How Integrated Solutions Influence Intelligent Decision-Making

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We live in a world that is becoming increasingly connected. Our rapid proliferation of digital devices and accelerating reliance on technology is breaking down barriers left and right. For businesses, this is good news.

Organizations that operate in siloed, fragmented environments are at a competitive disadvantage. In this age of innovation, it should be a top priority for companies to move away from outdated legacy systems and methods and toward one that is evolving in tandem with the technological revolution.

This becomes an even more pressing matter as organizational sectors that were once considered separate entities begin to overlap.

Blending Business, HR and IT

As The Society of Human Resources Management recently pointed out, the world of business and human resources are beginning to merge, especially in terms of IT-related resources. Up until only a few years ago, HR and IT had relatively little do with one another. But, as we continue to move toward a digitally dominated landscape, it’s important for all key areas of business – including HR and IT – to be heard and represented in the decision-making process.

It’s impossible to ignore the pivotal role HR is playing in a business’ overall strategy. According to research conducted by Deloitte, attracting skilled resources is a top business concern, rather than solely an HR responsibility – with over 80 percent of professionals naming talent acquisition as an important initiative.

In a recent Forbes article, it was pointed out that one clear sign a company is suffering from a lack of integration is that there are varying opinions and objections coming from leaders about what should be prioritized and what aspects are most critical for organizational success. When executives don’t see eye-to-eye on important initiatives and goals, it creates a clashing, inefficient environment. When a bunch of little things are being worked on, too often, nothing major ends up getting done.

Every method, tool, technology and system a business has should – at least in some way – help move the company toward its bottom line. Because if it’s not helping the company achieve its goals, it’s probably hurting it. This is true across each and every department of the organization.

Inching Towards Integration

At the end of the day, without integration, decision-making is simply a guessing game. However, businesses that are used to operating in the same way for an extended period of time may find it challenging to completely restructure their organization. The good news is that no major overhauls have to take place. This initiative can happen a step at a time.

One way to make it easier to integrate processes is to first automate them. For example, by leveraging HR technology tools like job parsing software, not only can business and HR leaders streamline their own tasks (and, in turn, refocus their energy on more meaningful and mission-critical tasks), they can also gain increased insight and visibility into key operations. Of the many benefits digitized systems have provided us with, the explosion of data that affords this kind of insight is certainly among the top.

However, having automated tools for various functions doesn’t do much if they are all operating separately. If you’re going to invest in technology to automate and streamline processes, they should also be integrated. After all, what’s the point of having this robust amount of data at your fingertips if you can’t quantify it or use it to draw meaningful connections that aid in better decision making across all segments?

When operations – and the systems used to power them – are integrated, the result is: