HRIS System Features You’re Underusing

Many small and mid-sized businesses use a Human Resources Information System (HRIS) every day without realizing how much more value it could provide. Payroll gets processed, employees get paid, and HR keeps moving. But beneath the surface, powerful features often go untouched, limiting efficiency, visibility, and support.

This blog takes a closer look at commonly underused HRIS system capabilities and how they can help businesses operate more smoothly, including:

• Hiring and applicant tracking tools that reduce manual work
• Timekeeping and payroll integrations that improve accuracy
• Employee and manager self-service features that cut down on interruptions
• Reporting and analytics that surface workforce trends early

Understanding what your HRIS system can do is the first step toward using it more effectively. Let’s start with the hiring features many businesses overlook.

Which HRIS System Hiring Feature is Most Commonly Overlooked?

Most businesses underuse the hiring tools built into their HRIS system, especially applicant tracking and the handoff from hiring to onboarding. 

Many SMBs treat recruiting as a standalone task, separate from payroll and HR administration. That mindset leads teams to rely on email inboxes, spreadsheets, and ad hoc workflows, even though their HRIS system already includes tools designed to handle the entire hiring lifecycle more efficiently.

Where Limited HRIS System Usage Leads to Hiring Breakdown

An HRIS system with built-in applicant tracking centralizes recruiting activity and reduces friction across every stage of hiring. When those features go unused, common problems tend to surface:

• Job postings are scattered across multiple platforms with no single source of truth
• Candidate resumes reside in inboxes instead of a structured pipeline
• Interview notes and decisions are hard to track or revisit
• New hire information must be re-entered manually after an offer is accepted

Used properly, the HRIS system turns hiring into a structured, repeatable process instead of a one-off scramble. It also creates a clean data trail that supports consistency and documentation.

How an HRIS System Simplifies Timekeeping and Payroll Accuracy

An HRIS system reduces payroll errors and prep time by automatically connecting timekeeping, PTO, and payroll into one workflow.

Timekeeping is one of the most common sources of payroll mistakes for small and mid-sized businesses. Missed punches, manual adjustments, and last-minute corrections all increase administrative work and raise compliance risk. When time tracking lives outside your HRIS system, payroll becomes a reconciliation exercise instead of a streamlined process.

Where Manual Timekeeping Creates Risk

Without integrated timekeeping, businesses often rely on disconnected tools or paper-based processes. That approach creates several avoidable issues:

• Hours must be manually entered or imported into payroll
• PTO balances are tracked separately from worked hours
• Errors are discovered late, often after payroll is run
• Managers lack real-time visibility into attendance trends

An HRIS system with built-in timekeeping pulls hours directly into payroll, reducing handoffs and limiting opportunities for mistakes. The result is faster payroll runs with fewer corrections.

Why HRIS Integration Improves Accuracy and Efficiency

When time, attendance, and payroll are connected inside the HRIS system, calculations happen automatically using consistent rules. Over time, paid time off and pay codes are applied consistently without manual intervention. For clients using the myBBSI portal from BBSI, this integration helps support accurate pay while easing the administrative burden on internal teams.

Additionally, using the HRIS system timekeeping consistently  helps businesses stay organized, reduce rework, and approach payroll with confidence rather than urgency.

Are You Fully Using Your HRIS System’s Employee and Manager Self-Service Tools?

Employee and manager self-service tools inside your HRIS system reduce routine questions, speed up approvals, and remove HR from everyday bottlenecks.

When self-service features are underused, HR becomes a help desk for tasks the system can already handle. That slows response times and pulls focus away from higher-value work.

Employee Self-Service: Fewer Interruptions, Faster Answers

Employee self-service shifts simple, repetitive requests out of HR’s inbox. A well-used HRIS system allows employees to manage common needs on their own, including:

• Viewing and downloading pay stubs and tax documents
• Submitting and tracking PTO requests
• Updating personal data and contact information
• Reviewing benefit elections and coverage details

This reduces back-and-forth emails and gives employees immediate access to the information they need. The result is fewer interruptions and quicker resolution for everyday requests.

Manager Self-Service: Approvals Without Delays

Manager self-service tools help supervisors act without waiting on HR. Within the HRIS system, managers can:

• Approve timecards and time-off requests
• View team attendance and PTO balances
• Access basic workforce reports

What HRIS System Reporting and Analytics Can Tell You About Your Workforce

HRIS system reports surface patterns in your workforce that are easy to miss when relying on instinct or spreadsheets alone.

If you are not actively reviewing reports inside your HRIS system, you’re likely reacting to problems after they appear instead of spotting them early. Built-in dashboards and reports turn everyday HR activity into usable insight without requiring data expertise.

Reports SMBs Commonly Overlook But Benefit From Most

Most HRIS systems include ready-made reports that answer practical business questions. With a brief review cadence, you can monitor:

• Employee turnover and new-hire trends
• Overtime usage by department or role
• Attendance and PTO utilization patterns
• Benefits participation and enrollment changes

Turning Visibility Into Better Decisions

Consistent reporting helps you identify trends before they become costly issues.

For example, rising overtime may signal understaffing, while increased PTO usage could indicate burnout risk. For clients using the myBBSI portal from BBSI, HRIS system analytics support more informed staffing, scheduling, and policy decisions without adding administrative work.

Get More From Your HRIS System With BBSI

An HRIS system is most valuable when used as a connected platform instead of just a payroll tool. From hiring and timekeeping to self-service and reporting, these features help reduce administrative strain, improve accuracy, and support better decision-making. When underused, businesses often spend more time reacting than planning.

If you are a BBSI client, these capabilities are already available through your myBBSI portal. 

To ensure you are getting the most out of your BBSI partnership, consider reviewing how you currently use your HRIS system and where there could be room to do more. 

Your local BBSI representative can help you explore tools you may not be fully leveraging today.

Quick Summary

Many businesses use an HRIS system primarily for payroll while overlooking features that support hiring, timekeeping, self-service, and workforce insights. This blog highlights commonly underused HRIS system tools and explains how they can help reduce administrative friction, improve accuracy, and support better decision-making. It is designed to help existing BBSI clients get more value from the myBBSI portal they already use.