How Do HR Tools Work Together? A Quick Guide to HRIS Integrations

Buzzwords like “integration” and “API” can feel like a mystery to HR teams. You’ve likely heard these terms, but what do they mean for your team and strategy?

As the HR industry evolves and becomes more technology-dependent, you may find yourself constantly flipping back and forth between systems. One system to collect people data, another to run payroll, and yet another to check employee timesheets costs you valuable time, and manually entering the same data into multiple systems can increase risk for error.

To increase efficiency and productivity, you need all of your HR tools to work together—and that requires integrations.

More than 30,000 companies use BambooHR—and nearly two-thirds of our customers use multiple integrations to help them accomplish a broad range of business goals, from recruitment to culture.

Read on to decode software tech-speak and discover how HRIS integrations can power your most impactful strategies—plus, how the BambooHR^® Marketplace can help.

What Are APIs and Integrations?

The terms "APIs" and "integrations" are often used together and referred to as "API integrations." Although the terms are related, there are some crucial differences between the two.

What Is an API?

An API, or application programming interface, is how two applications communicate with each other.

What Is an HRIS Integration?

An integration, or API integration, is when two or more applications are connected through their APIs to communicate or share data.

HR professionals primarily deal with HRIS integrations—a type of integration that specifically connects to their HRIS.

» Learn More: What is an HRIS?

How Do APIs and HRIS Integrations Work Together?

An API integration is a partnership between two systems to send data and incorporate some features of one system into another without having to move between multiple systems or constantly sync data.

Say you need to do a background check, but your ATS doesn’t include that feature. You’re going back and forth between both systems, plugging in, updating, and sending information. That’s a lot of clicking on your part.

With an integration, you can connect your ATS to your background check software so the data flows back and forth between the two systems, eliminating the need for you to be continually flipping back and forth between each system.

In this example, the API is what allows the ATS and background check platform to talk to each other; the integration is the task they work together to perform.

By leveraging APIs to share data, companies can integrate various software to streamline workflows and create a more cohesive tech stack for their HR practice.

4 Ways Integrations Can Transform the Way You Work

1. Access A Single Source of Data

Instead of having to piecemeal the best HR solution for your company by purchasing multiple software systems and only using elements of each, API integrations allows you to create a custom and cohesive system that connects the most accurate and up-to-date data to a single source.

2. Create a Customizable System

It’s rare that a single software can fit the needs of your entire business. Integrations allow you to create an effective and streamlined solution specifically tailored for your needs.

3. Avoid Double Entry

With integrations, you don’t have to input data in multiple platforms, which is a huge time saver. If you’re hiring for a new role through BambooHR^® and using our Indeed integration, you can publish the job listing directly to Indeed. On the other side of things, applicants can apply directly within Indeed. No extra steps or redundancies; just a win-win for everyone involved.

4. Enjoy Reduced Errors

Integrations connect data to ensure everyone is working from the best information—and it all happens automatically. When humans are tasked with copying or verifying data across multiple applications, it opens the door for mistakes. But automatic API integrations ensure the most accurate data is automatically shared with all connected systems.

As technology grows and expands, there are countless providers of niche services. Integrating the most vital of these applications into your existing software gives you the best of both worlds: the most robust technology to meet your company’s exact needs without having to navigate through each standalone system.

Integrating systems helps HR teams streamline processes and create efficiencies that lead to less time spent on repetitive tasks and more time spent on building relationships and strategic, big-picture thinking.

Next Steps: Explore the BambooHR Marketplace

The BambooHR Marketplace is your hub for HR applications that integrate with BambooHR and streamline your HR efforts. Our library of integrations shows all the apps you can seamlessly integrate with software you’re already using to make life easier for yourself and your team.

Here are a few of the integrations in the BambooHR Marketplace:

• Checkr. Screening potential employees gets easier by integrating Checkr’s AI-powered background checks directly into BambooHR for fast, secure, and compliant background checks.
• Slack. Calculate time off, see who’s out, look up coworkers in the employee directory, and more BambooHR information without ever leaving Slack.
• Google Single Sign-On. Don’t get slowed down by multiple log-ins. Google single sign-on allows employees to access their BambooHR account with their Google account credentials.

With 120+ integrations available in the BambooHR Marketplace, you have the opportunity to truly customize your HR tools to gain deeper strategic insight into your people initiatives, streamline your work, and create a tailor-made experience.

Integration doesn’t have to just be a tech buzzword—it has the power to transform your HR efforts and company.