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Whitepaper: HR and Payroll systems – The importance of integration

January 27, 2018

Is your business looking for new Payroll and HR software solutions? If so you have an important decision to make.

Do you buy an off-the-shelf software package to get you quickly up and running or do you look at one of the big top tier suppliers? Potentially spending a sizeable amount of time and money getting the project off the ground or do you buy a truly ‘integrated’ solution with a middling implementation time?

If you already have a solution with a payroll and HR module, surely it’s a ‘no brainer’ isn’t it? We know one size cannot fit all for every business, there will be arguments for and against integration.

The right solution depends on the size of your organisation and the complexities your business demands.

Naturally cost will be a factor, if you already have established HR and payroll systems in place, it will be difficult to justify additional costs to the department.

So there are options to explore… but doesn’t a single integrated solution with payroll and HR appearing as an extra option on your NAV menu meaning one set of data, less duplication and less room for errors sound good?

Changes to the role payroll has to play

The last three years have seen the most changes to the payroll function than in the previous thirty. Payroll today is so much more than simply paying employees correctly and on time. With the introduction of legislative changes such as RTI (Real-Time Information), auto-enrolment, salary sacrifice schemes and shared parental leave, payroll now has a larger role to play.

With all this in mind, looking at an integrated solution seems to make sense. If payroll and HR need to play a larger role within the organisation, surely they need to have a system that will allow them to do so? A system providing greater visibility and accountability to the rest of the business by providing access to data and analysis at the click of a button.

Increased benefits and efficiencies

Greater efficiency is one of the main advantages of having an integrated solution, which is good news for the payroll department where output has increased significantly over the last few years. Indeed RTI was one of the biggest changes to payroll since the introduction of PAYE and data must be accurate and up to date.

This is where HR and payroll overlap substantially as they are collecting much of the same information. Having one system to manage this ensures ‘one version of the truth’, one set of data entered once and stored once, leading to less data duplication and fewer errors.

Given that payroll and the management of staff is often the largest expense for most organisations, it seems right not to isolate those functions from the rest of the business, an integrated solution makes reporting, planning and analysis much easier. So if finance want the first quarter pay for a particular group of the business then that information will be readily available.

Payroll and HR departments can realise the benefits very quickly, a new employee can be set up by HR, pay details can be added by payroll, no cross-referencing, no pushing data round several systems…. it sounds appealing. Whether you’re exporting data to an accounting system, a spreadsheet, a timesheet management solution or an outsourcing company, all this movement makes errors difficult to identify.

But it won’t just be the payroll and HR departments benefitting with a move to an integrated solution, the IT and finance departments can benefit significantly. Costs can be reduced as IT resources can be shared throughout the business and training costs lowered across the board.

So an integrated solution means processing times are reduced, costs are kept under control freeing up your payroll and HR Managers to focus on value-added activities helping you become more agile as a business.

Your HR and payroll roadmap

To maximise the potential of your business, you must be able to manage your organisation’s most important asset – your people. With Miracle Dynamics Microsoft NAV integrated HR and payroll solutions, you will have the human resources, benefits, staffing, compensation, time and attendance and talent management tools you need to effectively manage your employees.

HR and payroll solutions overview

Time-consuming manual and non-integrated processes greatly increase the risk of redundant data entry and the margin for error. Microsoft Dynamics NAV business management solutions help you manage all facets of your HR and payroll more easily and accurately.

The result: Increased employee satisfaction and an empowered staff who can access critical information quickly and perform routine business activities more efficiently.

Gain greater control

Microsoft Dynamics NAV enables your people to take control of demanding HR and payroll processing to ensure accuracy and meet increasingly complex compliance, regulatory, and reporting requirements. Through the integration of core functions, critical data is available at your employees’ fingertips—where and when they need it. Tight security features and role-tailored access help to ensure that sensitive information is delivered only to the right people.

Streamline processes

Automated time-and-attendance systems have become a cornerstone for effective workforce management systems. Microsoft Dynamics NAV helps you improve productivity and reduce human error by eliminating manual data, tracking, and calculations, without adding to your overhead. It also empowers HR and payroll to maximise efficiency and reduce costs through the automation of routine tasks.

Save time

With flexible reporting options enabled by fully integrated data sharing, Microsoft Dynamics NAV delivers strategic information on demand to help you identify trends, comply with mandated programmes, and track expenses for internal reporting, budgeting, and compliance. This information enables you to strategically plan and manage your HR budget and to provide personnel management, reporting, services, and other organisational support in a cost-effective manner.

