The role of HR technology is complex and nuanced, touching many aspects of an organization in visible and hidden ways. It manages employee records, payroll, benefits, and compliance. It also manages the entire employee life cycle from recruitment to training, learning and development, performance management, disciplinary action, and exit policies.
On top of that, HR also tracks many data streams and gathers HR metrics to assess its people systems and policies and make accurate reports and recommendations to management.
That’s a lot of responsibility. If strategic systems are integrated, it’s much easier for HR to not only juggle and optimize its large tech stack but automate some processes for greater efficiency and to gain benefits from the shared data.
When you integrate your HR system with software that also includes a learning system and a centralized database, you get a Human Resources Management System. It’s also called a Human Resources Information System or a Human Capital Management system.
Having such an integrated system is like a Swiss Army knife for all your administrative and training needs.
Here are the main benefits of an LMS-HR systems integration.
Rather than duplicate the same employee information (such as names and addresses) in several systems, just enter the data once in your HR system of record and integrate it with your learning system. That avoids human error in duplicated data entry while saving time and resources. It also makes the process of updating information more accurate as everything is automatically synced.
Integrating your systems lets you compare the data you’re getting from each system and spot trends and patterns. For example, you can see the people who have completed all their training from your learning analytics, and see how this new learning is affecting their job performance and their chances for promotion to enhanced roles.
That knowledge helps you use resources better, and make better strategic decisions about your employees. It also helps you create more insightful reports.
You can gather LMS metrics such as certifications and courses achieved, and combine them with OKR reports from your HR system to illuminate how your learning programs are influencing the development of new workforce skills. This helps you assess how close you are to achieving the human capital part of your business goals.
When you connect your HR and learning systems, it makes it easier to personalize training. Tailored L&D is more motivating because it caters to individual preferences. It also tangibly demonstrates the company cares about its employees’ future. Personalized L&D will often boost engagement in your learning and training programs.
According to Education Elements, personalized learning is the future of education because it fosters agency, encourages lifelong learners and enhances student achievement.
Integrating disparate HR, talent and learning systems, usually in the cloud, makes it far easier to share talent data. Better sharing means better company-wide knowledge and a stronger likelihood of wiser decision-making. It also helps build more continuity across your different talent development projects.
Integration of HR and LMS systems makes the gathering of metrics easier. You can leverage all the data you opt to receive from your integrated systems for a variety of analytics projects. It makes for more streamlined management of your HR and learning analytics projects. It also simplifies system maintenance.
Integration of HR and learning improves operational performance and ROI for the HR department as a whole. For example, you can design a learning program for each stage your employee is in, so whether they are being onboarded, are already working, or are at the cusp of a promotion, they can always access relevant and timely learning opportunities. You can also do compliance checks more easily with integrated systems.
Integrated HR and learning systems let employees access learning materials directly from the HR system. For example, an ambitious employee can get a quick look at the required skills for a new open position, and search for modules to lead them there. For globally distributed workforces, such accessibility to online learning resources helps upskill, nurture and engage remote workforces.
Many organizations tend to neglect talent development due to the daily needs to run the organization and focus on more immediate returns on investment. Integrating your LMS with the functionalities of your HR software automatically puts talent development in play through online learning technologies. So for minimal effort, an employer can run a training course or allow self-paced learning to help them step up their workforce skills.
When your HR software works with your LMS, you can create help desk categories to make it an easy process to raise tickets to address issues. So whether a learner has questions about a particular learning module or just wants to monitor their own performance, there’s an integrated solution.
Developing a learning culture is not always easy. Integrating your LMS with your HR system can make it easier to introduce incentive and recognition systems to help develop a curious, engaged mindset of continual learning.
For example, you can consistently acknowledge or reward people for doing well in their learning or training programs. You can also recognize learning achievements that help people achieve productivity wins. If you want more of your employees to gain certifications, reward them when they do, or give them career-boosting experiences to fuel their spark.
When you integrate your LMS with your HR systems, it opens up a whole new world of benefits that can help make the processes and results of your HR decisions more accurate, more efficient, easier to manage, and more informed.
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