The ROI of HR tech: How to build a business case for investment

In an era of tighter budgets and heightened accountability, every investment needs to prove its worth, especially when considering human resource tools. The right platforms can transform how your organisation hires, engages and retains talent, but even the most promising solutions require a compelling case to win leadership buy-in. 

Even though the value of investing in your people is clear, it can be challenging to build a business case for HR tech investment. We’ve put together a step-by-step proposal to help you secure investment and supercharge your employee experience. You’ll learn how to:

• Measure and communicate HR software ROI (both in hard numbers and in strategic impact).
• Structure your case for maximum clarity and influence.
• Use our ready-to-go template to fast-track your proposal.

Designed for HR leaders, People and Culture teams and strategic people professionals, we’ll break down how you can connect human resources outcomes to broader business goals and speak the language of the C-suite.

Why building a business case for HR tech matters

Being able to demonstrate human resources management systems (HRIS) return on investment (ROI) is more important than ever in today’s economic climate where investments in new tools face more scrutiny than ever before. CFOs and executive teams want clear, data-backed evidence that every pound spent will deliver measurable value. For human resources leaders, that means moving beyond broad statements about ‘improving engagement’ or ‘modernising processes’ and instead presenting a tangible, credible case for change.

Gone are the days when new software could be signed off as a nice-to-have. With tighter budgets and competing priorities, HRIS needs to be positioned as a strategic, revenue-impacting necessity. Whether it’s reducing turnover costs, improving compliance or accelerating time-to-hire, you need to demonstrate how your proposed solution directly supports the company’s financial and operational goals.

The key is to build a business case for human resources tech that aligns human resources with broader organisational outcomes. When you can clearly connect technology investment to priorities like growth, profitability and risk reduction, you not only strengthen your proposal, you position human resources as a driver of business success, not just a support function.

What is HR software ROI and why it’s hard to measure

When we talk about HR software ROI, we’re talking about the value your organisation gains from investing in HRIS technology, compared to the cost of that investment. On the surface, the calculation seems straightforward; savings and benefits minus costs. In practice however, it can be more nuanced. 

A strong HR technology ROI story often includes both tangible and intangible returns. Tangible outcomes might include:

• Time saved by automating manual processes, such as payroll or onboarding.
• Fewer errors in compliance reporting or data entry.
• Better hiring decisions that reduce turnover and shorten time-to-fill.

Intangible benefits, while harder to quantify, can be equally powerful. These might include improved employee experience, stronger company culture or more informed decision-making from better human resources analytics.

This is where the challenge comes in; traditional return on investment formulas were built for straightforward financial investments, not people-focused technology. While you can measure cost reductions and efficiency gains, it’s harder to assign a dollar value to things like increased engagement or reduced burnout—yet these outcomes have a profound impact on business performance.

Understanding and communicating both sides, quantitative and qualitative, ensures your business case reflects the full value of the investment, not just the easy-to-measure metrics.

Factors to consider when investing in HR tech

Before you start building your proposal, it’s essential to step back and assess whether your organisation is ready and where the biggest opportunities for impact lie. You should consider: 

• Current pain points and inefficiencies – Identify the challenges your human resources team faces today. Are manual processes slowing down hiring? Is payroll accuracy an ongoing issue? Are compliance tasks eating up valuable time? The more specific you can be, the easier it will be to link these problems to measurable improvements with technology.
• Cost of inaction – Delaying investment has its own price tag. Extended hiring timelines, preventable compliance fines and disengaged employees can cost far more in the long run than the software itself. Including the cost of doing nothing strengthens your business case by showing the risk of maintaining the status quo.
• Hidden costs – Manual processes, poor data accuracy and the risk of non-compliance often create invisible expenses. Lost productivity, reputational damage and rework can quietly drain resources and hinder growth. These hidden costs should be part of your ROI assessment.
• Organisation size and complexity – The scale and structure of your business will influence the type of solution you need. A growing, multi-location organisation may require more advanced features, integration capabilities and compliance coverage than a smaller business.

By evaluating these factors upfront, you can ensure your investment aligns with both immediate needs and long-term business goals, making your eventual business case stronger, clearer and harder to ignore.

