In the pursuit of greater efficiency and collaboration, more businesses are choosing to integrate their various business functions. For example, by using analytical software that integrates customer management information with accounting data, companies are gaining the insight they need to win new business and sell more to existing customers.
There is a lot that your company can learn from its payroll and HR data too. People analytics can help you manage your workforce more effectively – giving you an in-depth insight into your staff, that can give your business a measurable boost. Unfortunately, payroll and HR departments often operate in silos – and not only from each other, but the wider business too.
According to the 2017 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends report, 71% of companies see people analytics as a high priority, and 31% rate it as very important. However, while the figures are promising, progress is slow. The percentage of companies correlating their HR data to business outcomes, performing predictive analytics, and deploying enterprise scorecards barely shifted between 2016 and 2017.
The report also revealed that only 8% of companies currently believe they have usable data for people analytics. Only 9% believe they have a good understanding of which talent dimensions drive performance in their organisations, and only 15% have broadly deployed HR and talent scorecards for line managers.
This indicates that many businesses are still battling with HR and payroll data silos. This prevents them from harnessing the business benefits of people analytics.
Data silos in HR and payroll
Outdated software is one of the main reasons companies still struggle with HR and payroll data silos. If your teams rely on excel spreadsheets for example, it’s much harder to share up-to-date information between departments. Desktop software is another example – when information is stored on only a few computers, it’s not widely accessible and important insights and opportunities can fall between the cracks.
With legacy software, finding and accessing the information you need to generate insightful reports is a challenge. Information that could potentially help another department in your company remains locked in one team. These examples of traditional payroll and HR software all promote data silos – and they are not the way of the future.
The power of transparency
Through improving HR data management, you can promote inter-departmental access to HR and payroll information and insights. This helps business leaders make more strategic decisions in the best interest of the company. Executives should not have to hunt through files for employee information like new engagements and terminations, leave balances, training and employment equity. These reports, including any historical data, should be easily available as and when needed.
cloud-native data analytics software gives users the ability to slice and dice data based on any field in the system and get instant results. What’s more, you can invite your work colleagues to participate in interactive sessions and show them how to access the insights they need. The ability for multiple users to work together on one set of data is a great tool to enable more strategic and collaborative group decision making.
To do even more with the HR and payroll data you have available, you should consider software that also has a people analytics or business intelligence component. These are all features of modern payroll software, like PaySpace.
Say goodbye to old systems
In the past, HR and payroll information was simply used within the HR and payroll departments to manage functions like recruitment and staff retention. As the integration of information becomes an increasingly crucial business process, this data needs to be accessible companywide.
Functions such as sales productivity, workforce effectiveness, fraud prevention and other operational needs can all be streamlined with a single point of data. Evolve your HR and payroll system with advanced people analytics and give your business every chance of future success.
