A human resources management system (HRMS) or Human Resources Information System (HRIS) or Human Capital Management (HCM) is a form of Human Resources (HR) software that combines a number of systems and processes to ensure the easy management of human resources, business processes and data. Human resources software is used by businesses to combine a number of necessary HR functions, such as storing employee data, managing payroll, recruitment, benefits administration (total rewards), time and attendance, employee performance management, and tracking competency and training records.
A human resources management system ensures everyday human resources processes are manageable and easy to access. The field merges human resources as a discipline and, in particular, its basic HR activities and processes with the information technology field. This software category is analogous to how data processing systems evolved into the standardized routines and packages of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. On the whole, these ERP systems have their origin from software that integrates information from different applications into one universal database. The linkage of financial and human resource modules through one database creates the distinction that separates an HRMS, HRIS, or HCM system from a generic ERP solution.