How to build a compelling business case for HR software

Highlighting the importance of digital transformation and building a business case for HR software isn’t just about presenting numbers, it’s about telling a story that connects human resources challenges to business-wide opportunities. This 4-step framework will help you structure your case so it’s clear, persuasive and ready for executive review.

Step 1: Define your HR and business goals

Start by identifying the outcomes you want to achieve and highlight how they align with company-wide goals and priorities. For example: 

• Retention – Reduce employee turnover and the associated recruitment costs.
• Compliance – Mitigate the risk of fines or legal disputes through automated processes.
• Diversity and inclusion – Support diversity, equity and inclusion goals with unbiased hiring tools.

By anchoring your proposal in strategic objectives, you show leadership that human resources tech isn’t just operational, it’s transformative.

Step 2: Quantify your current costs

Measure the financial and time impact of current processes. This could include looking at:

• Hours spent on manual tasks like payroll or onboarding.
• Error rates in compliance reporting or data entry.
• The cost of disengagement, absenteeism or slow hiring.

Presenting clear baseline data helps you to demonstrate exactly time or cost drains are coming from and highlight where efficiencies can be gained. 

Step 3: Estimate the benefits of HR software

This is where you highlight potential improvements. Use client success stories, industry benchmarks and insights from your downloadable resource to show what’s achievable. Benefits could include:

• Reducing payroll processing time. 
• Improving hiring speed.
• Increasing employee satisfaction scores.

Step 4: Address risks and stakeholder objections

Anticipate the concerns of your decision-makers. Common objections might include implementation costs, change management challenges or integration complexity. Address each one with data, examples and a clear plan for risk mitigation. Align your responses with business strategy so your case is seen as proactive rather than reactive.

By following this framework, you’ll move from a general request for investment to a concrete, evidence-based proposal, one that resonates with both financial and operational leaders.

Presenting your case to stakeholders

Ever heard of the saying “it’s not what you say, but how you say it”? Well to an extent, this is true. And even the strongest business case for implementing HRIS can fall flat if it isn’t communicated in a way that resonates with decision-makers. 

Some tips for presenting your case to stakeholders include:

Tailor your approach:

• CFO: Focus on the financials. Clear ROI, cost savings, risk mitigation and long-term value. They’ll want to see numbers, credible forecasts and how quickly the investment will pay for itself.
• COO: Highlight operational efficiency, how the solution will streamline workflows, reduce errors and free up resources for more strategic work.
• CEO: Emphasise strategic outcomes, how the investment will support growth, strengthen culture, improve retention or enhance competitive advantage.

Address what matters most

 Across all roles, decision-makers want assurance on three fronts:

1. Risk – How potential risks will be managed and minimised.
2. ROI – How the benefits will outweigh the costs, with credible evidence to support your claims.
3. Outcomes – How this technology will drive measurable improvements aligned to the organisation’s goals.

Use visuals, timelines and scenario planning

Complex proposals land better when they’re easy to digest. Include charts, dashboards and before-and-after comparisons to bring your points to life. Provide a clear timeline for implementation and adoption, as well as ‘best case’, ‘expected case’, and ‘worst case’ scenarios to show you’ve considered every angle.

A well-presented case doesn’t just inform, it inspires confidence that you’ve thought through the investment from every angle, making approval far more likely.

Final thoughts: Winning the case for HR tech investment

Building a business case for HR tech and securing investment takes more than enthusiasm, it requires a structured, evidence backed approach. By defining your goals, quantifying current costs, estimating benefits, calculating ROI and proactively addressing objections, you can turn your proposal into a strategic plan that resonates with every stakeholder.

Remember, the value of HR technology goes beyond efficiency. The ROI of HR technology includes stronger employee engagement, better decision-making, improved compliance and a direct link between people strategy and business growth. 

And this is where Employment Hero comes in. Our Employment Operating System (OS) takes the traditional isolated elements of employment and puts them into one intelligent platform. Find and hire top talent, onboard new team members, manage complex payroll, stay compliant and more. 

One system, everything employment.