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PDS Vista

PDS Vista

Overview

What is PDS Vista?

Vista® is a human resource, benefits, payroll, recruiting, and self-service software. Functional elements include recruitment, staffing, position and training management, compliance, and performance and compensation.

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Pricing

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What is PDS Vista?

Vista® is a human resource, benefits, payroll, recruiting, and self-service software. Functional elements include recruitment, staffing, position and training management, compliance, and performance and compensation.

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Rippling’s platform for HR, IT, payroll, and spend management automates the entire employee lifecycle, ensures compliance, supports device management, and provides real-time financial visibility from a central dashboard.

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Features

Human Resource Management

Organizing, tracking and providing instant access to critical employee data, job profiles, transfers, promotions, and benefits information.

1.9
Avg 7.9

Payroll Management

Provides for pay calculation and benefit plan administration, in addition to managing direct deposit, salary revisions and payroll tracking.

3.2
Avg 8.0

Leave and Attendance Management

Streamlines communication between HR and employees and facilitates efficient management of employee leave including requisitions, approvals, balance calculation, and annual carry-forward.

1
Avg 8.1

Employee Self Service

Employee portal allowing employees to view and update their personal information.

2
Avg 8.1

Asset Management

Maintaining a record of assets such as laptops, pagers, cell phones, etc. issued to employees. Record typically includes asset type, number, serial number and date of issuance.

7.3
Avg 7.9

HR Reporting

Pre-built and custom reports, and integration with external data.

2
Avg 7.5

Onboarding

Employee onboarding is the process of orienting new hires to the social and performance aspects of their jobs so that they are able to function in their new roles as quickly as possible.

1
Avg 7.9

Performance and Goals

Goal alignment is the practice of ensuring that all employees have clearly defined goals in support of the overall corporate strategy.

2.8
Avg 8.0

Performance Management

Performance management is the process of ensuring employees meet pre-determined objectives and goals through regular check-ins and appraisals.

1
Avg 7.9

Succession Planning

Succession planning is the identification and development of internal employees with the potential to fill key business leadership positions in the company.

2.3
Avg 7.8

Recruiting / ATS

Recruiting or Applicant Tracking Software is software used to manage the recruitment process electronically by handling job postings, applicant status, resume management, etc.

1.4
Avg 7.7
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Product Details

What is PDS Vista?

According to the vendor, PDS Vista is a comprehensive Human Capital Management (HCM) platform designed to offer personalized solutions for diverse industry requirements. The product encompasses various services such as recruiting, onboarding, human resources, benefits administration, and payroll management, thus serving as an end-to-end solution. By leveraging advanced technology and customization options, PDS aims to tackle complex challenges faced by businesses in this domain. Notably, the vendor emphasizes their commitment to customer satisfaction through personalized support provided by knowledgeable experts. While specific industries or professions are not explicitly specified, the vendor assures that the product suite caters to a wide range of organizations seeking HCM solutions tailored to their distinct needs.

End-to-End Human Capital Management Suite

The product is designed to streamline and automate administrative and payroll tasks, as well as offer strategic decision-making capabilities. Key features include workflow management, tax handling, recruitment support, training management, compliance with OSHA and workers' compensation regulations, performance evaluation and compensation tracking, employee and managerial self-service options, analytics, comprehensive reporting capabilities, among others. The vendor highlights their personalized approach and industry expertise to deliver a tailored experience for each customer.

Vista Analytics

The product is designed to offer a comprehensive analytics solution that prioritizes user-centricity. The vendor asserts that users can replace traditional printed reports with visually appealing graphics, enhancing stakeholder accessibility and comprehension of information. Users are granted real-time access to data and the ability to customize their dashboards through easy drill-downs and data exports at the click of a button. With an extensive library of predefined analytics, Vista Analytics enables organizations to effortlessly collect statistical data, analyze trends, and showcase key performance indicators (KPIs). Furthermore, it provides training courses covering graph analysis, setup procedures, usage guidelines, KPI utilization, and dashboard deployment. This toolset ensures effortless compilation of summarized data into meaningful charts or columns based on specific groupings. Additionally, it offers diverse dashboards for effective result presentation, auditable views and alerts for meticulous data management, secure user-specific dashboards, as well as workflow reports tailored for ROI analysis.

Workflow

The Vista Workflow engine is seamlessly integrated throughout the Vista product, offering automation of approval processes. The vendor asserts that their workflow features were designed to address the management of approval processes, transaction monitoring, and activity rerouting. Users can utilize tools like manager and employee time review and approval, as well as customize approval steps to align with individual process workflows. Through implementing consistent practices and automating approvals, PDS Vista aims to optimize HR operations, improving productivity while reducing administrative burdens.

