Every day, organizations in every industry are turning to advanced, cloud-based software to help manage the changing needs of a dynamic workforce. This includes time & attendance software, which can help managers and leaders track and analyze time-on-the-clock data, and utilize key information to create schedules, help control costs, and measure productivity. Great—but how does […]
Read More >HR Managers, Are You Integrating your Web Services?
- nettime solutions staff
Web services and APIs are most likely daunting words if you are a part of an HR department. You might be more comfortable with words like import, export, spreadsheet, and shared file. The good news is that while the words might be intimidating, by integrating your web services you can gain some time in your workday as well as reduce errors and backwork. Now that sounds welcoming, right?
Let’s assume you currently use one type of software to track time and attendance, and another to track payroll. Each employee has an account and tracks hours worked, as well as requests for time off, before notifying his or her manager who approves it (in this case) and sends it to you. At this point you download it and upload to your payroll system. You happen to notice that one of the employees has made a mistake that his manager didn’t catch. You email the manager with clarifying questions as well as the original document with your amendments. Meanwhile the employee realizes the mistake, fixes it, and notifies his manager with a new version. There are now three versions of the same document in circulation and several employees spending time on one small error.
With innumerable exports, imports, emails, etc., how many opportunities are there for error? With web services integration, these headaches are virtually eliminated. Allowing all systems to talk lessens the possibility for error during information transitions, all while contributing extra time to your day. Looking back to a Q&A with Kim Lathrop, a payroll operations project/training manager at a prominent PEO, we can see just how beneficial web services integrations can be.
“… if I was relying on a file-based integration and we were exporting and importing data for all of our clients, I would need to hire a couple of people just to import data. A more advanced integration allows me to be more productive and efficient while maintaining the integrity of our data.”