As you look to grow your home care agency, one of the most important necessities is technology, and your organization depends on your tech working for it, not against it. Major areas of your business, from workforce management  to billing to accounting, depend not only on software but also on your multiple programs fitting nicely together and working seamlessly. So, let’s tackle the two systems that cover (or can cover, if you’re still running some things manually) 75% of your agency’s technology – the two main systems that, when properly interacting daily, ensure your administration operates as a well-oiled machine: AMS and HCM. 

 What is Agency Management Software (AMS)?
To put it in the simplest of terms, this is the software that you use to manage your agency’s operations. It tracks many things, including your client demographics, plans of care, schedules, skills, and availabilities, and enables timekeeping (generally via phone, where caregivers dial in or utilize a mobile app) plus tracking of the completion of care plan items. 

 What is Human Capital Management Software (HCM)?
Human capital management (HCM) software is easily the most effective and efficient way to integrate all your human capital management applications into one convenient and user-friendly platform.  The software often supports a range of human resources functions, including:

• • • Caregiver recruiting and applicant tracking 
    • Caregiver onboarding  
    • Caregiver payroll and tax filing 
    • Caregiver skills and licenses tracking 
    • Caregiver pay history and custom pay stubs 
    • Caregiver benefits 
    • Caregiver learning, training, and development 
    • And more! 

Two of the Most Common Integration Challenges

Technical Difficulties

Many systems do not integrate quickly or easily with others. As a result, there might be glitches, delays, errors, and even system failures when or after connecting to other systems. These technical issues and difficulties may affect the accuracy and reliability of information and payroll.

Lack of Internal Resources

Integrating systems often takes time. It will likely put a strain on your regular business operations and may require additional overtime, as your workers are requested to facilitate integration tasks. Even with a substantial budget, the process can be taxing for many organizations.

We gave some serious thought to the topic of marrying your AMS and HCM platforms and collaborated with our friends at KanTime to offer their perspective from the AMS side of things. Download our white paper HCM + AMS Providers Are Better Together to learn more.