Human resource management systems are tools that help hiring managers and recruiters manage HR systems and business processes. To further help, you can integrate your HRIS with other business software systems. Before you decide to integrate your different systems, there are some key details you’ll want to consider.
What Is Your Goal for Integration?
There are many systems you can integrate with your HRIS. The question is: what are your company’s goals with integration? You’ll want to be sure you’re considering the different branches involved with the integration. For instance, if you plan on integrating payroll systems with your HRIS, you’ll want to check in with your payroll department to determine their goals. Their goals may be more specific than your own since they work within the department.
Getting feedback from employees who will be affected by the integration is a great way to start a business plan. This plan will help you analyze your current process, how integration will change the process, and the different goals you and your employees wish to achieve with the integration. This can also identify any pain points, hidden issues, or improvement opportunities that you may not have thought of on your own. This plan can help your integration process go smoothly and ensure that all branches of your company are on the same page.
Are You Prepared for Integration?
The last thing you’d want to do is begin the integration process when your company isn’t prepared for it. You want to be completely honest with your company’s capabilities and readiness for integration.
Integration requires a lot of time and patience, and may also cost money. It also requires a great deal of change that your team may not be ready for. You’ll need to take the time to get your company prepared for the changes. Set up a plan so you know the total costs, the benefits, the potential pain points, and all of the changes that will occur. Having a plan in place that everyone understands will prevent you from essentially biting off more than you can chew.
A company that is serious about integration will invest the necessary time, money, and resources into the integration. If your company is unable to provide this, then it’s important to spend extra time in getting your company prepared for the integration.
Is It Time for Integration?
One could argue that it’s always time for integration. All the benefits that come from integrating your systems mean that you should integrate as soon as possible. Of course, youll want to integrate sooner rather than later, but it’s also important to consider the timing of your integration. You need both resources and time commitment and a successful integration is not possible without both.
If your company is in the process of changing any major processes, expanding, or going through any other changes it might not be the best time to begin an integration. This goes in hand with your company’s preparedness. If your resources are already spread thin or your employees’ plates are full, then they cannot contribute to the integration properly. You won’t want to overload your employees, so it’s best to ensure that they’re ready for the integration.
What Are the Most Common HRIS Integrations?
Most HRIS integrations fall under the HR umbrella. There are additional integrations such as accounting and risk management, but the most common HRIS integrations are primarily HR functions.
Payroll
Payroll integrations are the most common HRIS integrations as it helps companies complete payroll tasks. You’ll want to be sure that you’re careful with the system you integrate your HRIS with. Payroll requires a lot of sensitive information such as employee’s personal information, bank account numbers, and company financial information. Because of this, make sure that you do the necessary research into the software you want to integrate. Look at reviews, get advice, and contact providers personally to discuss security issues.
Benefits Administration
If your HRIS doesn’t already contain benefits administration, you’ll have to handle the task manually. To prevent this, you can look for third-party integrations to help you manage your employees’ benefits. Many third-party insurance integrations can help you manage, track, and allocate benefits to your employees.
Talent Acquisition
A typical HRIS doesn’t contain talent acquisition features like an applicant tracking system. Because of this, your company could benefit from integrating your HRIS with recruitment features such as:
- Job boards
- Interview scheduling
- Background checks
- Selection or sorting tools
Integrating your HRIS with these different systems allows you to have more recruiting tools you otherwise wouldn’t have. This can help with your sourcing and make the hiring process easier.
How To Integrate Software Into Your HRIS
There are many ways to begin integrating your HRIS with other systems, but there are two common integration techniques. You can also outsource help with integration at an additional cost. It’s up to your company to decide what technique works best with your company’s skillset.
Custom Integration
A custom integration requires an immense amount of technical expertise. This avenue requires that the company create the integration themselves by using both the HRIS and the other software’s APIs. This allows your integration to be more personalized, but the expertise to achieve this integration may not be available to all companies. They also require updates and maintenance which requires a dedicated IT team.
Native Integration
Some HRIS providers have pre-built integrations available for companies to utilize. Since they’re pre-built and have the provider updating and maintaining the system, this option allows for more stable integrations. This can be beneficial for companies that may not have a strong IT team yet or lack the necessary expertise to create a custom integration. However, it’s important to know that this option may require additional costs.
iPaaS Providers
Integration platform as a service (iPaaS) companies can create and maintain program integrations with your HRIS on your behalf. Similar to native integration, this may be beneficial for companies without a specialized IT department. However, collaboration with an iPaaS provider may take a long time and will require a great deal of money depending on your requests and needs for your integration.
