Three Tips to Improve HR and IT Process Integration

When it comes to discussing employee onboarding and offboarding there are two main players who are involved in the process, HR and IT. Often HR and IT professionals find themselves at odds with each other because their daily workflows are so different and there is often little understanding of that between the departments. However, technology has come a long way and there are now systems in place that can assist with the integration of employee onboarding, offboarding and other workforce processes. Here are Montra’s top tips to ensure a successfully integrated HR and IT onboarding/offboarding process: 

1.  Set Regular Communication Schedules 

Schedule regular check-ins between the two department heads to ensure both teams are on the same page. A commonly heard complaint from IT professionals is that they are not included in the on/offboarding process until the very end and that teams are not working together to create a seamless transition for employees. As with any relationship, communication is key to success. When it comes to HR and IT integration, clear and concise communication will go a long way. Making sure both teams are aware of deadlines and expectations will help to avoid any stressful surprises down the road. 

2. Automate Reminders 

Automating tasks and reminders in the onboarding/offboarding processes is a great way to improve efficiency and accuracy across the board. Whether it is with email or more sophisticated systems, automated reminder notifications can minimize communication delay and ensure that longer lead time processes like background checks and laptop procurement are able to get started as quickly as possible in the process. 

3. Use Technology to Integrate 

There are several HR and IT software integration solutions on the market. They are often too complex to implement for most companies – requiring external consultants to implement. Montra’s VIA EX software is designed with the mid-market in mind. EX is workforce management software that helps businesses manage the IT aspects of onboarding and offboarding. Implementation is straightforward in most modern HRIS. VIA EX does everything from user account creation across multiple applications to managing the laptop and phone ordering processes and even enables employee mass notifications. 

By using these tips, your HR and IT departments can work together seamlessly to ensure a smooth onboarding and offboarding experience for your employees. By integrating the software into your company’s current HR and IT systems, you can improve communication between these two vital groups and make your business run smoother. 

If you are interested in learning more about the VIA EX software or would like to try it for yourself, please email us at sales@montra.io. We would be happy to answer any of your questions and discuss how the software could benefit your business. 

3 Things an Employee Information Manager Needs 

Too many systems, too many self-service portals. How many times a month are you or your employees being asked to update information in one of your systems – addresses, phone numbers, personal emails, bank information, emergency contacts – who has time to update all the systems everywhere. 

Just think about it: 

  • Employees Move 
  • Employees Change Phone Numbers 
  • Employee Families Change 
  • Employees Learn New Skills 
  • Employees Get New Experience 
  • Employees Can Be Working from Anywhere 
  • Employees Work Flexible Hours 

So, every time an employee does work for a new customer, or moves, or changes job title, then they would need to update every system that tracks that. Most people don’t even know what systems hold their info, much less have the time to make changes. And with more dynamic information like where they are working for the day or are the currently online, keeping multiple systems up-to-date completely breaks down. 

Why do we have this problem? 

The problem is that there isn’t really a system of record for employee information in most companies. Instead, there are many systems of record. What most companies have today typically looks like the following: 

  • HRIS: maintains employee information for HR, benefits, pay, employee reviews, etc. For good reasons, it is usually a very limited access system. The employee address and/or bank info is always correct in the HRIS because people like to get paid. 
  • Email System: Email is so central to modern work-life, that the email provider tends to be the default system IT uses for employee information. The email is always correct here and that is usually about all. 
  • Employee Directory: Some companies will either license an inexpensive employee directory or have an internal person develop one. The information in them tends to get stale quickly, because it is yet another system to keep updated. 
  • LinkedIn: While not a system that companies need to license, almost every employee has a LinkedIn account. LinkedIn tends to be a reliable place for employee experience and skills and sometimes clubs, hobbies, and other interests. 
  • CRM Systems: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems like Salesforce are widely implemented and often used by any employee that touches the customer whether sales, marketing, support, etc. Because of this, the employee information inside the CRM has become a de facto system of record for contacting employees. Emails and phone numbers tend to stay accurate but other important info like job title, location, skills and experiences, tend to get stale fast. 
  • Slack: You may not think of this as an employee information system, but it does have information in it like “I’m logged in” and “I am actively working”. Slack and other services like Teams are also ways to contact an employee that are faster and easier than email. 
  • Other Functional Applications: Just about every department in a company has at least one system of record to assist them with all their work. Any user of these systems must have an account, and usually the developers of those systems have added deeper employee info that is either necessary or helpful for their application. The challenge is that these applications are often not broadly used and the employee information gets outdated and therefore the features in the app that rely on that information become less helpful. 

3 Functions an Employee Information Systems Provides 

What companies really need is a centralized repository of employee information with three primary functions: 

1. Employee Self-Service: Allow employees to update their own information easily and reliably 

2. Secure Employee Directory: A great benefit of having reliable employee information, is that the information can then be shared internally. That said, there is far more information in the HRIS than should be published for all employees. A good employee information manager needs to have privacy settings that allow the proper handling of employee data.  

3. APIs Everywhere: If the Employee Information System is going to stay valuable, it needs to have APIs to as many systems the affect employees as possible. This list can be long but should include the HRIS, Email, Slack/Teams, Phone Systems, Device Managers, Finance, CRM, and Employee Notification Systems. 

It cannot be understated how important having accurate employee information available to all people and systems within a company is – especially as we move into a continually hybrid working work. Great companies will stop treating employee knowledge as tribal information exchanged between employees close to one another and will instead treat employee info the way they treat customer info – as strategic corporate asset to be treated with care and importance it should have. 

Want to learn more about managing your employee information better? Contact us and we can tell you about the software and services Montra provides to get you on your own journey to great Employee Information Management. sales@montra.io