The days of cobbling together point solutions to create your organization’s HCM platform are fading – fast. Technology choices today are being driven by business, IT and HR leaders who place a premium on engaging their people with a simple and compelling experience. Piecemeal systems generally fail to meet expectations, because the complexities of integration and rationalizing different data structures leave buyers with the least common denominator functionally. This leads to challenges for everyone using them – HR, employees, and business leaders.
A recently published Gartner report, Market Guide for Human Capital Management Suite Applications (Dec, 2014), notes that “A key selling point of an HCM suite versus a heterogeneous environment of multiple point solutions is having an integrated set of capabilities managed by a single vendor. The reality of this ‘integrated suite,’ however, is often an aggregated set of acquired capabilities mixed with capabilities developed organically.”
So why does it matter if HR, Payroll, Benefits, Recruiting, Performance Management, etc., are developed natively as part of a holistic platform, versus acquired or offered through a partner? What value does an organically-built, unified HCM suite provide? Our clients have experienced the following benefits:
Higher adoption and employee engagement, with a single user experience
Modern, more adaptable, and consistent user interface
Reduced integration costs
Accurate, global line of sight for payroll, HR and talent information
One source of the truth for employee details
Simpler exchange of data for reporting and integrations
Single sign on
Context retained when accessing data across modules
Comprehensive analytics and reporting across all areas of HR and Talent Management
In the report, Gartner found that “The market is experiencing a trend toward more HCM suite buying: combining talent management functionality with core HR on the same platform, as buyers look to reduce integration challenges and take advantage of easier, yet more in-depth, reporting and analytics across the suite.”
We have found that aggregated or loosely integrated suites can exacerbate data challenges. With more in-depth, comprehensive analytics and reporting you are better positioned to make those important, people-focused decisions that drive the success of your business.
Your people are also why the seamless user experience that comes with a unified HCM suite is so critical. A disjointed user experience that confuses or fails to engage a candidate or new hire can be disastrous and costly, because we know that those first few weeks have a dramatic impact on employee retention.
Ultimate Software developed our UltiPro HCM suite as a comprehensive HR platform, starting with payroll, benefits, and HR, and, over time extending our solution to include full recruiting, onboarding, talent and workforce management capabilities. A 2014 survey showed that UltiPro buyers indicate that the holistic suite platform is one of the top reasons for selecting the solution. The fact that UltiPro is 100% SaaS is also a significant buying factor.
Regardless of the solution you choose, in a time when employee loyalty can be fickle, ensuring you have a simple, consistent, and engaging solution to help your employees get the information they need when they need it is key to a successful HCM technology investment.
Note: Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
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