When weighing up the benefits of HR software, it can often come down to a decision between choosing between solutions that have different HR capabilities, such as payroll or learning and development, or an integrated system.
The benefit of a ‘best of breed’ option is that it has specialized functionality and advanced features. However, an integrated HR management system provides a host of benefits – these are some of the reasons why more businesses should consider implementing an integrated human resources management system.
Time-Saving
Installing a different system for every service is confusing for staff and makes carrying out the simplest of tasks more time-consuming. This can lead to HR having to field more questions than normal to help employees deal with the various systems, which reduces productivity. However, with an integrated system, everything is brought together in one, easy to use, tool. Employees can just log in to one system to view their information, payroll data and more. Automation and an easier workflow are also easier to implement with a single system, reducing the need for manual interventions.
Comprehensive Data
Various systems make it much more likely that data will become duplicated, leading to a greater need for manual workarounds and the risk of error. But an integrated system gives you just a single set of data to work from which makes it much easier for information to flow through the system, and the business, much more easily. For example, if an employee leaves the company and their contract is terminated, these details are easier to find and remove with an integrated system than with multiple systems.
Increased Accuracy
Because data only has to be entered into the system once improves the chances of data accuracy. Multiple systems simply mean that more people are required to input data, which creates a much higher risk of human error or duplication. Integrated systems don’t remove the potential for human error completely, but it certainly reduces the risk and can provide businesses with greater confidence in their records.
Better Reporting
A common challenge faced by HR departments is the effort required to pull together reports or analytics. Much of this stems from the quality of the data, an issue caused by disparate systems as collecting and aggregating data becomes a manual process. Most integrated HR systems have reporting and analytics tools built into the system, which makes it much easier for teams to create accurate and beneficial reports that make identifying trends and making decisions much easier.
Improved Compliance
The demands on HR teams to meet regulations are tightening all the time, particularly with the introduction of the GDPR. Integrated systems will make it easier for HR teams to fulfill their requirements in terms of compliance, keeping data secured and easy to manage, while also minimizing the effort required in doing so at the same time. This is a huge advantage for a department that already deals with such a wide variety of tasks.