Accurate data enabling confident decision making

Automating employee data empowers your HR staff with the visibility they need to make faster, more informed organisational decisions on critical matters such as recruiting workers and terminating employment, as well as benefit management. The integrated systems of Microsoft Dynamics NAV enable quick and convenient transformation of HR data into useful information to help you minimise risks and maximise productivity.

Business process: Manage organisation

With multiple data sets converging from many locations across your organisation, managing your workforce and work environment effectively can be challenging. Integrated and automated HR processes can help you better manage your employee’s time maximising productivity.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV HR and payroll solutions adjust to the way you work helping you efficiently manage the unique needs of your organisation. These innovative tools facilitate effective communication with your staff and create better services for your employees. The customisable schedules, pay rates, and hiring process functionality within Microsoft Dynamics NAV seamlessly fit with your existing systems so your employees and managers can adopt the solution quickly.

Key benefits:

  • Increase visibility. Give your management team quality information they need to make better-informed organisational decisions.
  • Reduce overhead costs. Streamline and automate reporting requirements to eliminate time consuming and costly manual procedures.
  • More consistent recruitment practices. Customisable recruitment processes, scheduling, and performance evaluation tools help increase productivity and ensure fairness.
Business process: Recruitment

Your business success depends on attracting the right people to do the right job. Manually tracking job applicants can slow down the interviewing process taking valuable time. Streamlining the recruitment process for your HR team will help them identify the most suitable candidates quicker and monitor hiring procedures.

Real-time access to pertinent information such as job applications and interview evaluations is essential to enabling strong hiring and employee management decisions. From applicant tracking to on-boarding and beyond, Microsoft Dynamics NAV streamlines the entire recruitment process in one place. Using standardised and automated hiring processes, you can attract, screen, and hire the best talent, giving you an edge over your competition.

By automating both external and internal personnel recruitment, you can control the process from the moment an application is received, through correspondence and interviews, right up to the point of employment or rejection. All this information is then stored and easily retrieved for future reference. The recruitment features in Microsoft Dynamics NAV provide standard and customisable hiring forms and letters to give applicants a professional and efficient introduction to your company.

Key benefits:

  • Make faster, more strategic decisions. Attract and retain top talent using customisable hiring, scheduling, and performance evaluation tools.
  • Streamline the application process. Increase efficiency using customisable interview forms and letter templates.
  • Standardise recruitment processes. Identify top applicants, and maintain a fair and consistent recruitment process with customised interview forms and templates for acknowledgement, invitation, offer, and rejection letters.
  • Empower employees to apply for internal job openings. Allows managers to post job openings online and then view the status of employee-submitted applications.
Business process: Retain workforce

Losing skilled employees impacts your bottom line and your productivity. By maximising the potential of your existing workforce, you can provide your organisation with significant benefits—from improved employee morale to reduced turnover. Treating employees consistently and providing access to educational, training, and internal growth opportunities can help you retain a highly skilled workforce fuelling your business success.

Keeping manual records of your employees’ training and skills can be time consuming and challenging. Through a series of automated self-service tools, Microsoft Dynamics NAV empowers your employees to manage their own personal development and track their own career paths.

Key benefits:

  • Meet industry and customer requirements. Keep your employees up-to-date on mandatory certifications.
  • Manage recruitment. Automate the tracking of job applicants and make more well-informed decisions by identifying qualified employees or applicants quickly.
  • Track staff development. View which employees have completed the training programmes and certifications necessary to respond to growth opportunities.
  • Retain high-performing employees. Build companywide confidence by treating employees consistently with timely and effective performance reviews and benefits life-cycle management.

Basic Human Resources: Make fast, strategic decisions for attracting and retaining top talent, and offer employees better services and programmes with customisable hiring processes, scheduling, and performance evaluation tools.

Employee Portal: Give employees the ability to view, create, update, and delete data in an easy-to-use, well-known environment, as well as view reports, execute business logic and perform searches.

Payroll: Improve productivity, reduce administration workloads and create accurate real-time reporting.

With Microsoft NAV, users will have a familiar Microsoft look and feel. If your organisation is already running a NAV solution this will help your staff get on board quickly reducing training costs.

For a truly integrated HR and payroll solution, take a look at MiraclePay and MiraclePeople from Miracle Dynamics.

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