Universities aren’t short on complexity. In any given term, you’re hiring adjuncts for a single course, onboarding student workers by the dozen, bringing on full-time staff, and managing faculty with unique contracts, often across multiple campuses. If your HR stack still relies on email attachments, PDF forms, and siloed systems for payroll, time, and benefits, you’re spending precious hours shuffling data instead of supporting people. A modern, cloud-based human capital management (HCM) platform changes that.
When to Rethink HR Tech
Two moments typically spark action: growth and leadership change. Enrollment expansions, new programs, or a presidential initiative to scale headcount expose the limits of manual processes. Likewise, a new CHRO or VP of HR often discovers disjointed tools: one system for payroll, another for time, a third for student worker scheduling, and little to no HR functionality. The result is duplicated data entry, error risk, and no clean way to see where candidates or employees are in any process.
Another tell: the careers page. If “email your résumé to HR” is the application path — or a printable PDF is the first step — you’re signaling friction to candidates and creating back-office work that won’t scale in peak hiring months. In today’s tight, higher-ed labor market, the harder you make it to apply, the smaller your talent pool.
What “Modern” Actually Looks Like
A unified, cloud HCM platform replaces that sprawl with one system that carries a person’s data — from application to onboarding to payroll and benefits — without rekeying. A typical flow:
Applicant tracking that lives on your site. Candidates apply through a branded portal; résumés prefill data; search committees track stages at a glance; and promising candidates can be rediscovered later.
Click-through onboarding. Once hired, the system triggers digital onboarding: tax forms, direct deposit, I-9, policy acknowledgments, and campus-specific forms. Each action is time-stamped, creating a clean audit trail.
Straight-through to payroll and benefits. No swivel-chairing between systems. Data entered once (correctly) becomes the source of truth for payroll, time, and benefits.
The win isn’t just fewer keystrokes. It’s freeing HR leaders from weekly fire drills so they can tackle projects that always sit on the edge of the desk: workforce planning, compensation studies, org design, culture and retention initiatives.
Self-Service that Actually Serves
Faculty, staff, and student employees expect consumer-grade access. Self-service portals (web and mobile) give them real-time pay history, leave balances, benefits elections, and the ability to request time off or update personal information without emailing HR. Managers get a clear view of requests and team schedules; approvals route automatically. Beyond convenience, this improves engagement: answers are instant, processes are transparent, and HR’s “where do I find…?” inbox shrinks.
Data Security & Privacy, Covered
Data security should be a given, not a project. Cloud HCM systems support strong controls and produce the security documentation institutions and state systems require (e.g., SOC reports) when IT is in the loop. Just as important, moving away from emailed forms and fillable PDFs reduces exposure—no more sensitive data parked in inboxes, printers, or desk drawers. Keep the section brief in your narrative, but make sure your platform can provide the reports when procurement requests them.
The higher-ed wrinkles to design for:
Short-term and seasonal work. Adjuncts hired for a single term, student workers whose hours flex with class schedules, and grant-funded roles all benefit from streamlined job requisitions, templates, and fast onboarding.
Varied job codes and approval paths. A modern system supports complex titles, multiple pay calendars, and routing that reflect your governance, without requiring IT to script every change.
Remote and distributed hiring. Post-pandemic, many institutions hire beyond driving distance. Mobile-first applications and digital onboarding widen reach and accelerate time-to-hire.
Public vs. private realities. Private institutions often manage their entire HR/payroll stack and realize the biggest gains from an all-in-one system. Public institutions tied to state-mandated payroll or time systems can still modernize HR with a dedicated HR/ATS layer (just be clear about where integrations end to avoid recreating manual handoffs).
Getting started
- Audit the candidate and employee journey. From “Apply Now” to “first paycheck,” map every handoff. Wherever data is retyped or emailed, you’ve found a risk and an opportunity.
- Prioritize the peak-season pain. Aim for early improvements in the months you hire the most. A better applicant and onboarding experience pays back faster there.
- Pick one system to own the record. Reduce duplication by making your HCM the authoritative source for people data and integrating outward where needed.
- Invest in change management. Faculty and staff will adopt tools that are easy and clearly explained. Offer quick videos, office hours, and a simple “Start Here” page.
The goal isn’t software for software’s sake; it’s giving HR the time and clarity to focus on people, not paperwork. If you’re staring at a careers page that asks applicants to print and mail a form, or if payroll week still means all hands on deck, it’s time. A cloud-based HCM can meet higher-ed where it is today and carry it into the next term with fewer errors, faster hires, and a better experience for everyone.
Ready to modernize HR and free your team for higher-value work? Contact our CBIZ professionals to get started today.
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