HRMS Mobility & Data Security: Can You Have Both?

If you’re in the market for a new HRMS these days, you’ll notice that most vendors offer mobile features as a part of the HRMS. Employees and managers are clamoring for more of this functionality, but are there any dangers? Can you really use HRMS on the go on multiple devices and still maintain a secure data system?

Recommended Reading: HRMS Software Guide - Find the HRMS Software Offering Mobile Capabilities and Data Security

Mobile applications are no longer the wild, wild west. Conducting transactions via mobile is a part of daily life these days, such as viewing your salary payment in your bank account or making a mortgage payment. Why should mobile HRMS data be any different? A manager should have the flexibility and convenience of reviewing employee salaries while on the go as well as approving a salary increase or bonus payment.

How to Have Both

Most HRMS today, in particular the newest generation of HR cloud providers, will offer the same robust technical setup options as you’d have in an online banking system to ensure data security. Often, these applications tend to exist under an additional layer of security due to their cloud setup, so are more secured than some of your in-house data solutions.

Basic rules and common sense still needs to exist however; when enabling mobile HRMS. Are your employees password savvy and aware of basic mobile device protocol? Do you have policies in place in the event that a phone is lost or stolen? How quickly can you mobilize resources to disable the phone from any malevolent attempts of entry? Even the most secure app is vulnerable if your employee leaves their device logged into an app while not at hand.

Your HRMS should not be viewed by employees and managers as a dinosaur, or a fortress than can only be accessed from inside the company’s walls.”

In addition to the ‘outside’ threats, you also need to have strong internal processes if you release the HRMS to mobile access. Many years ago, an employee could only reach the HRMS when sitting in front of a desktop attached to a network cable, and the employee’s access was non-existent once the employee was terminated and left the building. Now, the door to mobile HRMS can potentially remain open indefinitely unless you have strong procedures in place to handle that termination and disable the user account. It’s an additional process that must be more strictly adhered to than in the past, but a small price to pay for the enhanced mobile HRMS data experienced in mobile device access.