The last two years have proven that remote work is here for the long haul. And when it comes to specific verticals such as finance, healthcare, and even HR, APIs are a driving force behind the transformation of remote work.
Imagine conducting business from home without APIs. Trying to log in to each individual program without the help of Single Sign On (SSO), or attempting to get paid if your employee portal doesn’t connect to your banking information.
APIs are a driving force behind modern technology, but they are particularly significant when it comes to integrating HR technology into remote working and functioning systems. Without APIs, it would be practically impossible to conduct modern-day business.
In this article for HR.com, I explore some ways that APIs are driving HR technology from recruiting to remote work to talent retention.
APIs are a driving force behind modern technology, but they are particularly significant when it comes to integrating HR technology into remote working and functioning systems. The office days aren’t completely behind us yet, but as the world of work evolves, HR teams can no longer afford not to be properly equipped and integrated into the various systems that keep a business running.
APIs Let Talent Come to You
APIs connect hiring tools and widen a recruiter’s reach, allowing for better talent attraction, job searching, and hiring practices for remote work. All recruiters have used an API in some capacity, whether promoting a job on LinkedIn or using an applicant tracking system (ATS). Your recruiters can’t be everywhere, so that’s why they need an API strategy built into their tech stack.
There are various HR software options out there that automate each step of the hiring process, but they don’t always play nicely together. Every system comes with its own rules and compatibility limitations, and data isn’t always easily transferable. It gets complicated trying to transfer data from your job posting on social media into your ATS and then into your onboarding system, and finally into your payroll software once that candidate turns into a full-time employee.
Get the picture? Without connectors running smoothly in the background, that’s a ton of manual and tedious work with a lot of room for error.
That’s where APIs play a pivotal role in connecting all of those disparate systems. The beauty of it is you can still pick the best software for your talent management and recruitment needs. Your Bamboo can connect to your Kazoo, Slack can connect to your Workday. The ADP and SAPs can play nicely together.
An API allows you to select the best-in-class solutions for each function and then easily link them together as one tool stack, making your life as a recruiter or talent management professional that much easier. APIs’ flexibility, automation, and integration capabilities are the key to building sustainable talent recruitment and engagement strategies.
Additionally, HR professionals need to realize that APIs can sometimes be a candidate’s first impression of their brand. They serve as the go-between for applications and servers to communicate, and the usability spans nearly every recruiting service offered throughout the internet. For example, an HR system API could communicate with your existing applications to keep employee data and essential documents in sync across systems. It could likely be that your future candidates are interacting with APIs and your company’s technology tool stack long before they interact with you face-to-face. So, why not put your best foot forward with a solid API strategy?
Stay Connected, Even When You’re Apart
APIs enable real-time, asynchronous communication and collaboration across various platforms and systems on the talent management side. The move to remote work demands further points of connection, information sharing, and integration for the business to operate, and thankfully APIs can help ease that challenge. Securing assets based on in-office network access is becoming a thing of the past; API-based connectivity and access control over the internet is the clear path forward.
People work differently, but APIs give you options for working on how you do your best work. Your systems need to work at all times of the day, for all employees, all over the globe. APIs offer ease of flexibility that ensures people can do their best work however they choose to. Because of the beauty of API technology, your employees in India can interact with your employees in Ohio at ease, and everyone can have access to the information and resources they need to be successful.
As an HR Professional, Where Do I Start?
Find the gaps in your HR technology tool stack. These could be disjointed areas, manual data input, or information that is not as easily accessed. Leaders, I encourage you to ask your own HR team. I’m sure they would be quick to tell you where these gaps are and what pain points are keeping them from doing what they do best—attracting and retaining solid talent.
Once you’ve identified the gaps, pair up with your IT or technology team or with the HR software vendor you’re utilizing to understand your API options. Often, HR software vendors will be able to supply you with what integration options you may have available to you (via an API, of course). If it’s not available to you, sometimes you may be able to build it, if you have a strong developer team with you. But the important thing is, you never know until you ask!
In the end, accelerated points of reusability, further innovation, more opportunity for automation, and happier employees are just a few of the many benefits of implementing a solid API strategy into your own HR team and the larger organization. API technology is the catalyst for the future of work, regardless of whether that ends up being remote, in-person, or hybrid. So, it’s critical that you get started today.
Visit this link and sign-up or log in to read the full article on Hr.com.