Automatic Scheduling and Calculation of Initial and Standard Measurements

The product offers automated scheduling and calculation capabilities, allowing businesses to streamline processes and ensure compliance with ACA regulations. This feature aims to save time by accurately determining initial and standard measurements for employee healthcare eligibility and stability periods. The vendor asserts that the automatic scheduling and calculation functionality of PDS Vista will enhance efficiency in managing healthcare plans within organizations.

PDS Vista Features

Human Resource Management Features

  • Supported: Employee demographic data
  • Supported: Employment history
  • Supported: Job profiles and administration
  • Supported: Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.
  • Supported: Benefits information
  • Supported: Organizational charting
  • Supported: Organization and location management
  • Supported: Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)

Payroll Management Features

  • Supported: Pay calculation
  • Supported: Support for external payroll vendors
  • Supported: Off-cycle/On-Demand payment
  • Supported: Payroll history for each employee
  • Supported: Benefit plan administration
  • Supported: Direct deposit files
  • Supported: Payroll tracking and auditing
  • Supported: Salary revision and increment management
  • Supported: Statutory form management

Leave and Attendance Management Features

  • Supported: Approval workflow
  • Supported: Email notifications
  • Supported: Balance details
  • Supported: Travel absence management
  • Supported: Annual carry-forward and encashment

Employee Self Service Features

  • Supported: Employee login
  • Supported: View and generate pay and benefit information
  • Supported: Update personal information
  • Supported: Request time off
  • Supported: View job history
  • Supported: View company policy documentation
  • Supported: View company news and information
  • Supported: Employee recognition

Asset Management Features

  • Supported: Tracking of all physical assets
  • Supported: Asset return

HR Reporting Features

  • Supported: Report builder
  • Supported: Pre-built reports
  • Supported: Ability to combine HR data with external data

Integration with other HR capabilities Features

  • Supported: Additional HR capabilities (talent management, LMS, etc.) supplied by same vendor
  • Supported: Additional HR capabilities (talent management, LMS, etc.) supplied by different vendor

Performance Management Features

  • Supported: Performance plans
  • Supported: Performance improvement plans
  • Supported: Review status tracking
  • Supported: Review reminders
  • Supported: Multiple review frequency

Succession Planning Features

  • Supported: Create succession plans/pools
  • Supported: Candidate ranking
  • Supported: Candidate search
  • Supported: Candidate development

Onboarding Features

  • Supported: New hire portal
  • Supported: Manager tracking tools

Performance and Goals Features

  • Supported: Corporate goal setting
  • Supported: Individual goal setting
  • Supported: Line-of sight-visibility
  • Supported: Performance tracking

Recruiting / ATS Features

  • Supported: Job Requisition Management
  • Supported: Company Website Posting
  • Supported: Publish to Social Media
  • Supported: Job Search Site Posting
  • Supported: Duplicate Candidate Prevention
  • Supported: Applicant Tracking
  • Supported: Notifications and Alerts

Additional Features

  • Supported: Natural Language Query Tool
  • Supported: Configurable Analytics, Dashboards and KPIs
  • Supported: Configurable Workflows
  • Supported: On-Premise or Cloud deployment

PDS Vista Screenshots

Screenshot of employee data, which is the heart of a corporate knowledge base. Within Vista, an organized database of employees, applicants, jobs, and positions can be created and maintained. The product’s flexibility allows users to structure corporate data as simply or as complicated as business needs require.Screenshot of Vista Payroll, which is designed to strike the perfect balance between power and simplicity. It is designed to process large volumes of data within tight time constraints, whether U.S., Canadian, or Caribbean.

Vista Payroll is focused on its main tasks of calculating pay, creating paychecks, producing payroll registers, and federal, state, local, and provincial tax reports.Screenshot of the included Vista Benefits features, which can include unlimited plans and coverage levels, automated benefits eligibility, auto-housekeeping of valuations and premiums.Screenshot of Vista Recruiting, which presents critical applicant information in an efficient manner for both human resources professionals and hiring managers, alike.

Vista Recruiting gives HR departments command over the entire hiring process for each department in every location while more easily tracking and controlling costs, improving applicant management, strengthening relationships with applicants, and reducing paperwork for the HR team.

PDS Vista Video

PDS' Vista - HCM

PDS Vista Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsWindows, Linux, Mac
Mobile ApplicationApple iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Mobile Web
Supported CountriesU.S. & Canada
Supported LanguagesEnglish

Frequently Asked Questions

Vista® is a human resource, benefits, payroll, recruiting, and self-service software. Functional elements include recruitment, staffing, position and training management, compliance, and performance and compensation.

