We’re in an age where HR teams truly have it all when it comes to tooling. According to 2023 research by Josh Bersin, the average large company has over 80 HR platforms in its tech stack. And that stack is only set to grow, with the global HR technology market projected to reach $80 billion by 2032.
The trouble is more isn’t always more. With an ever-expanding toolset, increasing data complexity and volume, and a changing context for work, it’s little wonder that only 35% of HR leaders are confident their organization’s current approach to HR technology will help the business achieve its goals.
Navigating these challenges effectively will hinge on forging a connection between HR and IT. When HR and IT are in lockstep, organizations can optimize operational efficiency, enhance HR dataflow, and unlock the full value of their tech stack.
Here’s why — and how — to bridge the HR-IT gap.
HR teams are currently navigating a complex mix of challenges. Remote work has upended how organizations manage their workforce and respond to its changing needs. Macroeconomic instability, rounds of layoffs, hiring slow-downs, and chronic skills gaps have left companies scrambling to retain their best performers and keep them working at optimum capacity.
Technology is central to navigating this new reality, helping HR teams manage scattered workforces, build new processes, and analyze data across the employee lifecycle to make decisions that help employees thrive.
But the velocity of these changes has meant HR teams haven’t had the time or resources to build the tech and data infrastructure that will help them better serve the needs of their workforce. The result? An overpowered, oversized tech stack, with multiple employee points of entry, and a whole lot of fragmented data.
In this context, aligning HR and IT isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a necessity for building an HR function that’s equipped for meeting the needs of today’s world of work. IT can help build the foundations for HR to get the best from its technology, breaking down information silos, streamlining processes, and giving HR teams a cohesive view of their workforce’s most pressing needs.
When HR and IT are in sync, it helps both teams do their job more effectively. With support from IT, HR teams can maximize the full power of their tooling and data. Meanwhile, IT teams can reconfigure processes and platforms for optimal security and compliance.
This leads to a few key benefits:
HR and IT may seem like they’re speaking a different language — but at their core, they’re both process-driven functions focused on delivering essential services to the broader organization and its workforce.
But there are a few challenges both teams need to be aware of to forge the most effective partnership.
Employee data is some of the most sensitive information organizations hold. But in the data-driven age of HR, misaligned perspectives between HR and IT can hamper attempts to collaborate effectively.
IT’s core focus is making sure this data stays secure, private, and that any systems housing this data are compliant and regularly maintained. But from an HR perspective, this data is a rich source of information on the employee experience that helps drive decision-making and support business strategy. They need some flexibility around data access controls and flow between tools, as well as self-serve data functionality.
HR and IT often use different systems and platforms for managing and processing data. But when one system isn’t compatible with the other, it can lead to data silos, or inaccurate, out-of-date data. It's an issue that's especially prevalent in organizations that are still using legacy software as part of their tech infrastructure.
Systems incompatibility doesn’t just lead to the potential for errors, it also significantly increases the manual burden needed to make up the shortfall.
For example, working with two incompatible systems could result in HR needing to manually send onboarding reminders to the IT team to order the tech and set up new hires’ user accounts. Long term, systems incompatibility could result in a cascade of manual input errors that not only impact efficiency but compromise the employee experience.
HR’s primary focus is people. It’s making sure employees get paid on time, are able to work at their best, and have opportunities for growth and progression.
But the IT team sees things differently. They want to make sure the compensation software employees get paid by is secure, keep the organization safe from cybersecurity threats, and ensure employee devices are up-to-date and functioning.
Solving all of these challenges hinges on HR and IT finding common ground by aligning mutual business objectives. Developing joint KPIs, whether qualitative or quantitative, will help both keep actions aligned to support business success while driving process changes.
For example, setting a mutual goal to improve the employee onboarding experience can help both departments unify on a common objective. For HR, the primary goal is creating a smooth onboarding experience and improving time-to-ramp, while IT can build workflows to ensure new hires have access to properly configured tech and essential platforms from day one.
Forging a more effective partnership between HR and IT teams is an equal balance of aligning people and processes. Getting the tech right can be helpful for sustaining this partnership work long-term.
Implementing an integrated HR solution that manages key processes including talent, performance, compensation, and core HR, provides both teams with a centralized system that unifies data in one place.
From the IT side, it’s easier to manage implementation, automation, and database maintenance. Meanwhile, for HR leaders, it offers a more cohesive way of storing, analyzing, and reporting on employee data, as well as a simpler employee user experience.
If an all-in-one platform isn’t the right fit, choosing tools with solid integration points will keep data flowing between HR and IT, and help teams avoid data lock-in. This approach reduces the need for advanced management on the backend if tools or data formats don’t work together well. It also helps both HR and IT maintain essential data touchpoints without the need to commit to a single platform.
As an example, implementing an access management tool that syncs your HR data with your Active Directory can help both teams better manage and automate software access for new hires while minimizing security risks from insecure employee passwords.
Learn More: Two HR Technology Trends for 2024: From AI to EX
Partnering with HR enables IT to build more responsive workflows that address gaps in core processes impacting the employee experience — while for HR, it’s an opportunity to unlock greater value from workforce data and the HR tech stack.
Making this partnership sustainable long-term requires mutual goal alignment, and building a tech infrastructure that prioritizes process efficiency, compliance, and business outcomes.
Paylocity’s Access Management helps IT and HR build this partnership by helping each manage core people processes in one place. Access Management helps teams:
Find out more by requesting a demo.
From automating processes to driving culture, you need an HR system as connected to your company as you are. Discover how you can break down communication barriers, simplify processes, and drive a more connected workplace with an all-in-one platform.