Must-have HRIS RFP template for global companies in 2025

For global organizations, HRIS isn’t just a database — it’s the infrastructure for managing a distributed workforce. Operating in multiple countries brings unique challenges: different tax and labor laws, language and currency requirements, and strict data privacy obligations. Without the right system, HR teams end up juggling local vendors and spreadsheets, while executives lack a single, trustworthy view of their workforce.

The right HRIS for global companies should unify employee data worldwide, automate compliance where possible, and deliver both consolidated global reporting and localized employee experiences. It should integrate tightly with payroll, benefits, IT, and ERP systems to eliminate manual data transfers and help HR teams stay ahead of compliance obligations.

This guide outlines the areas global organizations should evaluate in an HRIS, what best-in-class looks like, and the RFP questions to include in your process. Plus, we’ll give you a free downloadable template so you can start evaluating vendors ASAP.

1. Multi-country employee system of record

A single source of truth across entities and countries prevents errors and gives leaders reliable workforce visibility. But each country has unique data fields, naming conventions, and employment classifications. HRIS software must balance a unified global model with localized attributes.

Rippling’s Employee Graph is entity- and location-aware. When an employee’s country, entity, or location changes, Rippling automatically enables the correct fields, workflows, and policies for that jurisdiction — and updates downstream systems (payroll, benefits, IT) in real time.

RFP questions to ask

• Can the system manage employees across multiple countries and entities in one record?

• Does it support country-specific fields such as tax IDs, national IDs, and work classifications?

• Do changes cascade automatically into payroll, benefits, and IT systems?

• Do you support multi-entity org structures with consolidated and entity-level views?

• Can employees access localized self-service portals in multiple languages?

2. Global onboarding, transfers, and offboarding

Every jurisdiction has its own onboarding compliance steps (e.g., U.S. I-9/E-Verify). Transfers across borders or entities require seamless updates to policies, pay rules, and documents. Offboarding needs to be compliant with local final pay and benefits obligations.

Rippling automates onboarding and offboarding globally, creating payroll and benefits accounts and provisioning IT automatically. U.S. compliance (I-9, E-Verify, COBRA, ACA) is built in, and for international teams, Rippling applies location-specific policies and documents tied to the employee record. Offboarding workflows revoke IT access and generate final paychecks in line with local rules.

RFP questions to ask

• Do you support localized onboarding checklists by entity and country?

• Do payroll, tax setup, and benefits accounts generate automatically during onboarding?

• How are cross-entity or international transfers handled — do policies re-evaluate automatically?

• Can IT and app access be provisioned and revoked globally?

• Does the system automate required compliance steps (e.g., I-9/E-Verify in the U.S., COBRA notices)?

3. Compliance and data privacy

Compliance isn’t just about tax filings — it’s also about labor laws, benefits obligations, and data privacy frameworks like GDPR. HRIS software should assign the right policies and documents automatically, surface risks proactively, and provide audit-ready logs. It should also support DSAR workflows and demonstrate compliance with leading security certifications.

Rippling automates compliance workflows based on employee location — assigning policies, trainings, and documents automatically. It provides immutable audit logs for every action, GDPR-compliant data processing, and support for DSARs (data subject access requests). Rippling holds SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certifications, giving enterprises confidence in its security posture.

RFP questions to ask

• How do you support compliance across multiple states and countries?

• Do you automate compliance for I-9/E-Verify, ACA, COBRA, and jurisdiction-specific policies?

• Can policies and documents be assigned automatically by role, entity, or country?

• Do you support GDPR compliance, DSAR requests, and audit logs?

• What certifications do you hold (SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR)?

4. Leave, time off, and calendars

Leave entitlements and accrual rules vary widely across countries — from mandated holidays to carryover rules to overtime regulations. HRIS software should include localized calendars and leave policies so HR doesn’t need to manage them manually.

Rippling provides configurable leave and accrual rules, supports jurisdiction-specific requirements (like overtime and break compliance), and syncs balances into payroll automatically to prevent errors.

RFP questions to ask

• Do you provide localized calendars and leave rules out of the box?

• Can accruals and carryover rules vary by entity, country, or role?

• Do you support overtime and break compliance where required?

• How are leave balances synced into payroll to prevent manual corrections?

• Can managers approve leave through mobile or email in their local language?

5. Global reporting and analytics

Global executives need consolidated workforce reporting across countries and entities, with the ability to drill into local details. Reporting should handle multiple currencies, apply consistent conversion rules, and support effective-dated reporting so historical data remains accurate.

Rippling provides consolidated global dashboards with segmentation by country, entity, or department. It supports multi-currency reporting and exports, and effective-dated reporting ensures historical data doesn’t change when employee attributes are updated.

RFP questions to ask

• Do you provide consolidated and country-level dashboards (headcount, comp, attrition, compliance)?

• Can reports be segmented by entity, country, department, or cost center?

• Do you support effective-dated reporting for accurate historical analysis?

• Can reports be scheduled and exported to ERP and BI tools?

• How do you handle multi-currency reporting and conversions?

How Rippling helps global companies

Rippling HRIS gives global organizations one unified system of record that adapts to local requirements. When an employee is hired, relocated, or transferred, Rippling automatically applies the right fields, documents, and policies for that country — and syncs those changes instantly across payroll, benefits, IT, and ERP systems.

Compliance is automated: I-9, E-Verify, ACA, and COBRA are built in for U.S. teams, while policies and documents are assigned automatically based on jurisdiction globally. Every change is captured in immutable audit logs, with GDPR and SOC 2/ISO-certified data security.

Rippling also keeps operations in sync: leave rules and calendars localize by country, payroll balances update automatically, and IT access is provisioned and revoked worldwide. With >500 pre-built integrations, Rippling connects HR to your global payroll vendors, ERP, and IT identity platforms, reducing manual reconciliation.

Leadership gains real-time visibility with consolidated, multi-currency dashboards across entities and countries. Effective-dated reporting ensures historical accuracy, while role-based permissions ensure managers see only what’s relevant. Employees get localized self-service access to their data, benefits, and documents, reducing administrative overhead for HR teams.

With Rippling HRIS, global companies can:

• Manage employees across countries and entities in one record

• Automate onboarding, offboarding, and compliance workflows globally

• Apply localized policies, documents, and calendars automatically

• Enforce governance and data security with global audit logs and GDPR compliance

• Integrate with ERP, IT, payroll, and benefits systems worldwide

• Deliver consolidated, multi-currency workforce reporting

Rippling RFP for HRIS for global companies example

Ready to evaluate vendors?