Figures vs. HRIS: Why You Need a Dedicated Compensation Tool

An HRIS is an essential tool for managing core HR processes like payroll, employee data management, benefits administration and more. But, when it comes to highly specialised functions like compensation management, these tools often fall short. 

In some ways, it makes sense to use one piece of software for all HR-related tasks — and compensation management does fall under that umbrella. But the truth is, most HRIS platforms lack the nuance and flexibility that’s needed for effective compensation planning, analysis and reporting. 

In this article, we’ll argue that compensation is too important a function to be handled by a one-size-fits-all solution like an HRIS. We’ll explore how using a tool like Figures — integrated with your HRIS — allows you to get the best of both worlds, balancing streamlined HR operations with the depth and precision needed to develop and deploy effective compensation strategies. 

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Refresher: What is an HRIS?

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An HRIS, or ‘human resource information system’, is a software tool designed to collect, manage and store information about employees. HR teams use HRIS software to streamline, simplify and automate a range of different HR tasks, which can save them significant time and resources. 

Today, some HRIS tools offer modules for specialised functions like compensation management, which may be available for purchase as an add-on. However, these are typically built around an inflexible, one-size-fits-all approach and lack the nuance needed to accurately and effectively manage compensation. 

Organisations that try to use their HRIS alone to manage compensation may end up constrained by these limitations. This can result in inefficient processes and missed opportunities, and ultimately harm the integrity of your compensation strategy. 

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Figures vs. HRIS tools: 5 reasons you need dedicated compensation management software

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Figures is an all-in-one compensation management suite that combines several key functionalities related to compensation in one intuitive platform. Unlike HRIS tools, which are primarily designed for record-keeping, tools like Figures are specifically designed to help employers make effective, data-backed decisions about compensation. Read on to learn why you should use a tool like Figures over the compensation module of your HRIS. 

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1. Integrated market benchmarking data 

Most HRIS tools can only provide salary insights generated from their own system. But when you use Figures to manage your compensation, you’ll get access to over 330k data points, making it easy to benchmark your salaries against the market. 

Our salary data is imported directly from our clients’ HRIS platforms and goes through several validation stages to ensure it’s accurate. Because it’s updated every day, it’s about as close to ‘real-time’ data as you can get — which means you can always be sure your positioning is where you want it, even in fast-moving industries. 

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2. Dynamic salary bands and pay structures 

While HRIS systems may have some functionality for building salary bands, they’re typically not as robust or flexible as those provided by a specialist tool. For example, Figures allows you to build a salary band structure for the entire organisation, using real-time market data from multiple sources.

Once your bands are set up, you can tailor and adjust them to ensure they’re aligned with your desired market positioning and your compensation philosophy. Having this system in place helps to streamline recruitment and salary negotiations by ensuring all pay decisions are made according to clear and consistent criteria. 

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3. Secure and controlled collaboration

While your compensation strategy may be owned by HR, it probably involves a lot of different people. For example, in most organisations, compensation changes involve input from the manager of the employee concerned, and may also need validation from several other parties. 

The problem is, HRIS software is generally not set up for structured collaboration. Figures, on the other hand, provides granular permissions and controlled access, making it easy to give managers access to the information they need without compromising the confidentiality of your overall pay structure. 

This is coupled with intuitive and clear workflows, automated reminders and centralised dashboards that make it easy for managers to provide their input based on data-backed recommendations and insights. 

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4. Pay transparency and compliance

With new pay transparency legislation on the horizon, employers need to be absolutely sure that their pay structures, processes and decisions are fair and effective. And unfortunately, we don’t think HRIS compensation add-ons are capable of meeting that standard. 

HRIS tools lack the reporting capabilities to proactively spot pay gaps and ensure compliance — meaning they could put your business at risk. Unlike these tools, Figures was built specifically to adapt dynamically to new regulations and includes all the reporting and analytics features you need to stay ahead. 

For example, Figures can help you identify emerging pay gaps so you can correct them before they come up in an external audit or mandatory report. Our tool also creates a detailed record of every pay decision, giving you an audit-ready paper trail to refer back to when you need it.

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5. Specific expertise in compensation 

While some HRIS tools do now include tools related to compensation, their fundamental focus is on storing and processing data. Figures, on the other hand, was built for dynamic compensation decision-making. Specifically, our platform was created to fill a gap spotted by our founder during his years as an HR leader. 

Our software is not an afterthought or an additional nice-to-have — it’s a purpose-built suite of tools, optimised for exceptional performance. Instead of providing cookie-cutter, out-of-the-box solutions, it’s designed to handle complex, real-world compensation challenges, backed up by our expert team. 

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What about other software with in-built compensation tools?

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In addition to HRIS tools, we’re beginning to see compensation modules added to another category of software: performance management platforms. And this makes some sense: after all, compensation is closely tied to performance in most organisations. 

However, while these tools may allow for basic salary adjustments based on performance ratings, they can’t incorporate market data. They also lack the ability to create structured salary bands. And, like HRIS tools, they typically don’t have the reporting capabilities to identify gender pay gaps and ensure compliance with new pay transparency legislation. 

All in all, relying on these tools alone for compensation management could lead to inconsistent, unfair decisions — which is simply not acceptable in the pay transparency era. On the other hand, Figures gives you everything you need to make fair, structured salary decisions aligned with both internal pay scales and external market data. 

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The importance of strong HRIS integrations 

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Your HRIS isn’t a sufficiently robust or nuanced tool for compensation management. However, it will still play a crucial role in shaping your compensation strategy if you choose to work with Figures. 

That’s because we collect our benchmarking data through integrations with our customers’ HRIS platforms. This method ensures the data we gather is as close to the source as possible, allowing for more reliable benchmarking. And, because our data is synced with your HRIS every day, it’s always accurate and up-to-date. 

While connecting your HRIS isn’t a prerequisite to using Figures, it does give you a more streamlined and efficient process with effortless setup, greater data accuracy and enhanced security. We already have integrations with over 40 popular HR tools, including Workday, Factorial, BambooHR, HiBob and Sage HR — and we’re always working to expand our integration capabilities. 

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Questions to ask when comparing compensation management tools

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Here are some important questions to ask when comparing different tools for compensation management:

• Can the tool manage multi-budget campaigns?
• Does the tool provide visuals and data-driven recommendations?
• Does the tool allow you to benchmark using multiple reliable sources, or are you limited to one data set?
• Can the tool help you set up robust, scalable salary bands for your entire organisation?
• Does the tool provide specific access controls for secure collaboration with managers?
• Will the tool help prepare our company for upcoming pay transparency legislation?

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See Figures in action 

We truly believe Figures is the best tool on the market for fair, effective compensation… but you shouldn’t take our word for it. Sign up for a free demo to see for yourself. 

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