How We Revolutionized HRMS in 5 Weeks with GenAI | Powerful In-House HRMS Case Study

1. Introduction

Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS) play a vital role in managing core HR functions such as attendance, employee records, and leave management. For any growing organization, having a robust HRMS is essential for ensuring operational efficiency and maintaining employee satisfaction. This case study outlines our transition from a third-party HRMS tool to a fully customized in-house solution, highlighting the reasons behind this strategic decision, the technology used, and our roadmap for future improvements.

2. Previous HRMS:

We initially used Third Party Platform, a cloud-based HRMS platform, to handle our attendance tracking and basic HR operations. While it offered a simple solution initially, over time, we began encountering several recurring challenges that hindered its effectiveness.

Challenges with the Third-Party HRMS

Our team initially relied on a third-party HRMS solution to handle critical functions like employee onboarding, attendance management, leave tracking, and payroll processing. While it served its purpose in the beginning, over time, several critical issues surfaced:

• Unreliable Server Uptime: The platform frequently experienced outages, disrupting daily HR operations.
• Poor Customer Support: Resolution of technical issues often took longer than acceptable, leading to operational inefficiencies.
• Limited Customization: The rigid structure of the tool prevented us from tailoring it to our internal workflows.
• Cost: An annual fee of ₹18,000 was charged, which did not align with the value delivered.

3. Strategic Shift: Building Our Own HRMS Portal

In response to these limitations, we made a bold yet strategic decision — to build our own HRMS platform. We wanted more than just a functioning HR system — we wanted complete ownership and agility.

4. Benefits of the In-House HRMS

The transition to a self-developed HRMS brought several tangible benefits:

• Cost Efficiency- By eliminating subscription costs, we saved ₹18,000 annually, making the system financially viable in the long term.
• System Stability- Hosting the backend on our own infrastructure and using MongoDB Atlas has drastically reduced the chances of server downtime.
• Customization and Flexibility- We now have complete control over the system’s features and design. We can add or modify functionalities as per organizational needs without relying on third-party limitations.
• User Experience- With our design approach focused on employee feedback, we have delivered a cleaner and more intuitive UI.

5. The Power of GenAI: What We Achieved vs. Industry Norms

Here’s the highlight:

“While the third-party HRMS company we previously used had raised 3 million USD in funding and took over 4 years to build their platform, we built a fully functional HRMS portal in just 5 weeks with a team of only two developers, leveraging the power of Generative AI tools”

This comparison not only showcases the massive cost and time savings we achieved, but also highlights how modern teams can accomplish extraordinary results using lean strategies and AI-powered development.

6. Technology Stack Used

To build a modern, scalable, and efficient HRMS portal, we selected a powerful technology stack:

• Frontend: JavaScript– Used for creating a dynamic and interactive user interface.
• Backend: Node.js– Powered the server-side logic, ensuring fast and asynchronous handling of requests.
• Database: MongoDB Atlas– A cloud-based NoSQL database that offered flexibility, scalability, and real-time data access.
• Middleware Framework: Express.js– Simplified backend routing and helped organize server logic efficiently.

7. Fast-Tracking Development with AI Tools

To fast-track development and maintain high code quality, we leveraged a powerful suite of AI-assisted development tools. These tools acted as intelligent collaborators, helping us minimize repetitive tasks, reduce errors, and deliver features faster with greater precision.

Initially, we built the entire project using Bolt.new for both frontend and backend development, which significantly streamlined the initial phase. However, due to policy changes in Supabase—our originally chosen database—we had to adapt and rebuild certain components using other tools.

Here are the other key AI-powered platforms and IDEs we used throughout the development process:

• Websim.ai – Assisted in simulating and designing user interfaces quickly and efficiently, speeding up the UI development cycle.
• Bitowingman – Helped with backend logic generation and database schema design, reducing manual coding efforts.
• Trae, Cursor, Windsurf’s Codeium – These modern AI-powered IDEs offered real-time code suggestions, bug detection, auto-completion, and performance optimization.

We ultimately completed the project using Cursor, which provided a stable, intelligent environment for finalizing both frontend and backend modules.

By integrating these tools into our workflow, we significantly reduced the development timeline while maintaining high standards of code quality and design.

Conclusion

Our in-house HRMS portal has successfully addressed the limitations of our previous system by offering better stability, cost-efficiency, and customizability. The 9-week development journey demonstrated how leveraging modern tools and AI can accelerate product delivery. While the current version meets our basic requirements, we are committed to continuous improvement and are actively working to overcome the present limitations. By transitioning to a modern frontend framework and implementing structured routing, we aim to make the HRMS more robust, scalable, and future-ready.

Interested in building your own custom HRMS or need expert consultation? Contact us to discuss how we can help your organization digitize and scale HR operations.