Learn more about HR software capabilities in Types of Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS).

Consider these facts:

So, while there is a significant cost benefit to purchasing all-in-one HR solutions, most companies still use multiple disparate HR systems. Besides making for an overall clunky experience, operating your HR processes this way makes you vulnerable to repeated work, data loss, and process inefficiencies.

It may be time to consider an all-in-one platform to reduce these drawbacks and enable your HR teams to complete work faster.

What is an all-in-one HR software solution?

All-in-one HR software platforms consolidate HR functions into one interconnected system. Where limited-function HR systems focus on a single process, comprehensive suites use their core employee databases to accomplish work across the entire employee life cycle.

For example, a standalone recruitment software focuses exclusively on hiring, and it might include features like an internal applicant tracking system (ATS) to source, evaluate, and hire candidates. But with an all-in-one solution, recruitment is not separated from the other HR operations that intersect with hiring.

New hires filter directly into onboarding, training, and retention processes in a comprehensive HR system. In Paylocity, for example, you can attract candidates with a personalized career page, nurture them through its internal ATS, extend them a job offer, and onboard them from the same system. This results in faster employee ramp-up times plus simpler workflows for your HR and recruitment teams.

What are the benefits of all-in-one HR software?

The three main benefits of a comprehensive HR suite are:

  • Keeps you in compliance with labor laws.
  • Facilitates seamless data flow.
  • Improves the employee experience.

Keeps you in compliance with labor laws

One of the most time-consuming aspects of HR is keeping up to date with federal, state, and municipal labor laws. An all-in-one system keeps track of compliance from multiple angles, increasing the likelihood you develop compliant HR processes from start to finish.

Paylocity, for instance, ensures you adhere to overtime regulations through various modules. Its scheduling feature tracks overtime hours for each employee, while its payroll module automatically calculates overtime pay without manual data entry.

Cross-platform compliance controls also help you in the event of an audit by a government agency — an all-in-one system acts as a single source of truth so it takes less time to find potential problems. Plus, built-in warnings, like payday reminders, paid sick leave requirements, and tax due dates, provide excellent compliance backstops for your often strained HR teams.

In contrast, a standalone solution only reduces your compliance risk within its narrow scope of operations. A payroll platform, for example, ensures you pay overtime and minimum wage per state and federal laws, while a benefits administration system tracks employees’ Affordable Care Act (ACA) eligibility.

In this case, you’ll have to transfer employees’ hours and earnings data to your benefits administration software so it can determine their ACA eligibility dates and premiums. Then, upon enrollment, you’ll have to add employees’ premium amounts into your payroll system for proper paycheck and end-of-year paperwork calculations. This adds manual work to your HR teams and increases the risk of unintentional errors that lead to labor law violations.

Facilitates seamless data flow

Comprehensive HR systems eliminate the need to move between several systems for all your people data. It also means you only have to enter data once for it to support multiple HR functions.

For example, an all-in-one solution will populate data from a new hire’s original job application in the appropriate fields of their employee profile. The system also triggers other automated workflows, like adding the new hire to the next payroll cycle and assigning them onboarding training.

Paylocity updates employee statuses and affects system-wide changes through HR action forms. For example, when you update an employee’s compensation with an action form, Paylocity reflects that change on the correct payroll. It will also make a note in the career section of the employee’s digital personnel file for recordkeeping purposes.

Besides reducing repetitive work, all-in-one HR platforms use barrier-free data flows to improve operational efficiency. Your HR teams no longer have to work out of disconnected systems to complete tasks and risk data silos. What’s more, your team can aggregate data for more effective insights instead of manually exporting and consolidating data from multiple systems.

Improves the employee experience

Constantly switching between different applications takes a toll on your employees. Besides slowing down work processes, jumping between platforms with different interfaces increases employees’ cognitive load.

The mental strain of switching between applications is called the toggle tax. A 2022 study by the Harvard Business Review found that employees toggle between applications and websites nearly 1,200 times each day — equaling up to four hours a week or about five working weeks in a year. 

An all-in-one system lessens the effects of app overload by housing your people data and processes in the same system. Employees in Paylocity, for example, can use the self-service center to access their employment information without contacting the HR department or switching applications. This includes essential data like their benefits, time off, paychecks, and company announcements.

A singular HR system also improves the employee experience in ways that are less noticeable but no less meaningful:

  • Job applicants move from candidates to employees in the same place, creating a strong company first impression.
  • Employees no longer have to look to several applications for company news and documentation, centralizing communication.
  • Employees only have to remember one login to access all of this data at their convenience.

How do you find the best HR suite?

There are many comprehensive HR suites on the market today, but not all of them are created equal. Some claim they are all-in-one systems, when in reality they rely on integrations to support tertiary functions. Still, others provide several HR modules but have complex user interfaces and limited feature sets.

So, when looking for the best option, ask yourself the following:

  • Support for core HR: Can the system handle essential HR operations like payroll, benefits administration, and time-tracking natively?
  • Process automation: Does the system require frequent manual actions, or can you automate most rote processes like onboarding?
  • Cost: Does the price fit your budget, or does the system’s ROI outweigh your labor costs for manual HR operations?
  • Customer support: Does the software have a dedicated support team, knowledge base, and training so your team can get the most out of the system?

All-in-one solutions like Paylocity should satisfy these criteria for effective people processes. With a full suite of HR modules on par with best-in-class standalone options, comprehensive systems increase the efficiency of your HR department so your company’s workforce thrives.