Data Independence: HRs' Right to be Free

With Independence Day freshly past, as a nation we celebrated one of our most treasured days of the year. Ensure the freedoms we enjoy bleed over to every aspect of your life, even working in HR. Make sure you have the freedom, tools and capabilities to get what you need from your data vendor. If you find yourself restrained, it’s time to break loose and shed the shackles of HR data confinement. Here’s what you should be looking for during your data vendor selection process: **A vendor who’s data agnostic** Find a vendor who integrates your people data regardless of what systems you use. Whether you insource or outsource your benefits administration, data from those systems should be efficiently and effectively incorporated into business intelligence tools. This independence should also apply to whatever HRIS, LMS, TMS, payroll or time and attendance systems you use. Steer clear of a vendor requiring standard layouts. These shouldn’t be required because the business intelligence tools shouldn’t operate with that kind of restrictive approach to data integration. Develop inclusive processes that are competitively sustainable if your vendors or systems change, so you can have a consistent environment for usable data and reporting. **A vendor with experience** While terms like big data, people data, and the cloud may seem new, the idea of assembling this type of person-centric tool is decades-old. Select a vendor who has experience collecting data daily, weekly, and monthly or whatever frequency is suitable for your organization. Data frequency is dependent upon your need for information and your need for information is dependent upon the types of business decisions you are making. **A vendor with flexibility & adaptability** You need a vendor who can adjust quickly to changing business needs. You need dynamic information generated in a multitude of fashions with numerous multi-select capabilities. This type of varied outputs allows you to focus on reporting which provides answers to your unique business needs and problems. Obtain the reports that YOU need. Reporting is based upon employer individuality. At Optis, we like to start with your existing questions and problems and build from there. Learn more about [Optis Insights](http://optis.com/data-services).