Integration is the combination of two (or more) things into a functional whole. When it comes to technology integration, the goal is to more efficiently enter, obtain, analyze and synthesize information. In the HR technology space, vendors look to integrate different functionalities in a single platform to ease the burden of data entry and processing.

A common example of this is payroll vendors. Recently, payroll vendors have worked hard to acquire new technology partners to meet a variety of HR needs on a single platform, if it’s not natively built into the system. In the past, an HR team may have had many vendors to manage payroll, time and attendance, benefits administration, compliance, talent management, and employee engagement and communication. Today, HR teams can partner with a single vendor with the ability to manage all these functions from a single system.

There are many advantages to these partnerships. Here are just a few:

• Greater knowledge, comfort and expertise of a system by the users. When HR teams (and employees) are using one system for almost all aspects of HR management, they get to know that system well.

• Elimination of multiple “sign-ons” and data entry. When there is only one system to enter and edit employee information, there is less chance of a user making a mistake in the entry or editing of employee data

• Ability to analyze data across functional areas of the system. They can provide insights into an employee population that allows an HR team to see relationships in the data and take action where needed.

There are downsides to integration as well. One of the most critical is the loss of flexibility. In order to accomplish full integration, HR teams may be forced to end relationships with vendors with whom they have enjoyed working. If an HR team is using a vendor with strict and narrow integrations and decide one aspect (compliance, ben admin, time and attendance, etc.) isn’t performing, it may be difficult to end part of a relationship while keeping the rest intact.

There is a happy middle ground where a vendor provides a “marketplace” of partners with whom they can provide some level of integration. For example, there are payroll vendors who can integrate with a variety of benefits administration platforms. That way, a client can keep both of their preferred partners and still gain a measure of integration in their processes.

When deciding whether an integrated system is right for your HR team and employees, think about what you will gain and lose in the process? Are the increases in efficiency and decreases in errors worth not being able to choose which systems you work with? Would you prefer to keep systems separate and therefore maintain the ability to make changes as and when it is right for the company?

Benefit Concepts, Inc. has worked with numerous technology partners over the years to develop valuable relationships and provide worthwhile integrations to our clients. The most recent of these is an integration between Gen4 and HR360. HR360 is an incredibly robust collection of tools and content available to our clients and integrated in the Gen4 HR Dashboard. The system is designed to provide resources to meet an HR team’s needs in a variety of different categories. From Employee Benefits and Recruiting & Hiring to Discipline & Termination and Safety & Wellness, HR360 provides HR users with a broad range of tools to help with both day to day and strategic HR needs.

Your Benefit Concepts, Inc. account management team can help navigate the many HR and payroll technology options available in the marketplace. You can rely on your BCI to act as an impartial collaborator to help find the technology partner with the right integrations to make your HR team thrive in this challenging environment.

Allison Brannan