ADP Vantage HCM, UKG Pro, and Workday Human Capital Management are common alternatives for PDS Vista.

Reviewers rate Reimbursement management highest, with a score of 8.2.

The most common users of PDS Vista are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).

PDS Vista Customer Size Distribution

Consumers0%
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)0%
Mid-Size Companies (51-500 employees)27%
Enterprises (more than 500 employees)73%
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Comparisons

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Reviews From Top Reviewers

(1-5 of 24)

Vista HRMS

Rating: 8 out of 10
January 17, 2015
Vetted Review
Verified User
PDS Vista
6 years of experience
Vista HRMS is used for payroll and as a central employee information database. It is used by our payroll department, human resources, health and safety, and training. In addition to payroll and basic HRIS, we use it to track training courses and occupational injuries. Our supervisors and managers all use it very minimally to record employee hours.
  • Vista HRMS tracks benefits accurately.
  • It allows us to provide accurate payroll to all of our employees with minimal resources.
  • As a US-based company, PDS supports Canadian clients very well. There are Canadian technical specialists and Canadian legislation is accommodated across all provincial jurisdictions.
Cons
  • Our company has struggled with upgrades in the past. We have worked with PDS to develop custom code but this has created issues in staying up to date. But to be fair, PDS has been willing to work with us to correct this.
  • We use Vista to track training courses in a basic way. However, as a LMS its functionality is limited. It specializes in payroll/HRMS.
  • In general, reporting could be more user-friendly. Basic functionality requires knowledge of Crystal Reports to prepare any kind of robust reporting. However, there have been imporvements in this regard in recent years.
We are a mid-sized company so the functionality and costs are suitable. I suggest asking if you are smaller or larger.

Also, I would ask about in-house technical resources needed. There are options to have the data hosted in-house or hosted centrally by PDS. I would explore both options.

Vista HRMS Review

Rating: 8 out of 10
March 18, 2015
Vetted Review
Verified User
PDS Vista
15 years of experience
Vista HRMS is used across our entire organization for HR data, benefits enrollment and payroll processing.
  • We have total control of our data. It's awesome having it in a single database! Custom reports through Crystal are easy to create, and to post on Vista for others to access.
  • Based upon their security level, managers can have access to data about their subordinates, without having to request this info from HR or Payroll
  • Annual Open Enrollment for benefits is completely on-line and easy for everyone to complete.
  • Payroll processing is easy to review and complete.
  • We have a large workforce in warehouse jobs where they receive auto increases based upon the time they are in their job. Vista HRMS easily tracks this, processes the auto increases on the correct dates and sends out an e-mail to HR and the manager when the increase was processed.
Cons
  • We do not utilize the performance appraisal process in Vista because our process requires our employees to have individual goals that are tracked and measured in addition to the traditional competencies.
  • We have a very involved bonus calculation process which Vista is not able to support
  • We currently use another product for Time and Attendance because we've been with that system well before Vista added it to their functionality.
The best feature of Vista HRMS, in my opinion, is the integration of data into a single database. You can easily generate reports and create metrics to compare or analyze anything that we chose to track within the system. We track everything from certification/education, drug tests, I-9 information, to position history and salary increase history.

Happy with Vista HRMS

Rating: 8 out of 10
April 15, 2015
Vetted Review
Verified User
PDS Vista
2 years of experience
Vista HRMS is being used across the whole organization. This is our HR/Payroll/Benefit/Absence Management solution for our company.
  • Their staff are available to talk to about existing issues.
  • Their open enrollment process was easy for employees to understand without a high amount of training. Our last software also had employees step through enrollment.
  • The database table names are pretty self explanatory, previous systems I have used this is not always the case.
Cons
  • The inplementation/training is when you are expected to 'set up' your organization etc.It is very difficult to make these decisions that later turn out to be incorrect and difficult to change when you are just being introduced to the system.
  • We had reviewed some very specific wants/needs with sales/demo staff, spent a lot of time filling out documentation that we believe were never passed on to the Implementation specialist so we had to start over at square one. Some of those items we found out in truth, the system could not do after all and we had to create work arounds.
  • We were leaving our last system partially because there always were patches needing tested and for our size company it is expensive to test all the time. We believed PDS did not have this same cycle of patches, but we have found their have been quite a few. Often until you can test a whole PTF they will send out scripts to fix one thing. Our company does not install things straight into production, so we spend a lot of time having to test the whole system.
All in all we have been happy with the product as a whole. As with any software nothing is perfect, but our belief that the company really does strive to listen to their users in making improvements to the system is great.

