Managing Multiple HR Systems vs. One Integrated HRIS

by Mike Tannian on August 29, 2022

Public sector agencies can benefit from HR data integration, connecting different segments like time and attendance, payroll, benefits, and PTO.

Article Highlights

HR departments have too many choices of apps, platforms, and systems. There are solutions for sourcing, vetting, interviewing, scoring, evaluating, hiring, and onboarding candidates, not to mention following up with the ones who didn't get hired.

It's so bad that "on average, large HR departments now have 11 systems of record," said John Bersin in HR Executive, “and L&D departments work with as many as 22 different vendors."

HR departments aren't just spoiled with choices, they're buried by them.

Some HR solutions can work together, but many cannot.

As HR departments replace their legacy systems with new apps and software packages, they're finding that their applications can’t talk to each other – the data doesn't sync. And they often don't follow the same data structure to make downloading and uploading easy. 

HR departments need a single source of data – a single source of truth, as it were – where they can manage their data on one integrated HRIS. NEOGOV's Human Resources Information System (HRIS) consolidates and syncs your data all in one platform.

It's a central hub for employee records, salary, benefits administration, and workforce data. It's easy to manage and track human resources data while achieving compliance. You don't have to switch from platform to platform to work with several sets of nearly identical data. It's all in one place, and it feeds several different functions.

This article will examine the problems with maintaining multiple HR systems, how one government HRIS can manage everything, and the benefits of having complete HR data integration within an all-in-one solution.

Problem: Maintaining Multiple HR Systems

A problem most HR departments have, especially in the public sector, is spending a lot of time and energy trying to maintain multiple HR systems. Multiple systems mean data is siloed, which means HR employee data needs to be manually re-entered in each program whenever a new employee joins the organization. Even if you copy and paste the same data into each siloed employee database, it's still highly inefficient.

It also means changing the data in every program any time information changes, such as a change in roles, a promotion, or a change of address. And it's nearly impossible to have comprehensive reports that show everyone the big picture. There will be separate reports for candidate tracking, onboarding, comp time and leave, timesheets and attendance, and payroll.

Most importantly, there is a lack of HR data integration between the systems. If you want to see the time and attendance of a group of employees and use it to track their PTO, how do you do that if the data is in two separate systems? Copy and paste everything into a single spreadsheet? Print out reports from both and try to line them up? Switch back and forth between apps and write notes on a notepad? What will you do after a heavy vacation week?

Plus, by re-entering each employee's data into each system, there's the likelihood of a data entry error: "John Smith" in one system could very well become "Jon Smith" in another. Or maybe a former employee's data wasn’t removed from one system. This can mangle any attempt to integrate several silos of data into one large Excel spreadsheet to create a comprehensive report.

Having one integrated human resources information system will make all the difference between a smooth integration and trying to bridge the gaps between different silos.

Solution: A Single Government HRIS System

NEOGOV provides one integrated HRIS system that combines government payroll software with HR benefits administration software, HR PTO software, and core HR functions so you don't have to maintain multiple platforms. It's HR data integration at its finest.

HRIS stores all HR employee data in one centralized storage location, which helps protect it from cyberattacks and data breaches. It also provides the one true source of information. That means changing an employee's data in the central repository immediately makes that new information available to all core HR functions. No more re-entering data into every platform.

Payroll is fully integrated with the benefits management and time & attendance modules to provide a more seamless and efficient process, including autopay. The payroll process module includes taxes, ACH, garnishments, W2s, and 1095 services. You can provide all employees' W2s, pay stubs, tax documents, and total compensation reports.

You can also track time and attendance in the same system, keeping track of comp time, leave accruals, and FMLA. You can seamlessly track and manage shift differentials and premiums. And you have access to online timesheets that integrate with various time clocks and mobile time entry mechanisms.

Best of all, we designed our HRIS to meet the needs of public sector human resources departments. It manages data across the employee lifecycle, from candidate to onboarding to retirement.

Our software includes core employee data that can be used across our HRIS and talent management systems to avoid manual re-entry, mistakes, etc. If you’re looking for solutions beyond HRIS that leverage core employee data, consider these solutions from NEOGOV: Attract (candidate relationship manager), Insight (applicant tracking), Onboard (employee onboarding), and more.

Benefits of Government HRIS Systems

There are several benefits to adopting our HRIS solution beyond avoiding errors and manual data re-entry (although those are important).

For one thing, HRIS is an integrated solution designed for the needs of government HR – a single system made for each facet of core HR work.

For another, employees can make many of their own employee data changes, such as changing addresses or phone numbers. They can also research their own benefits questions, change their tax information, and change their beneficiaries. Ultimately, this convenience can help improve employee satisfaction and retention while saving HR time.

Our HRIS helps improve overall HR efficiency. Save time by pulling all data from one centralized repository and creating comprehensive reports with the click of a button. No more trying to make disparate data from several sources fit together in a single spreadsheet. You can choose from over 30+ visual dashboards or even customize your own dashboards to select only the reports you want.

This simplifies human capital management in ways that weren’t possible a few years ago. With NEOGOV's integrated HRIS system, you can add new employees to the system and immediately begin tracking time, payroll, PTO, and FMLA. It all happens automatically. 

Finally, our HRIS provides real-time information to end-users. People who need to look up certain employees or run reports on specific departments can know that the data is up-to-date and complete. No need to wait for someone to add new information or make changes – if it's in the centralized system, it's ready for review.

Final Thoughts

A human resources information system (HRIS) like NEOGOV's gives public sector HR departments all the data they need to manage their employees' most important data and to keep that information secure and updated.

By providing a centralized repository for HR data, you can pull employee data into any system or area you need. You save time and energy, avoid costly errors, and provide a much better service to your employees and managers.

To learn more about using HRIS in your Human Resources department, sign up for a free, no-obligation demo today.

Mike Tannian

Mike Tannian is the Director of Content Marketing at NEOGOV. With a talented team of writers by his side, he aims to produce content that delivers real value to public sector HR professionals at every stage in the buying journey.

Related Articles