The Best HR Platform. Is It Really the Custom-made One?

Maybe you fit into that group too. Your company is tired of searching for the best HR platform that supports the entire employee lifecycle. You feel that the offered ones have features you don’t really need. At the same time, they lack the customizations that are specific to you and you desperately need them. And the price – why should you pay (usually monthly) for a HR platform software that lags behind your company needs and doesn’t satisfy your needs?

After you’ve tried two or three suppliers and found that many things still have to be done manually in Excel, you’ll likely make a decision. You might turn to your internal “IT experts” or bring in external consultants and start building your own cloud platform for human resources management. With the help of customizable human resource management tools, you can align the platform with your unique workflows and processes. These tools simplify employee management by consolidating records, performance data, and documentation in one place.

Today, such a project doesn’t require a million-dollar budget—it’s often a matter of tens of thousands of crowns, even for someone who’s not a professional developer. In fact, you can choose one of the low-code HR platforms that specialise in cases similar to yours.

This is where low-code HR platforms come in, offering a more flexible and affordable alternative. Low-code programming in modern HR software is part of the trend toward AI-powered automation, supported by intelligent AI platforms and emerging AI technology that optimizes workflows across the employee lifecycle. It’s based on the assumption that nowadays it’s no longer necessary to learn programming languages from scratch. Every program can be put together like a building block from pre-made pieces. It makes it easy to create your application in a visually clear environment and by using drag-and-drop tool.

Why is low-code a good idea? When can it catch you off-guard?

If your company is looking for the ideal HRIS software, the custom-made low-code should be included in the list of alternatives you’d like to check. Especially for mid-sized companies, this may indeed be the way that makes sense. Then again, it’s crucial to admit quite openly the risks involved in this choice.

On one hand, there are obvious advantages: freedom in planning the app, the possibility of flexible modifications, full control over its design. To some extent, maybe even the price. If you can cover the development for example with internal resources. However, it’s – as we’ll demonstrate – questionable.

On the other hand, there are the maintenance and development concerns and often overlooked fees for using the low-code HR platforms that can change according to the terms and conditions. The indisputable fact against the low-code application is that you’ll probably be developing 90% of what ready-made HRIS will offer. Just to add 10% of the unique features.

You can run up against similar problems to troubles with HRIS that companies try fix for example in Excel or Notion-type editorial systems. The initial documentatiog or get something better” will become a programme for months and maybe even years.

Let’s compare the low-code custom-made HRIS to the Czech leader, the all-in-one HRIS Sloneek platform.

Basic comparison – key features of an all-in-one HR platform

	Custom-made low-code	Sloneek
It‘s free	🚫	🚫
Created specifically for HR	✅	✅
Running in cloud- access from anywhere	✅	✅
Simple mobile app for employees and admins	🟡	✅
Automatic update on hot news	🚫	✅
Advanced paid functions	✅	✅
Professional setting-up required	✅	🚫

Does it make sense to invest time in your own HR platform?

As mentioned above, the companies start creating their own HRIS after they don’t find a suitable platform on the market. They often want to fill the gap between the existing systems and their processes. Another reason may be the attempt to avoid paid solutions. Then, it can also be the desire to hold your nerve and the need to learn the system that cannot work the way the company is used to.

So, what about the low-code in comparison with Sloneek? Do you really hold your nerve?

	Custom-made low-code	Sloneek
Instead of HR agenda, HR system is debugged in the app that isn’t designed for it	😓	😊
After weeks of work, it‘s necessary to start again	😓	😊
I run into problems I can‘t solve	😓	😊
I‘m the only person who knows how it works, and I’m responsible for many things (and also the colleagues who work on it)	😓	😊
If something doesn‘t work, it’s up to me	😓	😊
Management regards it as my extra voluntary initiative and not as a part of my job	😓	😊

Basic requirements comparison

Of course, there are the companies where setting their own HR platform is a positive part of the overall plan. So, let’s be objective and look at how both options handle the demands placed on them by HR, management and employees.

Keep in mind an important remark – with low-code, it’s true, make of it what you will.

Easy to use

HRIS must be simple and intuitive. It’s important to explain the basic functions and logic of the system only in a few dozen minutes.

