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Summary – Faced with the risk of vendor lock-in, costly integrations, and captive data, a Swiss HRIS requirements document must define a modular functional scope (Core HR, time/absences, ATS, LMS, workflows, reporting), guarantee API-first interoperability (REST/GraphQL, SCIM, SSO), and ensure LPD/GDPR compliance with sovereign hosting. It must include an MVP with quick ROI and a technical and contractual reversibility plan covering SLAs, penalty-free exports, and escrow clauses.
Solution: adopt RACI governance, standardize open formats, and manage your HRIS project with user stories to secure it.
In an environment where Human Resources Information System (HRIS) projects serve as a key performance lever for Swiss companies with more than 50 employees, the challenge is to establish a rigorous requirements document ensuring openness, interoperability and reversibility, while limiting the risks of vendor lock-in, costly integrations and captive data.
By precisely structuring your needs around the Core HR, time & attendance, expense reporting, Applicant Tracking System (ATS), Learning Management System (LMS) and reporting modules, you can effectively weigh build versus buy decisions and lay a sustainable foundation for future evolution. This article details the essential elements to include in your Swiss HRIS requirements document in order to control your data and contracts, while planning an MVP trajectory with a rapid ROI.
Define an Open, Modular Functional Scope
The requirements document must cover all essential business components without resorting to a monolithic block. Each module—Core HR, time & attendance, expense reporting, recruitment, training, evaluations, workflows and reporting—must be capable of operating autonomously or in an integrated manner.
The Core HR scope encompasses employee management, contracts, positions and organizational charts. It serves as the single source of truth for all HR data, on which the other modules rely to ensure consistency and reliability.
The time & attendance functionality should include tracking of working hours, statutory leave and absences for illness or training, with flexible approval rules. This component must interface with a time clock or a third-party attendance system.
The expense reporting module should offer quick mobile entry, an approval workflow configured according to the organizational chart, and automated export to accounting. Speed and usability drive user adoption.
Core HR and Time Management Scope
The Core HR module must allow for historical archiving of contractual data, rights management and change traceability. Every change (promotion, departure, internal transfer) must be timestamped and auditable.
For work-time tracking, a configurable module that accommodates Swiss legal rules (part-time, overtime, compensatory rest) is essential. It should also record indirect project-related hours.
Seamless integration with external time-clock terminals ensures real-time synchronization of attendance and visibility of on-site or remote workforce availability.
Recruitment and Training
The Applicant Tracking System must manage the entire candidate lifecycle—from job postings to onboarding—while generating reports on recruitment time and application sources.
The Learning Management System should support e-learning content, scheduling of in-person sessions and skills tracking. Workflows for mandatory training must be automated.
Linking the ATS and LMS enables rapid identification of internal mobility paths, boosting employability and employee satisfaction.
Workflows, E-Signatures and Reporting
Validation workflows—hiring, departures, leave requests or expense claims—must be configurable by business function and hierarchy, with automated notifications.
Electronic signatures should be natively integrated, ensuring compliance with European and Swiss standards (eIDAS certificates, SuisseID) with timestamping and audit trails.
Analytical reporting must offer self-service HR dashboards, exportable in CSV or JSON. Key KPIs include turnover, average time to hire and absenteeism rate.
Example: A financial services firm in Romandy defined a modular HRIS scope, deploying Core HR and time management first, then adding the ATS. This phased approach reduced integration complexity by 30% and accelerated business-user adoption.
Ensure Data Interoperability and Portability
An API-first architecture and open standards are essential to avoid vendor lock-in and support future growth. Provisioning mechanisms, SSO protocols and open export formats enable smooth data flow between systems.
An API-first approach mandates the provision of RESTful or GraphQL endpoints for all HR entities, from employees to expense transactions. Each service must document its endpoints using OpenAPI.
The SCIM protocol ensures automatic provisioning and deprovisioning of user accounts in AD or Azure AD. Webhooks enable real-time reactions to HR events (hire, exit, transfer).
SSO via SAML or OpenID Connect centralizes authentication, reduces password management overhead and enhances security. Teams can enforce uniform 2FA or MFA policies.
API-First and SCIM Provisioning
The requirements document must specify CRUD API availability for each HR resource (employee, position, leave). Endpoints should support pagination, filtering and partial updates (PATCH).
SCIM 2.0 implementation is required to synchronize user accounts and groups with the corporate directory, ensuring that each user has appropriate rights without manual intervention.
Webhooks must cover critical events—new hire, role change, account deletion—so downstream systems (employee portal, document management, ERP) can respond immediately.
SSO (SAML/OIDC) and Directory Synchronization
Standardized SSO reduces user friction and strengthens access control. The requirements document should specify the use of SAML metadata or OpenID Connect discovery.
AD/Azure AD directory synchronization leverages existing groups for HRIS permissions management, avoiding manual profile duplication.
An identity broker can simplify the integration of external providers (vendor portal, third-party LMS) while centralizing security policies.
