Modernizing Finance and HR with Integrated Tools and Total Team Buy-In

Challenges

• Errors resulting from disparate data systems   
• Complicated and redundant workflows 
• Difficulty finding and analyzing data 

Products & Solutions

• PowerSchool eFinancePlus 
• PowerSchool Employee Records

Results

• Improved accuracy with integrated data 
• Faster processes with automated and simplified workflows  
• Informed decision making with better data insights 

Outdated, manual processes held finance and HR teams back at Grain Valley School District in Missouri. With disparate systems and siloed data, it was impossible to simplify workflows and reduce staff workload.  

Aaron Hooper, Finance Director at Grain Valley School District, knew the district needed to modernize their approach to finance and HR management. Day-to-day operational tasks took too long, like receiving and processing payments, printing and mailing HR forms, and running reports for compliance requirements. Drawing on his background in business operations, he looked to technology for solutions.

Reviewing Outdated Processes and Getting Team Buy-In

Hooper says the first step to modernizing his district’s finance and HR management was to see where staff needed the most support. Every district is unique, so it’s essential to identify specific operational needs and how current technology and processes fall short. Hooper’s team reviewed the processes looking for bottlenecks and places where workflows would get stuck or stalled. They also spoke with staff members, noting consistent pain points. 

Several specific needs arose. The first was to reduce the burden of payroll and payment processing. Timesheet approvals also took too much time, with district staff previously printing electronically entered timesheets, then mailing them to each school for approval signatures. Hooper knew automating these tasks could improve accuracy and free countless hours to focus on supporting staff and problem solving.

Enabling self-service HR requests was another opportunity to improve operations for everyone. Employees could get documents and update information faster and easier, and HR staff would be freed from time assisting them with tasks they could handle on their own. 

Hooper knew his teams needed more flexibility in their systems to build and customize workflows. Additionally, aggregating data from across their disparate systems could help them gain actionable insights to drive continuous improvements and catch troubling trends early.

Change isn’t easy—Hooper acknowledges this. He says getting team buy-in and starting the ball rolling is critical. “The longer you wait, the more difficult it’s going to be,” says Hooper. He and his team communicated clearly with employees how new technology solutions would address pain points. Doing this ensured that all system users understood the “why” and “how” of new features and processes. Hooper and his team also accepted welcomed feedback throughout implementation to maintain full buy-in and trust.

Integrating Finance and HR with a Modern ERP System 

Automating processes, simplifying workflows, and aggregating data called for integrating Grain Valley’s finance and HR systems. Hooper knew they needed a single, modern enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution like the ones used in business applications—but designed for the unique needs of a school district. Unifying their software would simplify interfaces for employees across departments, and it would help them better secure their data and improve accuracy as everything would sync within the edtech ecosystem.

Hooper says he saw the solution they needed in PowerSchool PowerSchool eFinancePlus and PowerSchool Employee Records. Together, these products would give them a single, integrated ERP solution to modernize their finance and HR management approach. Most importantly, this unified software would help them address the pain points identified by Hooper’s team and Grain Valley employees. 

Automating Payroll, Payment Processing, and Timesheet Approvals 

Automating payroll and payment processing with eFinancePlus saved countless hours and a ton of frustration for Grain Valley staff members. Now it’s easier to make sure new employees receive their first paycheck on time while reducing the potential for errors every pay period. With integrated finance and HR systems, employee information syncs instantly, eliminating delays that result when finance and HR teams must enter and verify employee data into separate systems.

For students and families, making payments online is a much easier alternative to the old system of collecting cash or checks in person or by mail. Hooper says, “Allowing our students or parents to come in and pay online is great. It saves us time because we’re not going in and processing all the payments manually.” Online payments also eliminate bank runs for staff members who used to accept them, document them, and then take them to the bank to deposit. Hooper says the difference this makes in reporting is huge. “I can upload an entire month’s worth of payments in about 10 minutes,” he explains.

Another considerable time and headache saver for Grain Valley was automating timesheet approvals with their modern payroll solution. Since employees at each school and building throughout the district can view and approve their timesheets online, there’s no need to mail them out for signatures as they did before.

Enabling Self-Service HR Requests

The Employee Access Center in eFinancePlus lets Grain Valley give employees access to their HR documents and data. Everyone at Grain Valley can easily access what they need online, from tax documents to income verification statements and benefits paperwork. Hooper points out that employees like this better, and it’s given time back to finance and HR staff members, including himself, to focus on other tasks that require their attention. “I think I ended up printing less than 100 W2s this year, whereas normally we printed close to 1000.” He adds, “It’s a lot more efficient for our team not to process all of those requests, put them together, and deliver them.”

In addition to making document management easier, employee HR self-service also helps Grain Valley save money on printing and mailing supplies. Employees can update their information or access a form or document from anywhere in a matter of minutes.

Making Data-Driven Decisions with Big-Picture Analytics

Grain Valley gained actionable big-picture analytics by aggregating their finance and HR data. Hooper says they now have more information to guide decisions. Real-time dashboards with intuitive visualizations make it easier for all staff members to digest and understand data critical to their roles. It’s also easier for them to run reports for compliance. Hooper says, “It’s easy to run different reports and figure out what you need.”

The district also has more information to help them make budgeting decisions. They can quickly see where extra funding support is needed, and better gauge investment impact. Hooper says this is improving the way they run the district. “We’re trying to use the technology to budget better than we did in the past,” he explains. With their previous system, they had limited insight into budget-related data, which made it difficult for different stakeholders to monitor their spending.

Modernizing to Reap Long-Term Benefits

With their modern, integrated finance and HR system, Grain Valley made improvements that will deliver benefits for years to come. In addition to the gains they already see from automation, online data management, and big-picture data analytics, they laid a foundation to continue building on well into the future. 

Hooper says they’re working on further simplifying their onboarding process for new employees with online records management. Employee Records gives them the tools and flexibility to take almost the entire process online so that new hires can complete their paperwork and much of their orientation from home. “We can improve their experience, and that helps us make the best possible first impression to our new teachers and staff,” explains Hooper.

With this initial phase of modernizing finance and HR, Grain Valley can continue improving in the future. Having the right tools and technological support is critical, and Hooper says partnering with PowerSchool ensures they have both. However, a vital aspect that Grain Valley brought to the table is total team buy-in. As employees experience the benefits of their new system, they’ll likely be more inclined to buy into future improvements and implementations.