Technology Helps, but People Make the Difference
Greater focus on the employee experience and benefits; recruitment, onboarding, and retention; and solving workplace challenges such as DE&I, sexual harassment, and more have all led to business and HR leaders exploring new HR technologies. Human resources information systems (HRIS) for small businesses are particularly crucial — after all, 99.9 percent of all businesses in the country are small businesses. With teams being asked to do more with less, the need for better technology systems in this sector is greater than ever.
HRIS systems for small businesses is not a new area of interest — in fact, it’s been seeing significant attention from investors for some time. Venture capital investment in HR technology tripled to $1 billion between 2020 and 2021 and is continuing to see strong investment as 2022 begins to wind down. All manner of HR technologies are seeing greater interest from investors as well, from AI-powered recruitment solutions for better insights into candidates to in-depth people analytics for decision-makers.
With the market for HRIS technologies — fueled by ongoing competition for top talent as well as continued focus on remote and hybrid work — expected to land around $38 billion by 2030, it’s clear this investment isn’t going to slow down. However, for small businesses in particular, it’s essential to remember that technology — while helpful in driving efficiency and productivity — can’t:
Understand your business as well as you do
Identify and help you mitigate certain risks
Address the many nuances and complexities of HR
Advise you on HR solutions that contribute to business growth
Step in to solve HR issues that arise unexpectedly
Rapidly shift when trends and the marketplace do
Filling the Gap Left by Small Business HRIS Systems
The above points are just a few of the many reasons that HRIS systems for small businesses — while important and extremely helpful — aren’t a final solution for today’s more complex and dynamic HR challenges. This is underscored by the unique needs of a business that’s looking to scale up, such as startups and SaaS companies. In these industries, the best talent can mean the difference between a 1–2X year or a 10X year.
Additionally, small businesses that have been remote over the past couple of years have faced a number of new challenges that HR leaders had never really experienced before: multi-state compliance with Workers Compensation requirements, wage laws, taxes, and reporting; employee onboarding, training, and retention; employee development and culture-building; and countless more. Previously, these were easier to handle on-site and in-person. Navigating these matters with screens between us has been an entirely unique experience.
On top of all of these, HR teams of small business — just like organizations of any other size — have to deal with a number of administrative tasks and questions that come up every day. This is an important part of HR, but it can rapidly distract teams from focusing on growth-related goals. While HRIS systems for small businesses help with all of these matters, they don’t provide the 1:1 attention that small and midsize businesses need to truly prioritize growth.
Also, keep in mind that in many cases, new HRIS systems for small businesses are primarily SaaS-based offerings. There may be a human component that you have access to (at higher paying tiers), but the majority of the solution is offered as self-service via the platform itself. There’s no consultation, and much of the time, the people behind the business are still trying to find ways to disrupt the market and grow their own businesses.
What’s needed here is a distinct offering that stands between the SaaS-based solutions that are exploding in the market and the more institutional companies that provide HRIS systems and people-based support but often with hidden fees, inflexibility, and a more bureaucratic approach.
Grow with Cognos HR — Your Perfect-Fit HRIS Technology (and People) Partner
At Cognos, we offer both the HRIS systems for small business HR teams and the people approach that smaller companies often can’t access. Our custom HRIS technology provides four distinct solutions that cover needs typically overwhelming smaller teams:
Employee onboarding that keeps you compliant and efficient for new hires
Employee self-service for payroll, benefits, time tracking, and more
Payroll and reporting for managing employee info, time, taxes, and more
Benefits management for easy enrollment, ACA reporting, and compliance
On top of our technology, our professional employer organization (PEO) offerings provide you with dedicated HR and payroll representatives that you and your team can reach out to for support with complex questions or just daily administrative tasks. As your PEO, we assume the risk associated with a number of HR functions so you don’t have to — allowing your team to stay focused on growth and prioritizing the work that needs to be done to move your business forward.