insight

The benefits of using HCM to bring payroll and HR together

As businesses like yours emerge from the pandemic, it’s vital to find new ways of working. Finance and HR leaders want to build a more resilient organisation - to adapt to the unexpected or capitalise on a new opportunity in an emerging market.

In challenging market conditions, research on the sentiment amongst mid-market Chief Financial Officers (CF0) and Chief Human Resources Officers (CHRO) highlighted the following five key priorities:1

  • Driving operational efficiencies in the core business
  • Pursuing known business and customer opportunities
  • Developing innovative ideas to address the changing business landscape
  • Investing in technology to facilitate continuation of a remote workforce
  • Conserving cash and minimising risk

Bringing payroll and HR together in one human capital management (HCM) system presents an opportunity to realise these goals, grow stronger and accelerate digital transformation.

What exactly is an HCM system?

HCM combines people and technology for a simple solution to your human resource management so that companies like yours can help maximise their staff’s potential. HCM software gives businesses the ability to manage payroll, HR, time and talent using one single cloud-based system of record. The benefits of automating often time-consuming and previously disparate HR tasks are far reaching – and included later on in this article.

Are an HRMS and HRIS the same as HCM?

Strictly speaking, no, as both a human resources management system (HRMS) and a human resources information system (HRIS) are used interchangeably to talk about the technical systems powering many HR functions, such as managing employee data, running payroll or other staff benefits. While human capital management (HCM) describes the overall strategic or management approach a company takes to maximising the potential of its talent, HRMS and HRIS are used to highlight the more technical solutions.

Using HCM to unite pay and HR

What if your business doesn’t have the spare resources currently to invest in a full HCM system? The good news is you can start small, by optimising your payroll, and then add other functions when needed. ADP’s free ebook, ‘Good Things Happen when you bring pay and HR together’, helps organisations in their digital transformation, no matter what stage they’re currently at:2

Early stages

Middle stages

Advanced stages

Start with Payroll

Payroll + HR

Payroll + HR + Talent + Analytics

All you need to run accurate, automated payroll.

Manage the employee lifecycle better, by uniting payroll and HR.

Create teams that deliver by integrating analytics and talent with HR and payroll.

What are the benefits of uniting pay and HR?

There are multiple benefits of bringing your payroll and HR functions together in one flexible, cloud-based system of record. They include:3

  • Simplifying management
  • Improving productivity
  • Enhancing decision-making
  • Strengthening resilience
  • Boosting operational efficiency
  • Scaling and managing resources as needed

HCM’s flexibility to choose what you need, when you need, enables you to anticipate and keep pace with the demands of the market, so your business is agile and ready for whatever opportunities or challenges present themselves.

For more details on how HCM can help power your company’s specific transformation, please complete the form to download your free interactive guide from ADP.
 

1Achieve Next: CFO CHRO Sentiment study, UHY Middle Market, 2020.
2ADP, Good Things Happen when you bring payroll and HR together, 2021, page 11.
3ADP, Good Things Happen when you bring payroll and HR together, 2021, page 12.

 

To see and discover more:

 Article Good things happen

Download your FREE interactive guide

Related resources

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Why it’s time to rethink HR strategy, globally

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ADP Ranked Leader for all Market Segments in NelsonHall Payroll NEAT Assessment 2023