The top 6 global HRIS systems: The global HRIS software guide

What is a global HRIS system?

A global HRIS system is an HR solution—typically cloud-based—designed to manage your entire global workforce under one umbrella. Think of it as a centralized human resource management system (HRMS) that houses the employee data to help your organization handle core HR tasks—like onboarding, performance management, benefits administration, payroll management, and compliance—across multiple countries and regions.

This software solution not only stores important employee information, but also powers and integrates with payroll software, time tracking apps, applicant tracking systems, and other technology to make HR workflows more seamless and efficient. HRIS systems can often help HR teams automate tasks like data entry and manage HR functions in real-time (without juggling disconnected spreadsheets).

A robust global HRIS platform goes beyond standard HR systems. It’s engineered to handle global HR challenges, help your team make informed decisions, and support strategic HR management. With the right platform in place, HR departments can unify their HR data, improve the employee experience, boost employee engagement, and optimize talent management across countries and currencies.

Why choose a global HRIS?

As many HR professionals help their organizations expand operations worldwide, they face increasingly complex HR needs. A global HRIS solution can help them tackle these hurdles head-on:

1. Manage your entire global workforce in one place

A global HRIS consolidates employee records, allowing HR professionals to track the entire employee lifecycle, from new hire onboarding to performance reviews to retirement, within a single HR platform. This eliminates silos and makes data management clean, organized, and readily accessible, something that’s especially important when your workforce is spread across international borders.

2. Hire internationally with ease

By leveraging a global HRIS solution, you can tap into global teams and handle talent acquisition in multiple countries more easily. This enables your company to make the most of the global talent pool—while the HRIS helps you handle things like document management, compliance with local labor laws, and other complexities of global hiring.

3. Streamline global compliance

Speaking of compliance, a global HRIS system can help you navigate complex international regulations. A global HRIS keeps employee data at your fingertips wherever your employees are, which makes it easier to do everything from managing employee benefits enrollment to ensuring payroll solutions align with local legislation. Having the right HRIS solution in place can mean making sure you maintain compliance without a headache.

4. Pay workers around the world accurately and on time

Global payroll is one of the biggest challenges in HR management, but a global HRIS can help you and your team handle payroll management. A central source of truth for global employee data can help with timely and accurate payroll processing in different jurisdictions and multiple currencies, especially if you have different types of workers—both employees and contractors, or those with varying compensation structures, for example. A global HRIS—especially one that syncs to a global payroll solution—means no more manual calculations or missed paydays.

5. Eliminate time-consuming administrative work

With automation features, HR teams can reduce time spent on data entry, manual reporting, and repetitive HR tasks—and a global HRIS stores the employee data that powers automation across many HR functions.

Automation in HR software can run essential processes—like managing PTO requests, scheduling performance management cycles, and tracking attendance—automatically, making HR functions more consistent and efficient. This frees up your team’s time for strategic decision-making and other important work, like improving employee performance and retention.

6. Improve your global employee experience

A global HRIS keeps employee information in a central location, updated in real-time. And making it user-friendly and accessible—for example, with an employee self-service portal—can enhance your global employee experience across the board by empowering employees to view their own employee data, request time off, update personal details, and more.

7. Report on insights about your global workforce

Integrate your global HRIS with an HR analytics platform or human capital management (HCM) system to use your employee data to power reporting capabilities and generate valuable insights with your organization’s people data. You can generate real-time reports to inform decision-making, track talent acquisition metrics, and understand workforce planning needs better.

8. Facilitate a smooth, successful global expansion

Scaling up and entering new markets is simpler with a global HRIS. It can help you handle core HR tasks across multiple regions without missing a beat. Scalability is often built in, so whether you’re a startup or a larger enterprise, the right HRIS platform grows with you.

