Top 5 Best HRIS Migration Solutions

Human Resource Information System (HRIS) migration is a high-stakes project. A successful HRIS data migration requires handling sensitive employee data, from payroll and benefits to performance history and personal information. A flawed migration can lead to data loss, compliance issues, and disruption to core HR functions.

Choosing the right HRIS migration service or tool is critical for a secure, accurate, and smooth transition. This guide explores the top 5 HRIS migration solutions to help you make the best decision for your organization.

1. ClonePartner: Engineer-Led HRIS Migration Service

A specialist, engineer-led service for custom HRIS migrations. It's particularly useful when you need to migrate complex and sensitive data, such as historical payroll, employee performance reviews, and benefits information, ensuring all relationships between records are perfectly maintained. It's the ideal choice when standard import tools can't handle the complexity of your data.

Pros:

• Delivers tailored, engineer-led migrations with precise field-level mapping and validation loops, minimizing risk across complex employee records, documents, and historical data. ClonePartner does all the heavy lifting for you.

• Designed to handle imperfect HR data with ease. Incomplete values, inconsistent formats, multilingual entries, and cross-linked records are seen as natural variations, not obstacles.

• Supports any data source or destination, whether CSV, Excel, API, or legacy HRIS platforms. ClonePartner restructures and aligns the data into the correct schema for a seamless transfer.

• Offers unlimited sample and delta migrations to fine-tune mappings, test validations, and keep your employee data current throughout the transition.

Cons:

• The process is intentionally collaborative, requiring some stakeholder alignment. But it is still faster than automated tools.

• Relies on clear communication between technical and business stakeholders to make sure every mapping reflects real-world use.

2. Relokia: Automated HRIS Migration Platform

A guided, semi-automated HRIS migration platform that supports popular HR systems. Relokia is designed for users who want a structured migration process with automated data transfers and minimal manual scripting. It's best for teams that want a self-serve solution with some guidance and visibility into the mapping process

Pros:

• Provides pre-built migration templates for well-known HR platforms, simplifying setup.

• Offers a self-service interface with chat support and test runs to preview mappings.

• They have public documentation that outlines the supported data entities, which aids in scoping your project.

Cons:

• Complex, non-standard data relationships might require professional assistance beyond what their default flows offer, which can consume more time and effort than planned.

• The public documentation can be broad, and you may need to contact support to confirm if niche data or special cases are covered.

3. OneSchema: Embeddable Data Importer

OneSchema provides an embeddable import widget that HRIS platforms can build directly into their application. It's designed to improve the customer onboarding experience by making it easier for new users to upload and validate their own employee spreadsheets into the new system.

Pros:

• Purpose built for HR data onboarding with an in-product, guided CSV importer, column mapping, and validation, so teams can launch a polished import flow fast.

• Strong security posture for sensitive employee data, including SOC 2 Type II and a published HIPAA security posture, plus SSO, RBAC, audit logging, and encryption.

Cons:

• Scope centers on spreadsheet and file-based imports, not a managed end-to-end migration service or deep API to API historical transfers.

• It is a tool for HRIS vendors to integrate, not a standalone service that an HR team can purchase to manage their entire migration project from start to finish.

4. Global HRIS: Managed HRIS Migration and Implementation Service

Global HRIS provides managed implementation and HRIS migration services for mid-sized and enterprise clients. Their team handles everything from discovery to post-migration audits, often as part of larger system rollouts.

Pros:

• Provides end-to-end project management, from system setup to post-migration validation and support.

• Offers deep expertise in specific HRIS platforms, ensuring best practices are followed during the entire implementation process.

Cons:

• Their focus is often on the broader implementation project, not just standalone, complex data migrations from legacy systems.

• Services are typically bundled, which may be less cost-effective if your only requirement is migrating existing data.

5. Native Importers: Built-in HRIS Import Tools

Most HR systems provide built-in CSV importers for basic employee data. These are helpful for simple migrations where you’re mainly bringing over core employee profiles without deep historical or payroll data.

Pros:

• Built directly into the platform, so there is no need for external tools or credentials.

• They are usually included with your HRIS subscription at no extra cost.

Cons:

• Functionality is often restricted to basic employee data and rarely supports complex historical records.

• There is a lack of flexibility and control over mapping or validation, often requiring significant manual cleanup after the import.

6. DIY: Scripted HRIS Migration Approach

This HRIS migration approach involves using your internal technical resources to export, clean, transform, and re-import your HRIS data using APIs or CSV files. It works best when you have in-house engineering expertise, flexible timelines, and a relatively straightforward dataset.

Pros:

• You have full control over the mapping and data transformation logic, deciding exactly how every record moves over.

• No external software is needed if your team already manages integrations or ETL pipelines.

Cons:

• It requires significant manual effort to maintain complex relationships and a detailed history.

• The risk of data loss or integrity issues is high without consistent testing and rollback plans, and it often leads to longer timelines.

HRIS migrations demand a balance between compliance, accuracy, and speed. Automated tools like Relokia are great for smaller datasets with standard HR models, while DIY approaches work for tech-savvy teams with time and control requirements. But for complex migrations involving payroll, benefits, or global entities, a professional engineer-led service like ClonePartner offers the safest, most reliable path with validation and data integrity checks built in.

FAQs:

1. How long does an HRIS migration take?
   The duration of an HRIS migration project depends on factors like data size, data complexity, and the number of custom fields or relationships. Small migrations can take a few hours, while enterprise-level migrations can take several weeks.

2. Can I migrate HRIS data myself?
   Yes, you can perform a DIY HRIS migration if you have in-house technical expertise and a smaller dataset. However, you’ll need to handle data exports, cleansing, and API imports manually, which increases the risk of missing relationships or data integrity issues.

3. How do I prepare for an HRIS migration?
   Start by auditing your existing HRIS data, cleaning duplicates, and ensuring fields are consistent. Next, plan your HRIS migration strategy, define mapping rules, and test with a small data sample before running the full migration.

4. How much does an HRIS migration cost?
   HRIS migration costs vary based on the tool, data volume, and level of support needed. Native imports are often free, while custom HRIS migration services can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on complexity.

5. What is the safest way to perform HRIS migration?
   The safest approach is to use a proven professional HRIS migration service that includes pre-migration analysis, sample runs, and post-migration validation to ensure complete and accurate data transfer.

6. Which HRIS platforms provide a native importer?
   Popular HRIS platforms like HiBob, BambooHR, and Deel offer built-in HRIS migration tools.