The strategic importance of an integrated HR system
We are long past the era when HR was limited to recruitment, payroll and benefits administration. These days, the world’s most innovative organizations – from Google to Apple to Salesforce, AT&T and beyond – rightfully see HR as a strategic powerhouse that fuels their business’s decision-making, employee engagement, organizational performance and more.
What companies like these have in common is that they work with data-driven HR systems that are fully integrated into every aspect of their business. That’s exactly what integrating your organization’s HR system into your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system enables you to do.
Below, we’ll explore the powerful business benefits of fully integrating HR data into your ERP and discuss how you can transform your existing HR information system or ERP into a true end-to-end HR solution. We’ll also look at how FourVision’s suite of easy-to-use, Azure-based HR Management Web Apps bring the HR module in Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O to the next level, giving you the added functionalities and features it takes to get the maximum advantage out of your HR data.
Top 6 benefits of integrating HR data into your ERP
80% of organizations currently use specialized HR software, yet 36% say their current solution is not adequate. Integrating your HR system into your ERP is a major step towards getting the maximum benefit out of your technology. When organizations directly integrate their HR systems into their ERP, they achieve wide-ranging benefits like these:
1. Increased efficiency and reduced costs
One of the main reasons for integrating your HR system into your ERP is that it significantly increases efficiency and lowers operational costs. With an integrated HR system in place, you can eliminate time-consuming, manual tasks, streamline and automate workflows and free up your HR team to focus on more strategic tasks, such as boosting employee engagement and promoting a better workplace experience.
2. Single source of truth
Your HR system can also improve your organization’s operations by enhancing data accuracy and integrity. With an integrated HR system, employee data only needs to be entered once and is automatically synchronized between your HR and ERP modules. This ensures that all employee data (such as hierarchical roles, performance data and financial details) is up-to-date and consistent across the organization. As a result, you eliminate the risk of costly, time-consuming errors caused by duplicate data entry or outdated/missing information.
3. Synergies between HR, finance and employee tools
Employee data is not just valuable for HR. It also optimizes Finance processes and enhances the employee experience by personalizing the tools that your employees need to do their jobs. Personalizing your employees’ work environment helps keep employees more engaged, which has been found to increase productivity by 13%.
With an integrated HR system, your organization’s hierarchies can be automatically built into financial decision-making processes, such as approvals workflows. Data from performance evaluations can also be seamlessly integrated into compensation management and learning & development. You can also improve your workforce planning by automatically integrating leave & absence data.
4. Increased security with organization-wide roles and authorizations
Security is a growing concern for organizations of all sizes. Integration with Microsoft’s Single Sign-on and Azure Active Directory adds an extra layer of protection to your HR and ERP data. Additional integrated solutions like FourVision’s HR Apps offer organization-wide roles and authorizations, so you have full control over who has access to which parts of your company’s ERP, based on their role. This helps keep your company’s sensitive data confidential and secure.
5. Real-time HR reporting
To keep up with today’s fast-changing business challenges, CHROs and their teams need to remain agile. That requires having access to real-time data, which enables you to correct course and continually optimize. Integrated HR systems provide real-time reporting capabilities through tools like Microsoft Power Business Intelligence (BI). This tool gives you the insights you need to monitor key performance indicators, identify missteps and address challenges quickly.
6. Enabling the full potential of end-to-end HR
If you want to make your HR system truly future-proof, your goal should be to transition towards truly end-to-end HR. This means HR data is seamlessly integrated into every area of your organization’s operations. This can only be achieved when your HR system is integrated into your ERP. With full integration, your HR team becomes a full strategic partner in your organization’s success, fulfilling core business functions like talent acquisition, talent management, employee experience and operational excellence.
Employee experience: Personalization is key
While HR integration offers clear benefits, it’s important to remember that not all integrated HR solutions can live up to their promises. Many solutions claim to offer an “all-in-one HR system,” but in practice, this often results in a cluttered application landscape that is not user-friendly for HR or your employees. The best solutions offer a personalized experience, giving the right employees easy access to the right apps and tools within one coherent, user-friendly dashboard-like environment.
Microsoft has continually expanded its Teams platform with employee experience in mind. It gives your employees access to the apps they need when and where they need them. FourVision’s suite of user-friendly HR Web Apps are designed to enhance Microsoft’s core functionalities and provide an even more streamlined user experience. This means you can cater to each employee’s needs, while boosting engagement and productivity.
Turning your HRIS into an end-to-end HR solution
If you are among the 36% of HR professionals who are dissatisfied with your current HR tech setup, you’re probably working with tools that are not fully integrated into your company’s broader IT landscape. You may be switching back and forth between multiple apps to access the data you need. Maybe your various tools and apps are out of sync, because they are not all connected with a single, accurate source of truth.
If you’re already using Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O, you have a strong foundation for putting an end-to-end HR system in place. FourVision’s HR Web Apps integrate fully with Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O and expand its functionality, so you get the seamless, end-to-end HR experience that your company needs.
Ready to implement your integrated HR solution?
As the world’s first Microsoft partner to specialize in the HR module, FourVision helps leading organizations along their HR integration journey. Our experience shows us that integrating your HR system into your organization’s ERP is a crucial step towards turning your HR department into the strategic powerhouse that it should be.
By embracing integration, you put your organization on a path towards greater efficiency, enhanced data integrity, improved security, real-time reporting and unlocking the full potential of end-to-end HR. You also make your organization more employee-focused than ever by offering the most personalized employee experience possible. All of these benefits translate into real strategic advantages in today’s extremely competitive job market.