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What to look for in a global HRIS system

When choosing the best global HRIS for your business, consider these key features:

Intuitive, easy-to-use software

A user-friendly interface that simplifies employee data storage and retrieval and reduces friction is essential—and one of the first features to look for. Remember that your HRIS should be intuitive for everyone who will use it, so minimal learning curve at all levels is key. Look for intuitive navigation, minimal training requirements, and easy adoption for HR professionals and employees alike.

Fast, reliable customer support

A strong support team can make all the difference when exploring new technology platforms. Look for an HRIS system that offers customer service that will help you quickly resolve issues. Dedicated account managers can be a strong selling point, but responsive customer support that won’t leave you scrambling is the minimum.

Scalability

Your HRIS should grow with your company and your global workforce. Whether you’re a startup hiring across borders for the first time or an enterprise scaling to become an international powerhouse, choose an HR solution that can handle increasing complexity and new locations as you grow and expand your global footprint.

Simplified global compliance

Managing global compliance—particularly in new jurisdictions where you may not be familiar with local labor and employment laws—is one of the most complicated parts of running a global business. Your HRIS system should be able to store—and help you quickly and easily access—the employee information you need to manage compliance with labor laws, local regulations, tax laws, and other compliance requirements in different countries.

Integrations with other technology

From applicant tracking solutions to time tracking apps and performance management tools, your HRIS should seamlessly integrate with the other software tools in your ecosystem. It’s the digital age, and today’s companies rely on many types of software platforms. Smooth integrations between your HRIS and the rest of your tech stack will streamline data flow, enable time-saving automations, and help eliminate manual data entry and other administrative tasks.

A natively built, integrated platform

A single, integrated workforce management platform is often more stable and reliable than a standalone HRIS integrated with a patchwork of separate tools. Rippling is the only HRIS that’s natively built from the ground up so all its tools work together seamlessly.

How to choose the right global HRIS

Key features aren’t the only thing to take into account as you look for the right global HRIS for your organization—you also need to consider some things about your business. Here are some steps to take in order to choose the right global HRIS system for your organization:

Step 1: Assess your organization’s needs

Identify specific needs a global HRIS can address for you—things like employee data management, syncing with your global payroll, benefits management, or time and attendance tracking solutions, or powering automations. Determine which HR tasks are the most critical to your organization and where your current system (or systems) falls short.

Step 2: Consider your longterm HR goals

Why do you need a global HRIS? How can it support your goals?

Before you can answer those questions, you need to know what your organization’s long term HR goals are. 

Are you expanding into new markets? Focusing on retention, talent management, or employee engagement? A global HRIS should support your broader HR management vision and HCM strategy.

Step 3: Evaluate your budget and other constraints

Pricing matters, whether you’re a lean startup or a large enterprise. Before you go shopping for a global HRIS, consider your budget and how it aligns with your growth plans. Consider not just the software’s cost but also the time savings and enhanced employee performance it can deliver.

Step 4: Weigh your options

Compare the best HRIS solutions side-by-side. Look at their features, integrations, customer support, and user experience. Shortlist the vendors that meet your specific needs and consider requesting demos to test their functionalities firsthand. Below, we’ll explore some of the top offerings in the global HRIS market.

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6 best global HRIS systems

Below are six global HRIS solutions that frequently top the charts. Each offers unique strengths and specialized tools for different HR needs, industries, and business types.

Rippling

Rippling is an all-in-one global HRIS platform that combines HR, payroll, benefits administration, a wide range of integrations, and more, with a customizable, easy-to-use interface, compliance management, and other key features to support your organization’s global expansion. Rippling is the only HRIS that can support your workforce in the US and around the globe by bringing all their data into a single system that’s natively built from the ground up, so you can automate manual tasks, eliminate compliance errors, and give employees access to information they need—no matter where they are.

At Rippling, every product is built in-house and designed to seamlessly share data—including third-party apps—giving you a single source of truth and a complete view of your organization across borders. 