VIsta HRMS, is it right for your company?

Rating: 8 out of 10
March 18, 2015
Vetted Review
Verified User
PDS Vista
3 years of experience
On the front face of the business our employees would say that Vista HRMS is our time and attendance system. Behind the scenes, Human Resources and Payroll use it for our system of record. All employees are stored in Vista HRMS and our benefits, leave accruals, time keeping and payroll are run through Vista HRMS. This is good for us because it keeps all of our information on one platform and I am not having to toggle between programs to run payroll or check employee records and history. .
  • Vista HRMS is extremely configurable. It's completely adaptable to your specific business needs.
  • Security is very robust and you have the ability to easily create and adjust access amongst security groups
  • I feel like the payroll process is pretty simple and the system will generate multiple reports for each step so you are able to verify information along the way. You can rerun steps and processes as many times necessary until all your data is accurate and ties out to your business standards. This is always a welcome feature before you hit that magical 'pay' button!
Cons
  • Time entry is very manual, you have to be very specific in your time entry by inserting the colon and also the AM/PM. Military time entry will work if you're settings are set to accept military time entry. A time punch button would be a great addition to this module, or a quick drop down option of base hour or half hour entries.
  • Currently, the system allows employees to enter more leave accrual time then they have available. This error does generate on reports when payroll is run, however as a business rule we do follow up with each individual who has gone over and see if they would like those hours moved over to other available accruals or let them know that it will be unpaid if no other accrual balances exist. I believe you can configure a 'User Exit' to notify employees as soon as they enter the time in that those hours are not available, however it is not part of the base system. This would be a helpful addition and would save quite a bit of time on the follow up during payroll processing.
  • I was not here during implementation of this product, so I am not sure of the training that our administrators received at the time. However I have not had much luck in finding best practices for the system or training manuals. My knowledge has come through trial and error and calling our hosted support team to help walk me through issues. More FAQ material or even module training materials would be great for newly hired employees who need to have access to Vista HRMS in more than a basic time entry capacity.
You have the option of taking the system in house or being a hosted client. Figure out what resources your IT department has to spare, if you will have a dedicated administrator who will do all the upgrades and enhancements or if you will be job sharing those responsibilities. Like all software, Vista HRMS has multiple upgrades a year. You will need someone or a team of a few individuals to test these upgrades out and be able to take on a role of administrator, technology consultant or front end user and make sure these upgrades are working from all angles.
Vista HRMS really is a good product for keeping all HR and Payroll related records in one system, I just stress the fact that you have to have someone on hand who wants to own the product and be willing to learn as much as possible. The more you put into this product, the more you will get out of it.

Vista HRMS: What more can a company hope for?

Rating: 10 out of 10
July 14, 2016
AL
Vetted Review
Verified User
PDS Vista
3 years of experience
We have been using Vista HRMS for the past 3 years. The program has helped us better organize our HR, Payroll, Benefits and Staffing departments by consolidating our numerous databases and spreadsheets into one database that can be accessed by everyone. Now our employees, supervisor and office staff have a place they can go to for employee information and at the same time only accessing what they are allowed to see.
  • Vista HRMS is web-based; easy to navigate and easy to customize. If your company doesn't have a technically saavy individual, PDS can take care of it for you.
  • Their customer service is second to none. Reps can be contacted by phone or email with quick responses to resolve any question or issues quickly
  • Vista HRMS is constantly providing updates to the system, whether it is tax related issues or the latest regulation changes to the Affordable Care Act
Cons
  • Some customizations can be costly; although they are worth investing the money to further personalize the system to your specific needs
  • The recruiting module still needs further work for it to function as a true ATS.
  • In order to create your own custom reports, you will need someone knowledgeable in Crystal Reports.
As Vista HRMS is fully customizable to suit your needs, a company should determine if they have a current employee who can do the work themselves otherwise they will need to consider the additional cost of asking PDS to do the customizations for them.
There are additional modules that we aren't currently making use of, but each company should learn about the functionality of each of them as some may be more beneficial than others.
When gathering your questions, ask all potential users of the system what they would want to see in an HRMS. We did so before selecting Vista HRMS and we got pages and pages of questions and comments and made sure that each item was addressed beforehand and was something that we would be able to incorporate into the system.
You have the option of taking the system in house or being a hosted client. Make sure you figure out what resources your IT department has available. If you have a dedicated administrator who will do all the upgrades and enhancements great, otherwise you may need PDS to help out and having PDS host may be a better option.
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