Unified data integration saves time for HR teams and eliminates manual double-data entry. It also enables them to focus on strategic work that promotes business growth.
Unified integration aims to ensure all tools and systems share information seamlessly. This is done through webhook integrations, messages your system sends to another (like a benefits provider) that trigger data changes.
Increased Efficiency
Data integrations can automate tasks and reduce the manual work HR teams require. This is accomplished by sharing data between systems and eliminating the need for multiple apps. It also helps eliminate duplicate or inaccurate data and increases productivity.
Streamlining processes can dramatically improve employee morale.
For example, integrating applicant tracking systems (ATS) with payroll and background check programs ensures that once an applicant presses the hire button on the ATS, all necessary information is automatically sent to the appropriate HR app for processing payroll and a background check. This can save HR teams days or weeks’ worth of manual work.
In addition, with excellent build-in integration between HR and safety management systems, new hires are automatically updated in both applications, drastically reducing the workload for people managing people (whether it’s security officers or HR). This eliminates the need to manually update one system with changes already made in another, making for consistent and clean records across all platforms.
Improved Visibility
While integrating HR systems might initially seem daunting, it is worth the investment. Having all your data in one place eliminates manual double-data entry and frees HR teams to focus on strategic work that will help grow the company. It also helps to improve data accuracy and enables better reporting and analytics.
HR data integration like that offered by Finch also allows for self-service, reducing the number of support tickets that need to be handled by HR employees. This can be done by integrating your HR system with communication tools like email and messaging platforms employees use for daily business functions. Integrating these tools allows employee requests to be sent directly to HR and resolved quickly. Tracking key HR help desk metrics also provides insight into how well the team performs and where improvements can be made.
In the past, they brought data from different HR systems involving file imports or exports using CSV or XML files and a middleware piece of software to automate the process. However, APIs have replaced this. With a modern integration platform, prebuilt connectors pull the data from the source app, and a middleware solution maps it into the target app based on unlimited business rules. With this, data integrations that used to take six months are now completed in less than two weeks.
Enhanced Collaboration
When systems are integrated, the information in each system automatically updates the other system. This eliminates manual double-data entry and allows HR teams to focus on strategic issues that grow a business.
Data integration can be accomplished through API-to-API or scheduled file transfer solutions, which provide a reliable way to share data between systems. When choosing an API to integrate with, ensure the vendor has extensive experience integrating with the specific system you’re using. The API should also be able to handle different attributes, data types, and relationships. For example, each HRIS might have a different employee schema with varying attributes. The unified API normalizes this data to one standard for seamless data sharing.
Many HR departments use separate programs to manage employee information like payroll, time and attendance, benefits, and performance management. Using these systems in tandem through data integration reduces the amount of manual work, delays, and errors that can occur when information is transferred manually between applications. Moreover, it ensures the accuracy of information and enables broader reporting and analytics capabilities.
Increased Flexibility
When systems are not integrated, HR teams must pass information between them by hand or manually re-enter it into multiple programs. This wastes time and creates a higher risk of data redundancy and errors. Data integration provides a more streamlined process and allows HR professionals to focus on strategic objectives that drive business growth.
With real-time data integration, the same information is synced in all applications and available for everyone to see. This helps streamline the onboarding process so new hires cannot fill out duplicate paperwork and can hit the ground running. It also ensures that all reports are based on the most accurate and up-to-date information.
The best way to integrate systems is through an API (application programming interface). A unified API platform combines different APIs for common software categories like HR, benefits, and 401(k) into one endpoint with a single set of rules and architecture. It also allows developers to build connections quickly and easily with turnkey connectors for standard fields or customize them to specific needs. This eliminates the need for manual interfacing and reduces the risk of losing data in a system outage.
Increased ROI
Any HR workflow that requires teams to pass papers or manually re-enter data from screen to screen between programs can be streamlined with automatic data sharing. For example, a system that handles payroll and another that manages time and attendance can connect via integration to sync employee information so that paychecks are accurate and timely.
An integrated database also improves data accuracy by reducing redundancies, errors, and delays that may occur when different systems store and use the same data. With a single source of truth, HR leaders can generate more detailed reports and analytics that will enable them to make better business decisions.
Lastly, unified employment API provides your customers with a seamless way to integrate their systems and streamlines the onboarding process for employees. This allows you to support product-led growth rather than relying on an extended sales pipeline and allows your customers to expand their usage quickly with no manual work or file transfers.