Open Formats and Data Migration
Exports must be available in CSV, JSON or Parquet, with a public schema and field documentation. These formats ensure accessibility without vendor dependency.
The migration plan should include a full initial data dump, followed by incremental synchronizations before cutover. Recovery time objectives must be defined in the SLA to prevent any HR blackout.
The requirements document must mandate a versioned data schema to anticipate structural changes and facilitate auditing.
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Security, Compliance and Swiss-Sovereign Hosting
The HRIS handles highly sensitive personal data and must comply with the Swiss Federal Data Protection Act (DPA) 2023 and the GDPR for EU-based employees. Sovereign cloud hosting and encryption measures ensure data integrity, availability and confidentiality.
The new DPA 2023 requires data minimization, a processing register and defined retention periods. Sensitive HR or health data must receive enhanced protections.
The GDPR applies to any employee based in the EU or engaged by an EU member state. The requirements document must cover access, rectification and erasure rights via dedicated APIs or a self-service portal.
Swiss hosting with a provider certified to ISO 27001 or equivalent meets sovereignty and availability requirements. Data centers must be located in Switzerland or, under strict contractual terms, within the EEA.
Swiss DPA 2023 and GDPR for HR
The document must list categories of personal data (identity, contact details, contracts, sensitive data) and justify each processing activity. Legal retention periods must be clearly stated.
The processing register should be automatically populated by the HRIS, easing internal and external audits. Incident notification workflows must comply with legal deadlines (72 hours for GDPR).
GDPR rights (right to be forgotten, data portability, objection) require secure APIs or forms to respond within the 30-day statutory period.
Encryption, Logging and Access Control
The requirements document must mandate data encryption at rest (AES-256) and in transit (minimum TLS 1.3), with key management via an HSM or certified KMS.
Secure logging of access and critical actions (exports, schema changes, data deletions) must be immutable and retained according to a defined schedule.
Access rights must follow the principle of least privilege, with periodic recertification and automated approval workflows.
Reversibility Plan and Contracts
The technical reversibility plan must include a full data dump, schema delivery and restoration scripts, with contractual delivery timelines.
Commercial reversibility requires a penalty-free export clause and, if needed, source code escrow for bespoke components.
Contracts must define SLAs (uptime, MTTR, support) and penalties for non-compliance. Security commitments (ISO, SOC 2) should be annexed.
Example: A Swiss continuing education provider chose sovereign cloud hosting and added a quarterly export clause. After a DPA audit, the ability to deliver a complete data dump and detailed schema demonstrated full data control and reassured international partners.
Governance, Contracts and MVP Roadmap
Clear governance and contract commitments aligned with business strategy ensure project sustainability. An MVP roadmap prioritizing 3–5 high-ROI use cases validates the approach before expanding the scope.
The project governance should leverage personas and a RACI matrix defining responsibilities and stakeholders for each deliverable. A user-story backlog with acceptance criteria guides development and testing.
The integration matrix catalogs target systems (payroll, finance, document management, time clocks), data flows and tracking KPIs, facilitating coordination between IT, business and vendors.
The data migration plan includes a data quality audit, field mapping and cleansing scripts to ensure integrity at go-live.
Data Ownership and Open-Source Licensing
The requirements document must specify that the company retains ownership of HR data and that any custom development is transferred without restriction.
Open-source components should use permissive licenses (MIT, Apache 2.0). Any dependency on a restrictive license must be explicitly justified by a use case.
Custom code documentation and version control via Git ensure traceability and long-term maintainability.
SLAs, MTTR and Export Clauses
SLAs must cover availability (99.5%+), support response times (business hours or 24/7) and MTTR for each incident type.
Penalty-free export clauses and source-escrow options reinforce the project’s legal and technical security.
The requirements document should specify delivery milestones, acceptance procedures and success criteria (adoption rates, HR processing times, payroll error reduction).
MVP Strategy and Iterations
The MVP focuses on 3–5 critical use cases (hiring, leave management, basic reporting) to deliver value quickly and secure funding.
Quarterly sprints include backlog reviews, business demos and retrospectives to adjust priorities based on field feedback.
The total cost of ownership (TCO) covers build, run and ongoing enhancements, providing a clear financial outlook to anticipate future needs.
Example: A Swiss industrial group launched an MVP covering hiring, time tracking and minimal reporting in six weeks. After validating with pilot users, quarterly iterations added the ATS and training modules, while keeping the TCO on track.
Building an Open, Controlled and Reversible HRIS
A requirements document structured around a modular scope, API-first demands, interoperability standards and compliance guarantees helps you avoid vendor lock-in, secure your data and prepare for both technical and contractual reversibility.
Governance by personas and RACI, a user-story backlog, an integration matrix and an MVP roadmap ensure a fast, adaptable ROI trajectory. SLA, export and archiving clauses complete your investment protection.
Our experts support you at every stage—from strategic framing to open architecture—favoring proven open-source components and bespoke developments where they deliver a competitive edge.
