Top 4 Challenges HR Face With Disparate HR Systems

Integrating separate HR systems such as payroll, HRIS or e-leave has numerous advantages – HR information is being consolidated onto one platform and can be easily imported and exported; reports can be easily generated to assist with decision making and pattern spotting; HR processes are more streamlined, allowing the overall HR processes to be more time and cost efficient. However, piecing together disparate HR systems comes with several unavoidable challenges.

1. Large Allocation of Resources

Integrating HR systems is often a large scale project that requires considerable time, money and human resources. This could put a strain on regular business operations. Additionally, it might result in employees working longer overtime hours or incur high levels of stress as employees have to help out with the integration in addition to their daily responsibilities. Even with a well-thought out process, the amount of resources required to complete a HR systems integration can be quite demanding on an organisation.

2. Difficulty Integrating Departments

Before integration, the various HR systems might be handled by different departments within the organisation. By integrating the HR systems together, this would mean that the different departments now have to work together. This might create some tension as each department might have their own work processes and protocols, proving difficult to align the various HR business processes to ensure a smooth work flow.

3. Misunderstandings Among Teams

After implementation, employees who used to work in different departments must now coexist and communication with each other. This would inevitably lead to misunderstandings among the different teams. Disagreements might arise due to the different approaches each department has to completing certain tasks. Additionally, some employees might view integration as a sign of downsizing the HR department or automating certain HR tasks, with the possibility of some losing their jobs.

4. Technical Difficulties

Some HR systems might not be easily integrated with other systems. For instance, organisations with multiple entities across borders might be utilising a global HRMS while payroll is still processed on a local system. Integrating payroll across entities with the global HRMS might pose a challenge especially for entities that are using an installed-based payroll platform. This might result in technical glitches, delays or even system failures. In extreme cases, it might not even be possible to integrate the systems and organisations have to resort to looking for a new vendor, resulting in additional costs and time incurred. Additionally, these technical difficulties might disrupt daily HR work processes, hence affecting the quality of work or incurring compliance issues.

Integrating separate HR systems can result in several complications. These difficulties can be avoided by purchasing a HRMS that covers most aspects of HR processes or integrating these HR systems during implementation of a new system.