	Custom-made low-code	Sloneek
Basics explained during one meeting	✅🟡	✅
If employee can‘t handle it, support will help them	🚫	✅
Intuitive at first sight	✅ 🟡	✅
Possible to use without any training	❓	✅

A great HR platform directly impacts the employee experience by making daily interactions smoother and more intuitive. A well-designed people management platform should allow for rapid onboarding workflows, require minimal training, and support intuitive performance tracking features. These capabilities ensure that both HR professionals and employees can start using the system with confidence from day one. In particular, smooth and structured employee onboarding is crucial to ensure new hires quickly understand company processes, access their documents, and become productive members of the team.

Data security

HRIS usually stores the most sensitive information about the employees, including personal information, salary information and employment records. That’s why GDPR representatives consider it to be one of the key areas necessary to protect from incidents.

The system must be able to manage access levels effectively, e.g. only authorised persons will have access to sensitive data. Moreover, it must be able to protect data from careless handling including accidental sharing of information or deliberate security breach.

Advanced HRIS functions also include the implementation of data encryption, regular audits and access monitoring. It helps not only in preventing potential data exposure, but also in fast identification and fixing any security incidents. These systems must also be compatible with other payroll software to ensure seamless payroll processing across departments.

Robust GDPR compliance is essential for any human resource management system that handles personal and employment data at scale. Especially in platforms that manage sensitive data such as payroll, benefits, and performance reviews. A proper legal overview is essential for ensuring that all HR data handling complies with labor laws and data protection regulations.

What about low-code HR platforms?

	Custom-made low-code	Sloneek
GDPR compliant in base	🚫	✅
Login security	✅🟡	✅
Managing data access rights	❓	✅
Difficulty in copying data	❓	✅
Easy audit	❓	✅

Information sharing and linking

How is data protected from an unauthorised access? Is there any possibility to work with different user accounts and to display only the information with user access rights?

	Custom-made low-code	Sloneek
Everyone can access the files based on their access rights	✅	✅
Information can be easily sorted by access rights	✅	✅
Employees can see and change the data that belong to them	✅	✅
Information can be used within the whole platform	✅	✅

Data duplication

In addition to basic functions of data and access rights management, it’s important that the platform supports a robust API that allows it to communicate with other systems and applications. This is crucial for integrating and automating of the processes across the various tools used in the company. Thanks to API, the data can be automatically synchronised between HR management platform and other systems such as financial software, project management systems or data analysis tools. The integration not only increases efficiency but also ensures that the data is consistent and up-to-date within all systems. Integration with resource management software enables better visibility over project allocation and workforce capacity planning.

	Custom-made low-code	Sloneek
Data strictly in one place-no multiple versions	✅	✅
Data always available anywhere	✅	✅
Data cannot be simply rewritten or copied	✅	✅
Data can be linked to other applications	❓	✅

Price

Many modern HR platforms offer free trials, allowing companies to test usability and features before committing financially. Price is quite often a key parameter for choosing a solution. Moreover, with the low-code, the company often assumes to save money in comparison with other solutions. Financial forecasting tools can help evaluate the long-term cost-efficiency of SaaS versus low-code platforms. But is it really true?

	Custom-made low-code	Sloneek
Required to pay every month	✅	✅
Payment for real users in a given month	✅	✅
Paying for development over time at the expense of other things	✅	🚫
I know in advance how much it will cost to develop the system in a year	🚫	✅
Implementing innovations costs extra money	✅	🚫

For HR platforms for small businesses, predictable pricing and scalability are often more valuable than total customization.

Comparison based on HRIS platform essential requirements

What about the main feature of the HR platform? Can the low-code HRIS meet all the demands that HR department will place on it?

It’s true once again – make of it what you will. So, it always depends on whether you’ve included the function in the initial technical documentation.

	Custom-made low-code	Sloneek
Complete employee data management linked across the system	✅	✅
Calculation of accumulated leave	✅ 🟡	✅
Request for leave	✅ 🟡	✅
Up-to-date data relevant to salaries	✅ 🟡	✅
Electronic signature of documents	❓ Depends on low-code platform module	✅
Questionnaire survey	❓ Depends on low-code platform module	✅
Contracts and certificates	❓ Depends on low-code platform module	✅
Timetracking	❓ Depends on low-code platform module	✅
Connection to other applications via API	✅ 🟡	✅
Recruitment	✅ 🟡	✅
Onboarding and offboarding	✅ 🟡	✅

In addition to basic applicant tracking, many platforms offer smart Recruitment Tools that automate candidate screening, interview scheduling, and hiring workflows—features that are difficult to replicate in low-code systems. A built-in applicant tracking system streamlines the recruitment process, from job posting to final hire. Enhancing the candidate experience through timely communication and simplified application flows is a key strength of modern HR platforms.

