HiFives Blog

An organization can maximize the benefits from their employee recognition platform by integrating it with other applications, platforms and systems used at the workplace. Let’s explore as to why this is critical to the success of the employee recognition program:

 
1. Eases Employees Access
 
Integration the employee recognition platform with other systems such as HRMS, Intranet, Microsoft Teams, Office365 and Google Workspace enables employees to easily access it. When they are logged into a system they can use regularly, they can easily access the recognition platform through a Single Sign-On link without entering a user ID and password again.
 
This makes it convenient for employees and managers to access the recognition system and thus drives usage and participation.
 
 
2. Automates Employee Data Update
 
The data of new employees, exited employees and changes in the existing employee data can be automatically updated in the employee recognition system through an integration with the HRMS or HRIS.
 
This eliminates the manual effort of updating the employee data in the platform and hence reduces the administrative overheads of running the program. Also, it prevents potential misses or errors due to delayed or incorrect manual data upload.
 
 
3. Enables Gamification and Instant Recognition
 
Integration of the employee recognition platform with other work systems such as CRM, learning management system (LMS) or attendance systems enables data from those systems to be shared in real-time. Events on other work systems such as a good customer rating on the CRM system, completion of a module on LMS or good attendance record in the attendance system can automatically trigger rewards and recognition in the employee recognition platform through the integration.
 
Such automated awards triggered from other systems based on employee performance can help in gamifying the work and the workplace. Instead of a supervisor monitoring the employee performance and manually nominating them for rewards or recognition, this rule-based integration with other systems can make the process automatic and in real-time.
 
 
4. Creates Social Visibility
 
Integration of the employee recognition platform with internal and external platforms such as collaboration and communication tools and social media can help in creating greater visibility of the program, internally and externally.
 
Sharing the rewards and recognition received by the employees with their co-workers on internal platforms such as Microsoft Teams or Slack and with friends and connections  on external social media platforms such as Facebook or LinkedIn gives them the additional social visibility, pride and fulfillment.

Integrating the employee recognition platform with other apps is one of the most effective ways to make recognition a part of business workflow of the organization.  Here are the top categories of apps or systems that should be integrated with the recognition platform:
 

1. HR Management Systems

Human Resources Management System or HRMS is the bedrock of HR systems in any organization. The HRMS is typically the system of record for most employee data and has several employee-facing applications such as leave, attendance, payroll and claims management.

Integration of the employee recognition platform with the HRMS allows easy employee access to the platform through a Single Sign-On and enables automated update of the employee data from the HRMS. Hence, integration with popular HRMS platforms such as SuccessFactors, Workday, Zing HR and PeopleStrong is a must-have feature for any recognition platform.


2. Intranet

The Intranet is one of the most vital employee-facing platforms in any organization. It is the one-stop shop for all employee application, employee announcements and HR Policy information. Intranets are typically powered by software such as Microsoft SharePoint, SAP Jam Collaboration, Friday, Jostle, Igloo, etc.

Integration of the Intranet with the employee recognition platform enables employees to easily navigate to the recognition platform from the Intranet through a Single Sign-On.  It can also enable rewards and recognition feeds from the platform to be automatically displayed on the Intranet.  

 
3. Collaboration Platforms

Organizations use collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, Yammer and Workplace by Facebook for internal communication and coordination. Employees often spend 70-80% of their total system time on these collaboration tools.

Integration of these tools with the employee recognition platform ensures that employees can recognize or get recognized without leaving the tool.
The recognition feeds can be displayed automatically in the tool through integration. This can help in driving the user experience and the usage of the recognition platform.
 

4. Other Workplace Systems

Integration with other systems in the workplace can help integrate the recognition program into the overall work process. It can also drive gamifcation of work and real-time recognition. Here are a few examples of such systems and use cases for integration:

– Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System – capture and integrate customer feedback and reviews to trigger automated rewards and recognition
– Project Management System – track project related activities such as on-time or before-time completion of tasks or projects
– Learning Management System (LMS) – completion of various learning modules and assessment
– Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System – enabling sales and other performance data to be tracked and linked to rewards and recognition in real-time
– Performance Management System (PMS) – enabling recognition data to be integrated with the performance assessment process

 
5. Social Media

Social media visibility is key to driving motivation for most people today. This is true even for rewards and recognition that employees receive within the organization. Being able to share their rewards and recognition on their social media profiles gives them an additional sense of achievement and pride.

Hence, integration with social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook is a must-have feature for any employee recognition platform. It also saves additional administrative effort of reposting these announcements on social media.