Database Builds Flexibility into HRMS - human resource management system

HR Magazine, August, 2001 by John H. Day

The Manhattan-based law firm White & Case LLP employs more than 3,500 people in 40 countries. The firm has used the Humanic HRMS for more than 10 years, and, in that time, the software has survived two intensive reviews by the company.

Noreen Owens, who oversees the law firm's HRMS application, describes the Humanic HRMS as highly functional, very flexible, easy to use and easy to learn. Its functionality and flexibility can be attributed in part to the Oracle database platform on which Humanic is built.

The software's user-friendliness can be attributed to Humanic Design Systems' years of human resources experience. The company has been in business for nearly 20 years, and it has been selling and modifying its HRMS application for nearly 15 years. (In fact, Humanic was one of the first software companies to offer an Oracle database on a PC.)

Modules Facilitate Rollout

Owens says that a key advantage to the software is its ability to roll it out in pieces to various departments. The database platform simplifies such customization, enabling organizations to give individuals access only to the functions they need. The platform also makes the software almost infinitely expandable, but allows it to be implemented in far less time than typically required by enterprise resource planning (ERP) or other "high-end" systems. It's also much more easily managed than those systems.

The HRMS system offers more than 30 modules, including applicant tracking, benefits and bonuses, COBRA and company property. Some of the modules require just one screen while others involve as many as 15. A two-column interface presents in the left-hand column the modules that a particular employee may access. When the user clicks on a module, the accessible options within that module are presented in the right-hand column. Clicking on the option brings up the relevant screen.

Humanic recommends that a system administrator be named to set up security, oversee rules and reference tables, and purge records when they are no longer needed. But the administrator does not have to be a database expert. Humanic has made the power of its Oracle database available but has hidden the complexity within an array of system management utilities. Implementation timetables vary from a few weeks for smaller firms to an average of three months for companies with between 1,000 to 5,000 employees. Humanic provides customization services and supports customized installations. For example, if a company defines its top organization level as "business unit," that term will be displayed in place of "company." Humanic also provides on- and offsite training for users and administrators.

Solid Support, Financial Backing

White & Case's Owens describes the Humanic HRMS as highly reliable. The law firm has not experienced any serious technical problems. She also lauds Humanic's customer support team, which consistently has provided her with rapid response and has, at times, taken a hands-on approach to thorny reports--"fixing them and e-mailing them back," Owens reports. In general, she considers report writing to be one of the application's major strengths.

Another asset: In an era where high-tech companies are dropping like flies, Humanic is on solid financial ground. To boost its package and compete with the likes of Peoplesoft, "we decided we needed a partner with deep pockets," says Humanic Design Systems President Frank Cancro.

In late 1999 Humanic became a wholly owned subsidiary of FiServ, an information management services firm for the financial industry based in Brookfield, Wis. Humanic now focuses on the mid-market, consisting of companies with head counts from 500 to 5,000. "ERP companies did a good job at the upper end of the market, but when they try to downsize, their products are too large and expensive," Cancro says. "When smaller firms looked at ERP price tags, they came back to 'best of breed.'" For HRMS, says Cancro, that describes Humanic.

Cancro concedes that, before the buyout, Humanic had lost a step in the market because of its lack of a payroll application. The merger with FiServ solved that dilemma. According to Cancro, Humanic is the only HRMS vendor able to offer an Oracle-based payroll application. Through FiServ, Humanic offers a payroll service, which will be fully integrated in the upcoming version of Human HRMS (6.2). At that point, an entry made in the Humanic system will be simultaneously made in payroll.

In addition to payroll integration, the new version of the Humanic HRMS will include significant enhancements to several modules. The mass change utility has been redesigned, for example, as has compensation modeling and benefits administration. Applications have been added or expanded to provide year-end summaries for highly compensated employees and to track class completion for tuition reimbursement. The time-off module will incorporate rules-based accrual, and the number of fields available for maintaining transaction histories has been expanded.