Streamlining HR and Payroll Integration through Automation
Northwest University
"Universities often struggle with cumbersome paper-based processes and data management challenges. By embracing digital tools to streamline data capture and automate workflows, institutions can alleviate these burdens and enhance the experiences of both students and staff."
Nick Bantick
Head of Digital Solutions - DigiBlu
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Overview
Northwest University, one of South Africa’s largest universities, serves over 37,000 undergraduate students across three campuses with the support of nearly 5,000 academic and support staff. Faced with increasing demands to accommodate more students while government financial allocations decrease, the university implemented staff hiring freezes. This situation placed significant pressure on the HR administration and Finance Payroll teams, requiring them to achieve more with fewer resources.
Problem Statement
The university relied heavily on email-driven processes and manually attached forms for data exchange between HR and Payroll. This approach was prone to frequent errors, data duplication, and delays, creating bottlenecks that affected payroll processing and employee satisfaction. The time-consuming manual checks and frequent rework resulted in unnecessary operational costs, increasing the need for temporary staff during peak periods.
Solution
DigiBlu conducted an in-depth opportunity assessment to understand the pain points and inefficiencies in Northwest University’s workflows. Leveraging Blue Prism Cloud and Jotform, DigiBlu designed and implemented an automated solution to eliminate the manual email and forms-based processes. The solution automated key tasks such as data extraction, validation, and seamless integration with the university’s core HR and payroll systems. Additionally, the automated system triggered alerts for any discrepancies, ensuring that errors were caught early.
Outcome
Automated payroll processing led to the following key improvements at the university.
Error Reduction: The automation eliminated manual data entry and pre/post quality checks, resulting in a significant reduction in data errors.
Faster Payroll Processing: Payroll processing time was reduced, leading to faster payments and improved satisfaction among staff.
Enhanced Collaboration: By integrating HR and Payroll processes, the solution fostered better communication and collaboration between teams, creating a more streamlined workflow.
Cost Savings: The university significantly reduced the need for temporary staff during high-demand periods.
Improved Experience for Staff and Students: The faster, more accurate payroll processing led to a more positive staff experience, indirectly benefiting the student experience by reducing administrative bottlenecks.
The project's success has generated interest in extending intelligent automation to future HR and Finance processes, with DigiBlu now tasked with designing a new Operating Model for managing the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.