Each department is vital to an Independent school’s operations, for different reasons. However, your HR teams are key to your ability to manage and grow your workforce, by hiring, managing, and retaining the best quality talent.
That’s why it’s so important to support them with the software they need to operate at maximum efficiency. The right systems can empower your team to focus on the parts of their role that require a first-hand approach by reducing the most time-intensive and repetitive tasks.
While it can be easy to choose from the wide range of off-the-shelf HR solutions on the market, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best approach for Independent schools. Disparate systems can often raise more challenges than they solve.
An integrated HR and Payroll solution, built with your specific needs in mind, can help to drive your school HR department and your workforce in the right direction. Here are just a few of the benefits of an integrated systems approach.
Click here to read about our latest updates to our HR solution for Independent schools.
- Data accuracy and security
- Time savings
- Flexibility and scalability
- Staff experience
- Improved reporting
- Software support
- iSAMS HR and Payroll solutions
Data accuracy and security
The main overall benefit of any software integration is the sharing of data. Without the need to duplicate information and operate multiple stores of data, the process of data management becomes much simpler for your HR teams.
However, this also means they can rely on the accuracy of your HR and employee data. Integration ensures one source of the truth, with all other integrated systems reflecting the most up to date version of any data point. Changes only need to be made within one system, rather than across the board.
Similarly, the lack of manual transfer process increases the security of your data. This is key for schools, as they handle a large amount of personal or other sensitive information on a daily basis – pertaining to both staff and students.
It is your responsibility to ensure that school data stores are as secure as possible. Integrated systems, back by a cloud-based architecture, ensure that data is stored centrally, is encrypted, and is only accessible to those that need it.
Time savings
The role of an HR manager is varied. It can be particularly demanding, especially when dealing with a large workforce and a variety of requests from all angles. As with any school department, your software needs to support your HR team across the evolving needs of their roles.
Integrated HR and Payroll software removes the need for unnecessary duplication of data and manual transfer of information. Payroll takes place every month, at a minimum, and streamlining that process is the key to unlocking more time for your staff to focus on taking care of your workforce.
Empower your HR staff to manage their time with systems that share data, integrate seamlessly, and automate repetitive admin tasks. Boosting efficiency makes for a more engaged department and ensures that the team can meet their goals, driving overall school performance.
Flexibility and scalability
No individual school is the same. This same adage is true for all school departments, too. The needs of your school’s HR team will be entirely different to the next. That’s why school software needs to be flexible and able to evolve to manage the demands of any team, regardless of their size or goals.
Integrated HR and Payroll software offers a flexible solution to HR management in schools. Flexibility should be a key feature when considering a new system, particularly as it needs to mold to your unique expectations. However, flexibility also enables the system to scale and grow with your school.
It’s counterproductive to work with systems that will need to be upgraded or replaced in a matter of years, as your teams and your needs expand. That’s why integrated systems are the best choice for schools that have specific timelines and performance targets in mind. Integration powers growth in school HR software, thereby powering growth in your workforce and your school.
Staff experience
Your HR department has two main priorities, to serve the needs of both your employees and your school. In the vast majority of cases, this means managing your workforce effectively and ensuring they’re positively engaged with their job and your school overall.
Your software can make a real difference towards this goal. The school staff of today expect to interact with software, particularly to manage their employment, and this experience should be a positive one. Integrated HR and Payroll software maximises the efficiency of both the Payroll and HR management process – ultimately ensuring that your staff are consistently paid on time, and accurately.
Mistakes are inevitable. But this also shouldn’t mean that they can’t be rectified quickly and simply. Integrated systems promote fast data sharing, reducing processing time throughout the HR and Payroll process.
Overall, the happier your staff, the more motivated they are to perform, and the happier your students. Student achievement impacts your overall school performance – so it’s always vital to prioritise your staff and, therefore, the needs of your HR department.
Improved reporting
Reporting is a key component of an effective growth journey. You need to understand where your performance is coming from, and where it’s lacking, in order to better prioritise your resources and budget – and ensure accountability. A strategic growth plan, with effective forecasting and reporting, can be the difference between a consistent growth trajectory and stunted progression.
Integrated systems enable access to a variety of key data points within a system, according to your needs. Whether the reporting functionality is built-in, or you’d prefer to work with a third-party option, it’s important to ensure your reporting is comprehensive enough for the needs of your leadership and decision-makers.
Integration allows you to access data that contextualises your reports and enhances them for better insights into your HR performance, staff performance, and overall HR and Payroll efficiencies.
Software support
Working with integrated software also means working with one main supplier, as opposed to multiple third parties. With any software, sometimes things go wrong. It’s important that you have peace of mind that issues will be resolved quickly and accurately.
Integrated HR and Payroll systems ensure that you have access to a knowledgeable support desk, that can handle issues with all your school software.
Ultimately, this makes for a better experience for all those that interact with your software and ensures minimal disruption. Maintain your efficiency and HR team performance with a system that you can trust, even when things go wrong.
iSAMS HR and Payroll solutions
iSAMS has spent the last 20 years working to provide Independent schools with the solutions they need to perform and grow. Our goal is to support all school departments, regardless of their requirements. That’s why our foundational school management system was built with a modular architecture, with seamless integration at the forefront.
The iSAMS HR and Payroll solutions work in tandem to provide your employees with a positive experience, and support your HR teams in all areas of their role.
Built with the needs of UK Independent schools in mind, the latest release of our HR solution offers dedicated enhancements crafted to meet your needs, including:
- Enhanced absence management
- Functionality to support teachers pensions
- Integration with the iSAMS database
- Group level settings matrix for managing multiple schools
- Payroll integration for easy data sharing
- Bulk changes for pay awards
- More powerful reporting with even more data