Navigating the HRIS Marketplace


Brett Ungashick
Last Updated: 4 months ago

Embarking on the journey to select the right HR Tech for your organization can be a complex process, but OutSail's HRIS Marketplace is designed to simplify this journey by providing a wealth of data and insights to inform your decision. This article will guide you on how to navigate the HRIS Marketplace effectively, understand vendor profiles, and make the most of the data presented.

Home Screen: The Heat Map

Upon entering the HRIS Marketplace, you'll be greeted by the Heat Map - a comprehensive summary table showcasing the most suitable HRIS solutions for your needs. The Heat Map ranks the top 12 vendors using OutSail's HRIS Match Score, a proprietary algorithm based on three critical components:

  • Size Match & Scalability: Ensuring the system works well for your current size and anticipates future growth.

  • Feature Match: Assessing if the vendor offers the modules you need.

  • Characteristic Match: Evaluating if the vendor's strengths align with your project goals.

Views: Different Lenses to Explore Vendors

OutSail offers six distinct views to analyze the HRIS Marketplace from various perspectives:

  1. Heatmap: Summarizes the top vendors based on the OutSail Match Score.

  2. Size Match & Scalability: Visualizes your current and projected headcount against each vendor's average customer size, helping you identify the most suitable solutions for both today and the future.

  3. Feature Match: Displays must-have and nice-to-have modules against each vendor's offerings, confirming feature availability.

  4. Characteristic Match: Aligns your primary and secondary project goals with each vendor's strengths, ensuring a good match.

  5. Pros & Cons: Offers insights into each platform's strengths and weaknesses based on continuous market research, aiding in a more informed decision-making process.

  6. Table View: Compiles all views into a comprehensive table, allowing for a holistic comparison across multiple criteria.

To further hone in on the most relevant vendors, OutSail provides filters based on your specific needs:

Visibility Filters

These filters manage which vendors are visible based on your selection criteria:

  • Top Vendors: Shows vendors with the highest match score for your criteria, serving as the default view.

  • All Vendors: Displays every HRIS vendor available in the OutSail marketplace.

  • Show Shortlist: Reveals only the vendors you have added to your shortlist with a ❤️.

Characteristics Filters

These filters allow you to refine vendor lists based on specific operational characteristics:

  • Globally Capable: Toggles the visibility of vendors that support multinational customers.

  • Payroll Optional: Shows vendors that do not require a payroll migration.

  • PEO Vendors: Displays vendors that are certified Professional Employer Organizations.

  • Boutique Vendors: Highlights smaller, regional HRIS vendors known for cost efficiency and personalized service.

  • Specialty Vendors: Filters vendors capable of compliantly processing payroll for the cannabis industry.

Compatibility Filters

These filters help eliminate vendors based on insufficient match scores:

  • Poor Size Match: Hides vendors that scored a 1 or 2 in Size Match & Scalability.

  • Poor Feature Match: Hides vendors that scored a 1 or 2 in Feature Match.

  • Poor Characteristic Match: Hides vendors that scored a 1 or 2 in Characteristic Match.

Interaction and Hierarchy of Filters

The interaction and hierarchy of these filters are designed to provide a flexible yet intuitive way to navigate through vendor options:

  • Top-Level Control: Visibility filters (Show all vendors, show shortlist, show top vendors) hold top-level control. Selecting one of these will override any lower hierarchy filters currently applied.

  • Filter Layering: Upon selecting a Visibility filter, adding any Characteristics or Compatibility filter will override the Visibility setting. Filters within these categories layer on top of each other to further narrow down the list.

Sorting: Prioritizing Your Criteria

OutSail enables you to sort the HRIS marketplace according to various priorities:

  1. Match Score: The default setting, using OutSail's comprehensive matching algorithm.

  2. Size Match & Scalability: Focuses on vendors suited to your company's size and growth trajectory.

  3. Feature Match: Highlights vendors that offer all required modules.

  4. Characteristic Match: Prioritizes vendors aligned with your project goals.

  5. Software Costs: Orders vendors by the lowest annual software fees.

  6. Implementation Costs: Sorts vendors by the lowest setup fees.

As you navigate the HRIS Marketplace, you can adjust your Project Scope & Project Goals to explore how different settings impact the results. This flexibility allows you to continuously refine your search criteria based on evolving needs or new insights.


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