HR Performance Management Software: HRIS vs. Secchi

Research by McKinsey & Company shows that 43 percent of companies that digitally empower their frontline workers see excellent success. 

With 50% of hourly employees quitting within the first 120 days at a new job, it’s essential for frontline leaders to use technology to set workers up for success, increase engagement, and make positive change. 

HRIS — or human resources information system — is a popular type of software designed to help HR reduce mistakes and stay in compliance with the law. 

Yet, to remove barriers, eliminate waste, and gain confidence in how you’re leading your frontline teams, you need more than a document repository. 

To improve productivity and performance, organizations across the US are turning to HR performance management software like Secchi to enhance the functionality of their HRIS. 

In this article, we’ll explain the ways in which HRIS and Secchi are different, key benefits of HR performance management software, and whether Secchi is the right choice for your organization. 

What Is HRIS? 

HRIS stands for “human resources information system.” 

It’s a type of HR software that aims to improve the efficiency of managers and employees with automations and synchronized data. 

You can use HRIS to: 

→ Maintain and process employee information for easy access

→ Create reports and analytics of HR data 

→ Manage time and attendance 

→ Process payroll

→ Stay in compliance with employment regulations and tax law 

→ Perform recruitment and onboarding (scanning resumes, background checks, etc.) 

HRIS main objective is to reduce manual paperwork and enhance HR processes to make them more efficient and effective. 

HRIS is sometimes used interchangeably with HRMS (Human Resource Management Software) and HCM (Human Capital Management), but there are slight differences between them in how they treat human talent and performance management. 

What Is HR Performance Management Software? What Is Secchi? 

Secchi is a performance management software specifically designed for frontline & hourly teams.  

Secchi makes HRIS more efficient by engaging frontline employees, enhancing connections between supervisors and teams, and bringing visibility to behavior patterns for continuous improvement across the workplace. 

At its core, Secchi is a performance management accelerator. 

While HRIS is the foundation of your organization’s HR success, it can be cumbersome and clunky, which increases tedious administrative tasks and decreases productivity. 

While HRIS’s objective is to process, manage, and maintain information (such as attendance, compliance, and payroll), HR performance management software like Secchi goes beyond tracking discipline. 

Secchi uses streamlined performance data to increase productivity & engagement, reduce turnover rate and resentment, and build stronger teams. 

At a Glance: HRIS vs. Secchi

HRIS and Secchi are not meant to compete. 

Secchi’s overarching goal is to enhance the functionality of your human resources information system for faster improvements & better bottom line. 

Why Secchi? 5 Key Benefits Explained

1. Increases Productivity and Output

In post-pandemic America, engaging frontline staff is nothing short of challenging. 

There are almost 10 million unfulfilled jobs in the US today, and most of them are for frontline and hourly positions in industries like healthcare and social assistance, transportation, construction, and manufacturing. 

Organizations are desperate to attract and retain skilled workers, but engagement levels are tanking. 

In fact, 44% of frontline workers don’t feel engaged by their employers and 45% of them are planning on leaving their field in the next year.

Yet, the nature of frontline work makes it difficult for supervisors to effectively connect with their teams and gather performance data beyond discipline metrics like attendance. 

Frontline staff typically don’t have set working hours, often switch work locations, and have different goals from salaried employees, which means that traditional engagement strategies fail to get their attention. 

As a result, engagement, productivity, and employee retention are going down. 

With real time dashboards, comprehensive reporting, and instant performance reviews generated from automated data, Secchi helps frontline leaders hold their teams accountable to boost productivity and engagement at work. 

→ Want to know more about engaging frontline employees? Read about proven strategies here. 

2. Saves Companies Money and Time

HRIS processes and maintains employee information and data, but it doesn’t prioritize ease of documentation. 

As a result, supervisors have to waste their time and company resources to manually organize and  streamline performance data and make sense of behavior trends. 

In the fast-paced environment of frontline teams, waste is unacceptable, and it’s crucial to remove barriers that are holding managers and  workers back from stepping into their full potential. 

Secchi simplifies the hourly performance management process for operations managers, HR professionals, and frontline supervisors to give them the time and opportunity they need to become better leaders. 

3. Promotes Connections with Employees 

A concerning number of frontline employees cite a bad relationship with their manager as their reason for leaving their position. 

97% of employees believe that communication affects their efficiency on a daily basis, yet 84% of frontline workers don’t feel properly informed by the management and 75% believe that they’re not being listened to. 

The bottom line is that if supervisors can’t effectively communicate & connect with their frontline teams, then worker engagement, productivity, and retention are at risk. 

Secchi empowers supervisors to easily connect with frontline workers using a personalized text messaging feature to stay on track and encourage positive improvements within the workplace. 

4. Ease of Use for Leaders

HRIS gets the job done, but it’s also often cumbersome and clunky, which results in wasted time and engagement opportunities because leaders have to figure out how to navigate the system. 

Secchi has a clear and intuitive interface, which streamlines the performance management process, effortlessly brings visibility to performance trends, and condenses 10-step processes into just two simple clicks. 

As a result: 

→ HR no longer has to be the admin who pulls files or tells the supervisor the appropriate level of discipline. They move from admins to strategic partners in performance management by maximizing documentation while minimizing administration.  

→ Line Supervisors can quickly assess an employees’ history and no longer have to wait on getting the managers’ time and research from an HR manager. A supervisor has an automated performance management form that goes directly to the manager and HR for notification or approval. 

→ Production Managers now have real time data about the top and bottom performers and a way to see if supervisors are coaching their employees for better performance.  

When it’s easy for frontline leaders to do their work, it’s easier to move the needle forward and make company-wide positive change. 

5. Automated and Holistic Performance Data

HRIS processes and stores employee data, but frontline leaders need more than a repository for documentation to make informed decisions. 

In the frontline environment, managers and HR often have to make tough choices. 

Making the right decisions is virtually impossible without comprehensive real-time data that provides insight into performance trends and behavior patterns. 

Without data, frontline leaders default to making decisions based on emotions and personal opinions, which negatively impacts team culture and raises your organization’s risks of litigation. 

Secchi automates & streamlines performance data so that leaders can make better, data-driven decisions, reduce repeated mistakes, and reward top performers. 

Is Secchi for You? Final Thoughts 

When it comes to HRIS and Secchi, it’s not about choosing the right software to implement in your company. 

It’s about understanding how you can use both to enhance and accelerate frontline performance. 

HRIS is a technology that helps frontline organizations become more efficient and compliant, but it falls short when it comes to: 

• Improving engagement, recognition, and productivity levels 
• Prioritizing ease of documentation 
• Saving your organization money and time
• Enhancing connection with workers 
• Generating comprehensive performance data to make informed decisions

Secchi raises the bar for HRIS with new features to provide you with clear and easy-to-understand data for more consistency, stronger teams, and faster growth. 

Book a demo today to learn how Secchi can advance your HRIS and  frontline organization.