Advanced functions

How do low-code platforms manage performance management, compensation management, and other specialised HR management processes?

	Custom-made low-code	Sloneek
Automatically driven competency models	🚫	✅
Automation	❓ Depends on low-code platform module	✅
Delegation of simple tasks to team leaders or employees	✅ 🟡	✅
Basic data visualisation	❓ Depends on low-code platform module	✅
Running analysis and graphs in one place	❓ Depends on low-code platform module	✅
AI involvement	❓ Depends on low-code platform module	✅

Talent Management

Modern platforms often include talent management features such as performance tracking, internal mobility, and succession planning. Tools for employee scheduling help managers allocate shifts, avoid conflicts, and ensure fair workload distribution. These capabilities help companies retain and grow talent effectively—yet are difficult to replicate in custom low-code solutions.

Learning & Development

Some HR platforms offer an integrated learning management system (LMS) for employee onboarding, skills development, and compliance tracking. These features are rarely native in low-code setups and often require additional integration or manual processes. Modern platforms powered by machine learning offer predictive insights into employee turnover, performance trends, and engagement.

Health & Safety Compliance

Companies in regulated industries often need built-in health & safety modules as part of their HRIS. These include tools for incident tracking, compliance documentation, and workplace safety reporting—functionality typically missing in custom-developed tools.

HCM Platform Integrations

Integrations are crucial for any scalable HCM platform, allowing seamless connections between payroll, benefits, and analytics systems. These integrations ensure end-to-end automation across all HR operations and reduce manual errors. Integrating with Enterprise Resource Planning Software ensures real-time synchronization of HR data with core business systems like finance and logistics. Connecting HR platforms with CRM or sales planning systems provides better workforce alignment with revenue objectives.

Benefits Administration

Effective benefits administration is an essential function of any HR platform. It helps companies manage healthcare plans, pension contributions, and employee perks with minimal effort. This level of automation and clarity is difficult to achieve with a custom low-code approach.

Contract Lifecycle Management

Some HR platforms integrate Contract Lifecycle Management features that help manage employee agreements from creation to renewal and archiving. With built-in contract intelligence, platforms can extract key terms and automate compliance monitoring.

Verdict

Building your own online HR platform using low-code tools can be attractive for companies seeking a flexible and intelligent platform for people management. This approach allows companies to design and implement the solution that perfectly matches their processes and requirements, including essential features like document management, performance reviews, absence management and time tracking.

However, the success of such a project depends on the skills of a coder and HR manager who must be able to “see around corners” – that is, anticipate future needs and potential problems. This is a key ability to create an effective and sustainable system. And let’s face it – a chance of such a setup being found in the company is rather lower than higher.

The costs of developing the custom-made low-code HRIS platform are usually far higher than for SaaS tools. It’s due to the time and effort required to develop and implement and also the costs of maintaining and updating the system. It’s important to keep in mind that the license to use the low-code platform is tens or even hundreds of thousands per year, depending on the company size. Vendor lock-in, i.e. dependence on a supplier, who can raise your fee by leaps and bounds anytime, is high in this case.

Another disadvantage may be the dependence on internal or external developers for any modifications or fixes and it could be time consuming and expensive. However, the company can save something at this point if it draws on its own resources.

The verdict is clear then – if your company is really specific and you can afford to pay extra for the custom-made solution, go for it. Still, before you do that, try Sloneek to be sure you’ve made the right decision. Sloneek offers a scalable people management system that adapts to your company’s changing needs—without the complexity of managing development on your own.

With a reliable cloud-based HR platform like Sloneek, you can simplify your HR management processes, reduce manual work, and stay compliant with evolving regulations.

	Custom-made low-code	Sloneek
Long-term solution reliability	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ability to grow with the company	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ability to add new functions	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Universality for the entire company	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Compatibility with other tools	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Handover limit	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Solution security	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Time-consuming to manage	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Total cost including time cost and monthly license rental	⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