Why HR systems fail at policy management

For a full overview, please see our complete guide to policy management software.

HR software and solutions such as BrightHR and BambooHR pack in many capabilities that meet a variety of use cases. Understandably HR teams capitalise on many of these features to make the HR system the one source of truth for employee records and data, as well as HR policies.

Initially this might seem a convenient and cost-effective solution for managing policies. However, as business grow and compliance needs change and become more complex with regulators and ISO standards in the mix, using a system such as BreatheHR for policy management becomes increasingly unrealistic.

In this article we’re going to explore why HR systems aren’t really cut out for policy management beyond the very basic. We’ll look some of the gaps which can ultimately lead to compliance issues, and why sometimes it may be necessary to introduce a dedicated policy management solution such as Xoralia.

Why Companies Start with HR Systems

Businesses invest in HR systems because they deliver critical capabilities such as storing employee data, dealing with leave requests, recording absence and more. Over the years competition in the sector has meant that many HR systems have expanded to incorporate additional HR-focused features, such as applicant tracking, payroll and a knowledgebase or policy management feature. Increasingly companies procure an HR system that is marketed as an all-in-one platform.

These HR systems really can make sense, particularly for smaller business. An all-in-one HR platform means it is easy to adopt these additional features, while it is also cost-effective as there is no need to procure a separate solution for the capabilities covered. So far, so good. However, a consistent story we hear from both customers and prospects is that in practice the features within an HR system around policy management short fall of what is needed. They simply do not cut the mustard, mainly because of a number of missing features.

Where HR Systems Fall Short for Policy Management

No support for policy lifestyle management

Most HR systems that house policies offer only static document storage - effectively a relatively basic document library. But actually, policies need active management through their lifecycle with a set process involving drafting, reviews by appropriate stakeholders, publishing, updates, and ultimately archiving. This process is important to manage to ensure policies are regularly updated and involve the right experts, otherwise they will go out of date or will lack credibility.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to manage policies through their lifecycle properly without effective workflows, defined roles at each stage to support accountability, robust version controls and more, none of which appear in most HR systems. You need more than basic document storage.

Lack of Attestations and Acknowledgements

A key compliance requirement is to demonstrate that policies are being read, understood, and accepted by employees. This is usually essential for businesses looking for ISO certification or to pass regulatory audits. The best way to achieve this is through employee attestation, a process where an employee digitally acknowledges that they have read and accept or understood a policy.

However, HR systems rarely track "who has read and signed" policies and lack in-built employee attestation features and the related reporting. In turn, this creates a compliance risk. Sometimes compliance or HR teams try to arrange attestation manually through spreadsheets and email - but this is extremely time-consuming, inefficient, and unlikely to impress the auditors.

Limited Reporting and Audit Trails for ISO Compliance and More

Regulators, certification bodies, and other auditors require robust reporting around access to policies, attestations and more, as well as audit trails around the creation and updating of policies and any configurations to the system. However, many HR systems provide only surface-level reporting - for example telling you when a policy was uploaded into the system - and little more. This means there is usually not enough evidence to prove compliance during audits for standards such as ISO 27001 - and similarly no evidence trails for auditors.

Weak Integration with Microsoft 365

Many smaller companies and their employees spend much of their working day in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams. Most HR systems have either limited or no integration with Microsoft 365 meaning that HR platforms - and any policies that are stored within them - remain siloed.

Siloed policies are unlikely to be found through a Microsoft search, and they also cannot be easily integrated into daily workflows that might be delivered through Teams or Outlook. The result is that policies are harder to find, inconvenient to access, and more likely to be ignored.

Compliance Demands That HR Systems Can’t Meet

When you go through an audit or certification process then you need to demonstrate a comprehensive, robust, and well-adopted approach to policy management. Ad hoc, informal, manual, and half-hearted approaches simply won’t cut it. You also need to show good adoption of any system in place.

For example, for ISO 9001 or ISO 27001 auditors will expect proper version control and employee attestations in place. They are then also going to want to actually see good adoption of attestations. Organisations in regulated sectors such as financial services or healthcare where there are stringent compliance requirements are also going to want to demonstrate clear audit trails for policy updates and system changes. If you only have an HR system in place like BambooHR or BreatheHR then the policy management features are not going to be enough to satisfy the audit.

The Alternative: Dedicated Policy Management Software

When your HR system is no longer fit for purpose for policy management or supporting compliance, it may be the right time to look at a dedicated policy management solution that will store policies and deliver all the reporting you need to support compliance needs. Here it is advisable to try and find a solution that has been built from the ground-up to deliver policy management at scale, rather than where it is an add-on module to a wider suite of either HR or governance tools and less fully featured.

Must-have policy management features to look for

When looking for a dedicated policy management solution here are some of the critical features to look for:

Why Companies Choose Xoralia

More customers are turning to Xoralia as their policy management solution of choice. There are several ways that Xoralia differentiates itself from other dedicated policy management software solutions:

Quick Comparison: HR Systems vs Policy Management Software