a safe off-site location? 
• Is identification required to gain access to the computer records maintained off-site? 
• Do you maintain a master list of the backup media stored off-site? 

• Do you back up information on your computer system at least daily? 
• Do you place newly created backup media in an off-site storage area? 
• Do you have state of the art virus protection software and update virus definitions at least daily? 
• Do you have virus scans set to run automatically on a daily basis? 
• Automatically search all e-mails and attachments as well as information down-loaded from the Internet for viruses?
• Do you search for viruses on any media prior to transferring the information to your hard drive?
• Do you annually review your contingency plans for computer failure? 

Efficiency

• Do you review:
• The components of the computer system for its efficiency? 
• The adequacy of the computer programming at least annually? 
• The adequacy of the computer hardware at least annually? 
• Do you provide training for employees on the use of the computer system? 
• Do you encourage employees to be cross-trained on the use of the different types of databases in your system?
• Do you have an individual on-site who can troubleshoot when there are problems with the computer system?
• Do you have a computer system configured so that even if one or more workstations fail, another can be used?

Managing your HRIS, just one more daily challenge—in HR, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. Like FMLA intermittent leave, overtime hassles, ADA accommodation, and then on top of that whatever the agencies and courts throw in your way.

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You need a go-to resource, and our editors recommend the “everything-HR-in-one website,” HR.BLR.com. As an example of what you will find, here are some policy recommendations concerning e-mail, excerpted from a sample policy on the website:

Privacy. The director of information services can override any individual password and thus has access to all e-mail messages in order to ensure compliance with company policy. This means that employees do not have an expectation of privacy in their company e-mail or any other information stored or accessed on company computers.

E-mail review. All e-mail is subject to review by management. Your use of the e-mail system grants consent to the review of any of the messages to or from you in the system in printed form or in any other medium.

Solicitation. In line with our general non-solicitation policy, e-mail must not be used to solicit for outside business ventures, personal parties, social meetings, charities, membership in any organization, political causes, religious causes, or other matters not connected to the company’s business.

We should point out that this is just one of hundreds of sample policies on the site. (You’ll also find analysis of laws and issues, job descriptions, and complete training materials for hundreds of HR topics.)

You can examine the entire HR.BLR.com program free of any cost or commitment. It’s quite remarkable—30 years of accumulated HR knowledge, tools, and skills gathered in one place and accessible at the click of a mouse.

What’s more, we’ll supply a free downloadable copy of our special report, Critical HR Recordkeeping—From Hiring to Termination, just for looking at HR.BLR.com. If you’d like to try it at absolutely no cost or obligation to continue (and get the special report, no matter what you decide), go here.