Routine workflows—like onboarding new hires—are automated out of the box, helping your team save valuable time and reduce potentially costly errors. You can also build custom automations for your unique needs. Trigger workflows using any data in Rippling, like time off requests or employee start dates. Unlike other HRIS solutions, Rippling can take advanced actions, and you can build automations without knowing how to code.

Rippling is also easy to use, with a modern, intuitive experience for both administrators and employees. Empower your entire org to access the resources they need—from company information and documents to work apps—with advanced search functionality and a convenient mobile app.

Key features:

• Single source of truth for global employee data

• Natively built platform

• Build custom automations based on any data in Rippling

• Robust reporting and analytics

• Secure data sharing with granular access controls and role-based permissions

• Modern, intuitive user interface

• Mobile app with employee self-service tools

• 600+ integrations with third-party apps

Workday

Workday offers a scalable HRIS with advanced reporting capabilities—in fact, its emphasis on workforce analytics can help businesses gain deeper insights and make it simpler to understand workforce trends, forecast hiring needs, and maintain compliance, even as your organization’s global footprint expands.

Key features:

• Centralized global employee records

• Advanced analytics and dashboards for strategic workforce planning

• Configurable workflows to meet specific global HR needs

• Built-in compliance and regulatory support

• Integrations with other HR tools and systems

BambooHR

BambooHR is known for its user-friendly design and straightforward functionality, making it a common choice among organizations that want a simple, intuitive global HRIS. Its clean interface and easy navigation can help handle essential HR tasks, from document management to performance reviews, without a steep learning curve.

Key features:

• Intuitive interface with minimal setup time

• Easy data imports and exports

• Streamlined onboarding tools and self-service portals

• Mobile-friendly design for global teams on the go

• Integrations with other tools, like benefits administration and performance management

UKG Pro

UKG Pro offers a comprehensive set of core HR features with a platform approach that includes a built-in HRIS. It’s designed for organizations seeking an end-to-end solution with strong tools for global compliance, employee engagement, and strategic talent planning, all under one hood.

Key features:

• Full-spectrum HCM with HRIS, payroll, and benefits administration

• Multi-country compliance support for diverse workforces

• Advanced employee engagement and feedback tools

• Succession planning and performance analytics for long-term workforce growth

• Highly configurable workflows to adapt to local practices

ADP Workforce Now

ADP Workforce Now is a legacy offering in the HR space, offering an HRIS that’s widely recognized for its robust global payroll and compliance capabilities. Its focus on standardization and integration makes it a common choice for organizations that value consistency and a well-established brand in HR technology.

Key features:

• Comprehensive employee data management

• Strong compliance framework with up-to-date regulatory tracking

• Integrated global payroll functionalities for multi-country operations

• Scalable features for organizations at various growth stages

• Secure, cloud-based infrastructure

Deel

Deel specializes in international hiring and compliance, making it a common choice for organizations looking to expand overseas. Its HRIS concentrates on simplifying cross-border complexities—like international onboarding that reduces the administrative burden on HR teams.

Key features:

• Global onboarding workflows and employee self-service tools

• Support for multiple currencies and localized payment methods

• Compliance resources for various international markets

• Document management for cross-border employment

• Reporting tools for informed decision-making

Frequently asked questions about global HRIS systems

How can a global HRIS help with employee management in different countries?

A global HRIS centralizes workforce data, which can help your HR team streamline and automate tasks like onboarding, performance reviews, and benefits administration. Acting as a single source of truth for employee information, the HRIS helps improve employee management, regardless of location.

How is a global HRIS different from an employer of record (EOR)?

A global HRIS (Human Resource Information System) and an Employer of Record (EOR) serve distinct but complementary roles in managing a global workforce. A global HRIS is a software platform that centralizes employee data and streamlines the HR process. An EOR is a service provider that acts as the legal employer for employees in a specific country or region on behalf of a client company. This arrangement allows companies to expand internationally without establishing a local legal entity. The EOR manages their employment-related HR tasks like payroll, benefits administration, and compliance with local tax and labor laws.