5 Ways HRIS Systems Can Help with Global Expansion

Many companies face a common problem in today’s global work environment: employees are distributed across the world, making everything from hiring to payroll more complex. HR managers who once only dealt with a single location now struggle to keep everything organized, like how contractors are classified in their home country.

This is the moment you realize you might need an HRIS system. Short for human resources information system, an HRIS is a scalable software solution that helps your expanding business avoid HR chaos by centralizing data, streamlining HR operations, and automating workflows. That means less time managing spreadsheets and documents, and more time growing your business.

If your business is expanding and you’re ready to enter new markets, keep reading to learn about the benefits of HRIS systems and how to find the right HRIS for your business.

What is an HRIS system?

An HRIS is the digital hub where everything related to your employees and your company resides. Information like pay, performance, time off, company policies, and benefits are easily accessible to employees in one place.

HRIS systems help HR teams by tracking, automating, and organizing employee data, saving them time doing administrative work and repetitive tasks. With more time, HR professionals can focus more on the people and less on the paperwork.

Here are a few ways an HRIS can help you scale and grow globally:

• Stores and manages employee and contractor data securely
• Automates payroll and taxes for countries across the globe
• Handles recruiting, onboarding, and performance tracking
• Tracks time, attendance, and leave
• Keeps you compliant with tax regulations, labor laws, and regional requirements
• Streamlines the user experience for employees

With the support of a dedicated HRIS manager, HRIS systems take a potentially messy situation and turn it into a structured, scalable solution for your entire team.

How do HRIS systems help with global expansion?

Expanding globally can open your business to more markets, more talent, and more opportunities, but it also adds a lot of HR complexity. For every new country you hire in, you have to deal with a new set of laws, regulations, and currencies.

An HRIS system helps you keep track of it all to help you expand your reach with ease. Here are a few ways HRIS systems support global HR:

1. Helps you stay compliant

When you expand into new markets, you also enter new regulatory environments. This presents challenges with managing compliance. You must keep track of and abide by local tax codes, labor laws, and regional regulations, like data privacy rules.

An HRIS automates workflows and processes to align with laws and regulations, even when they change. Your HR team doesn’t have to waste time trying to remember which laws apply to which countries and employees. Instead, they can focus on the people while the HRIS system works behind the scenes to keep you compliant and avoid penalties.

2. Pay employees on time and accurately

More countries mean more tax codes, labor laws, and payroll rules. A good HRIS does the calculations for you and makes sure employees are paid on time and deductions are correct, reducing the chance of compliance risks or errors.

HRIS systems also track information like paid holidays and schedules across distributed teams. For example, if a country has an upcoming public holiday for which employees need paid time off, an HRIS system will remind you and make sure they get paid accordingly.

With global HRIS, you get centralized payroll and HR management in one place, saving your team time to focus on employee engagement and workforce planning to meet your business needs.

3. Less administrative work, better reporting

With a global workforce, employee data comes from many different sources. Time off requests, performance management, attendance, and more all need to be tracked, organized, and reported. That can be tough to do, especially as you grow into new markets with new rules.

An HRIS automates routine tasks and processes to save your team time. Data is sorted accurately regardless of the country it comes from, making it easier to analyze and plan for the future.

4. Better employee experience

With an HRIS system, your employees have the power to edit their personal information, access important documents, and review company policies, all without having to contact HR.

For global employers, this is a massive benefit. If your HR manager is in the U.S., but an employee in China needs to provide proof of identity, the HRIS can tell the employee what information is needed to comply with Chinese laws and regulations and where to enter it. No need for HR to track it down or figure out what documentation is needed, saving everyone time and reducing errors.

5. Scale with ease

Recruiting and hiring top talent in one country is tough, but hiring people in multiple countries presents many logistical challenges.

If you’re expanding globally, you need to find and keep the best talent. With a global HRIS system, you can standardize the onboarding process, performance reviews, and payroll cycles, while including local customization to support your employees.

Types of HRIS systems

Not all HRIS systems are made the same. Some focus on data management while others are designed for talent and workforce management.

Before choosing an HRIS system to support global expansion, check out the following types to choose the best system for your company’s needs.

• Operational HRIS systems. These handle essential data like employee information, compensation details, and compliance documents. They help you keep track of information like who reports to whom and employee PTO.
• Tactical HRIS systems. These help you make key business decisions. As you expand, a system like this organizes and reports information about recruiting, training, and performance management. These systems often include tools for tracking career paths, identifying high-potential employees, or analyzing turnover trends. For HR managers, this is the perfect tool to get insights about candidates and current employees who can help you grow and succeed.
• Strategic HRIS. Helps you visualize the big picture by connecting HR data to business goals. It provides analytics on workforce planning, succession, and long-term talent strategy to help you decide who and when to hire, how to structure compensation packages, and what talent you need to scale and grow.
• Comprehensive (Integrated) HRIS. These combine the above functions and layers in payroll, recruiting, and training opportunities to help you grow. This option gives global companies the most flexibility to hire and operate in other countries, while keeping the stability that supports ongoing operations.

Ready to grow with confidence?

Global expansion isn’t just about hiring more people, it’s about hiring the right people. All while staying compliant, managing a distributed workforce, and making strategic decisions that help you sustainably grow. Easy, right?

With Pebl, it can be.

Our AI-powered platform gives you expert support to build your global dream team from payroll and benefits services to immigration and talent sourcing in 185+ countries worldwide. No matter what stage of growth you’re at, you can count on us to be your global expansion partner. When you’re ready to stop wasting time trying to untangle the global web of regulations, data privacy, and tax laws, contact us to learn more.

This information does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal or tax advice and is for general informational purposes only. The intent of this document is solely to provide general and preliminary information for private use. Do not rely on it as an alternative to legal, financial, taxation, or accountancy advice from an appropriately qualified professional. The content in this guide is provided “as is,” and no representations are made that the content is error-free.

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