Oracle HR Software Review

Oracle HR Software Evaluation

Oracle Human Resources Software Review

The Oracle Fusion HCM application suite is made up of 3 distinct offerings (Core HR/System of Record, Talent Management and Business Intelligence), that together count 13 separate software modules. The Core HCM/System of Record includes the modules of Global Human Resources, Global Payroll, Global Payroll Interface, Benefits, and Workforce Lifecycle Manager. Talent Management houses Incentive Compensation; Performance Management; Workforce Compensation; Network at Work; Goal Management; and Talent Review. And finally, Business Intelligence includes the modules of Transactional BI for Human Capital Management and Workforce Predictions.

While each of these Human Resource software modules delivers significant functionality, the fact that Oracle has segmented certain functions like payroll (Global Payroll/Payroll Interface); compensation management (Workforce Compensation/Incentive Compensation); and employee performance (Performance Management/Goal Management) may suggest a disconnect from customer needs and an unnecessarily complex or even game-driven process for software pricing and deployment.

Global HR
The functionality captured in this Human Resource software module is a fairly basic version of the "system of record"; delivering a simple system to plan, hire, manage and analyze the workforce by consolidating headcount, positions, budgets, and costs; and providing flexible modeling support for global (or segmented) companies in both standardized and shared employment structures. However, this application offers one of the more innovative Oracle Fusion HCM solutions, which is the re-conceptualization of self-service. Interestingly, the Fusion HCM software doesn't even call it self-service; perhaps because the software appears to have been built from the ground up to handle the unique roles within an organization, including that of self-service. So, rather than self-service being limited to managing human resource data, the Fusion HCM software ties that self-service to everything from skills assessment to mentoring and from networking to organizational charting—delivering a newer transformational type of self-service rather than focusing solely on the transactional nature of employee data access.
Global Payroll
The Oracle payroll software is basic but broad, allowing for global processes to be streamlined into a single application. The flexible global rules engine powers out-of-the-box native payroll capability (including best practices, workflow automation and regulatory requirements) for multiple countries. International capabilities however are handled through the additional purchase of the Global Payroll Interface and the International Payroll Kit.
Benefits Administration
Much like the other core HR software modules, benefits software doesn't reach best-in-class, but the feature-set does allow for defining, managing and presenting the full spectrum of benefits in a single and somewhat flexible application. Multiple plans and options can be designed and configurable rules can be created to assign eligibility/costs, and HR events impacting benefits eligibility can be processed automatically. Fusion Cloud Connect for Benefits provides the added functionality of pre-integrating Fusion HCM to an company's choice of providers.
Compensation Management
Key features of the Oracle Fusion HCM Compensation software include the allocation of multiple types (and currencies) of compensation; the distribution of budgets (including amounts and targets) to managers or employees; the creation of allocation models; the processing of dynamic calculations; the creation of summary analytics; and the ability for compensation management configurations to be triggered by either plan or end-user personalization. The total compensation views for an employee or group of employees can occur simultaneously, regardless of geographic location or pay package components. As such, this module delivers some of the HR software industry's most robust compensation capabilities—particularly in terms of the embedded analytics. However, as mentioned previously the segmentation of Incentive Compensation adds an unnecessary layer into the compensation management mix.
Performance Management
This Oracle HR software module offers the feature-sets of employee and leader assessments; mid-year and annual reviews; and calculated templates for point-in-time worker performance evaluations. While customers do have the ability to configure the performance process to match business practices, software functionality is limited in this module, especially if the Goal Management module is not also purchased. A major issue with this Oracle Fusion HCM functionality is that Goal Management handles goal assignments, goal sharing (including linkages to collaboration tools), organizational alignment, goal weightings, development plans, and integration with a goal library, but lacks the formality of a singular performance management system. That said, partnering these two HR software modules does yield a uniquely robust performance system.
Talent Review
Another unique area of the Oracle Fusion HCM software, Talent Review offers the functionality of a 9-box talent review; risk of loss (turnover); performance rating history; and compensation analytics—all as methods to automate the normally manual (and often labor intensive) talent review pass through an interactive dashboard. Aside from streamlining this process, dashboard feature sets provide actionable decision capabilities—such as assigning tasks to staff or managers for follow-up and integrated links back to performance, development and compensation.
Workforce Directory Management
The Oracle Workforce Directory Management software graphical organizational chart delivers an integrated view of information related to an employee with an extremely user friendly interface. A powerful keyword search provides access to a 360 degree view of the employee and provides both personal (name, address, contact details, etc) and professional details (supervisor, department, role, competencies, etc.), which collectively create the employee profile. This HR software module also offers the connectors needed to synchronize an existing core HR system with Fusion Talent Management applications.