ADP DataCloud has an upgrade that includes what it calls 'mashup' capabilities. This will make it easier for customers to overlay business data and use third-party systems, such as Tableau.
ADP LLC has data from 810,000 firms in North America, and it makes that data available to customers in its DataCloud product. It is now making it easier for customers to combine this data with their own.
ADP DataCloud, a SaaS-based product, arrived about five years ago. It anonymizes some 30 million employee records for analytics and benchmarking.
Users of ADP DataCloud can now create data "mashups," thanks to a recent upgrade. The process involves pulling in third-party data and overlaying it with ADP data. Companies can use sales, budget and other ERP data. The data allows users to compare themselves, in salary and other HR benchmarks such as turnover, against their industry competitors.
The data can be imported into ADP DataCloud, but exported as well. The export feature enables customers to "pull out our data and overlay it into their system," said Imran Ahmed, director of product marketing at ADP. A user, for instance, could enter the ADP data into Tableau, a data visualization software platform. Tableau could then serve as the HCM data hub for a business, he said.
To make the ADP data exportable, the company had to find a way to protect it, Ahmed said. Users won't be able to export the data into a "random system," but instead will have to use APIs to create this integration. APIs for Tableau are already available, and other integrations will come soon. ADP said new APIs will be announced in the months ahead.
In the recent upgrade, ADP has made some other changes that incorporate AI-type analytics. Employers can ask questions, such as how many people are eligible to retire at a certain age. The system will then recommend specific actions.
From spreadsheets to dashboard
ABB Optical Group, a distributor and manufacturer of optical supplies based in Coral Springs, Fla., uses ADP DataCloud as a replacement for spreadsheets.
The company has 1,325 employees and one payroll administrator, Ken Choy-Sing.
The export feature allows customers to pull out our data and overlay it into their system.
Imran AhmedDirector of product marketing, ADP
When he started 2.5 years ago, Choy-Sing said the company was using spreadsheets to build analytics off of its payroll. Analytics by spreadsheet took time, anywhere from hours to days, and didn't necessarily identify issues.
But when the company moved to the ADP DataCloud platform, Choy-Sing was able to run more analytics on the workforce and identify a turnover problem.
Turnover was linked to the firm's strict rules about punching in for work. People were penalized for being a few minutes late, and showing up late could put the employee at risk for being terminated. Late employees accumulated points.
Once ABB identified the turnover problem, HR changed the policy to make punching in less stringent, which reduced the turnover rate.
For now, ADP data is available to HR, but Choy-Sing said the company plans to eventually publish workforce data via a dashboard for broader business users. This will give managers the means to see HR data, such as overtime, in real time and empower them to make adjustments as needed, he said.
