Automating HR Processes: A Quick Guide to HRIS Integrations

Buzzwords like “integration” and “API” can feel like a mystery to HR teams. You’ve likely heard these terms, but what do they mean for your team and strategy?

As technology rapidly advances to change the landscape of work, we’re seeing more HR software integration than ever before. Research shows that HR automations have increased by 599% in recent years, and HR bots comprise 39% of employee automations.

But with different systems serving different purposes—one to collect people data and another to run payroll—you’ll need effective software to streamline HR workflows. And that requires integrations.

Read on to decode software tech-speak and discover how HRIS integration software can power your most impactful strategies.

What are APIs and integrations?

The terms “API”—or application programming interface—and “integrations” are often used together and referred to as “API integrations.” Although the terms are related, there are some key differences between the two.

What is API integration?

An API, or application programming interface, is a set of rules and protocols that allow different software applications to communicate with each other. It functions as a gateway that defines how one program can request services or data from another, without needing to know how the other program is built.

With API integration, multiple systems or applications are connected, and data is automatically updated and exchanged. The APIs act as messengers between the systems. This digital bridge creates a unified view, eliminating isolated data points that could slow you down.

What is an HRIS integration?

As we know, integration, or API integration, is when two or more applications are connected through their APIs to communicate or share data.

HR professionals primarily deal with HRIS integrations, a type of integration that specifically connects to their human resources information system (HRIS). This process uses third-party or in-house APIs to connect an HR application with other cloud apps or on-premise systems. Once the connection is established, data can flow between applications in real time.

HRIS integration software essentially automates data sharing and creates a synchronized platform for HR-related functions.

Example of an HRIS integration

Now, let’s look at HRIS and talent acquisition as an example. This integration works by creating an automated flow of candidate data from an applicant tracking system (ATS) to the HRIS, often via the applications’ APIs. If a candidate is marked as “hired” in the ATS, their data automatically syncs with the HRIS to create a new employee profile.

This connection eliminates manual data entry and associated delays, streamlining the hiring and onboarding processes. Once the candidate is onboarded, the HRIS can also manage employee development plans and align training initiatives with performance goals.

How do APIs and HRIS integrations work together?

An API integration is a partnership between two systems. It sends data and incorporates some features of one system into another without having to move between multiple systems or constantly sync data.

APIs are the main tool for automating HR processes and centralizing your data. Say you need to do a background check, but your ATS doesn’t include that feature. You’re going back and forth between both systems, plugging in, updating, and sending information. That’s a lot of clicking.

With an integration, you can connect your ATS to your background check software, so the data flows back and forth between the two systems. This eliminates the need for you to continually flip back and forth between each system.

In this example, the API is what allows the ATS and background check platform to talk to each other; the integration is the task they work together to perform.

By leveraging APIs to share data, companies can integrate various software to streamline HR workflows and create a more cohesive tech stack for their HR practice.

Benefits of HRIS integration

As HR technology grows and expands, there are countless providers of niche services. Integrating the most vital of these applications into your existing software gives you the best of both worlds: The most robust technology to meet your company’s needs without having to navigate through each standalone system.

HRIS integration software helps HR teams streamline processes and create efficiencies that lead to less time spent on repetitive tasks and more time spent on building relationships and strategic, big-picture thinking. Here are just four ways these integrations can improve your ways of working.

1. Allow you to access a single source of data

Instead of piecemealing the best HR solution for your company by purchasing multiple software systems and only using elements of each, HR software integration allows you to create a custom and cohesive system that connects the most accurate and up-to-date data to a single source.

2. You can create a customizable system

It’s rare that a single piece of software can fit the needs of your entire business. HRIS integrations allow you to create an effective and streamlined solution specifically tailored for your needs.

3. Teams can avoid double entry

With integrations, you don’t have to input data in multiple platforms, which is a huge time saver. If you’re hiring for a new role through BambooHR^® and using the Indeed integration, you can publish the job listing directly to Indeed. On the other end, applicants can apply directly within Indeed. No extra steps or redundancies; just a win-win for everyone involved.

4. Errors are reduced overall

Integrations connect data to ensure everyone is working from the best information—and it all happens automatically. When humans are tasked with copying or verifying data across multiple applications, it opens the door for mistakes. But automatic API integrations ensure the most accurate data is automatically shared with all connected systems.

Using HRIS integrations to automate processes

Standard HR functions are changing in a big way. Although necessary, core functions like recruiting, timekeeping and payroll can be unwieldy checklists. But with HRIS integration software, these tasks can be automated, allowing HR professionals to focus on more strategic, value-adding duties.

Here are just some of the ways an HRIS can streamline HR workflows:

• Seamless onboarding: Integrating with recruitment software can automatically create employee profiles as soon as an offer is signed.
• Automated payroll: Connecting the HRIS to a separate payroll system can automate salary processing, tax calculations, and benefits deductions.
• Easy benefits administration: Automatically updating employee information in the system can eliminate manual updates and ensure accuracy.
• Instant time-tracking: Integrate time-tracking software to automate management of time-off requests and approvals.
• Enhanced reporting: HRIS automatically receives data, making it easier to generate accurate, real-time reports on various HR metrics.

Explore the BambooHR marketplace for best-in-class HRIS integrations

The BambooHR Marketplace is your hub for HR applications that integrate with BambooHR and streamline your HR efforts. Our library of HR integration software shows all the apps you can seamlessly integrate with applications you’re already using to make life easier for yourself and your team.

Here are a few of the integrations in the BambooHR Marketplace:

• Checkr: Screening potential employees gets easier by integrating Checkr’s AI-powered background checks directly into BambooHR for fast, secure, and compliant background checks.
• Slack: Calculate time off, see who’s out, look up coworkers in the employee directory, and more BambooHR information without ever leaving Slack.
• Google Single Sign-On: Don’t get bogged down by multiple log-ins. Google single sign-on allows employees to access their BambooHR account with their Google account credentials.

With  [integrationsCount] integrations  available in the BambooHR Marketplace, you have the opportunity to truly customize your HR tools for remote and onsite teams to gain deeper strategic insight into your people initiatives, streamline your work, and create a tailor-made experience.

Integration doesn’t have to just be a tech buzzword—it has the power to transform your HR efforts and company.