A common issue that many companies used to face was how many tasks were completed in silos. While payroll services was managed by one department, benefits were monitored by another and HR was an entirely separate matter.
Lately, however, enterprises have been integrating all three of these functions. The idea is to create a single, unified system to handle all workforce management procedures instead of having multiple departments manage small tasks.
Additionally, there some other benefits of integration that has led to the approach becoming the rule rather than the exception.
Improved accuracy
Disconnected departments could sometimes cause issues that reverberate across the company. According the Houston Chronicle, if one mistake is recorded by one group, it affects all of the others. The news source goes on to explain that the more people who have access to information and are responsible for updating entires, the greater the risk for errors and conflicting reports.
By integrating payroll, HR and benefits, companies can minimize the potential for mistakes and ensure that records only include accurate data. Instead of having three workers from three separate departments adjust an employee's personnel file, businesses can implement software so that only one person can input new information. This eliminates conflicting reports and allows an HR department to maintain to its files without comparing them to another group's documentation.
Further, this also streamlines oversight. Upper-level HR representatives can easily check information when its all consolidated into an integrated system. When data is spread across multiple departments or files are filled with redundant information, making revisions needlessly difficult. By keeping employee data in one place, HR professionals can access key details rather quickly to ensure accuracy.
Reduced bureaucracy
A key benefit of integration is that it drastically reduces bureaucracy for employees. When workers want to update their files or have questions, they don't want to ask around and be sent from one department to the next to uncover an a simple answer.
Combining payroll, HR and benefits into a single system and making it the responsibility of one department ensures that staff members know where to go and who to talk to about specific matters. For instance, a worker can easily find out whether his or her group insurance payments are automatically taken out of each paycheck because it won't be an issue that both the benefits and payroll departments can handle.
