“Not another integration to maintain”

IT Director · HR and payroll software

An IT Director who won't take on another HR integration is speaking from experience: every connection between systems is something else to keep in sync and fix when it breaks. Don't promise it will be effortless. Ask what breaks today and who fixes it, then be specific about what yours would need from them.

What the buyer says

Every HR tool we add is another integration to keep in sync. I'm not taking on another one.

How to handle it

Listen

Hear "another integration to keep in sync". The worry is the ongoing maintenance and who owns it, more than the first set-up.

Acknowledge

Agree that integrations between HR systems create real ongoing work, and that IT usually ends up owning them.

Explore

Ask which of their current HR integrations fail most often, how they find out, and who fixes them. Ask what a good integration looks like to them: how it's monitored, who supports it and what happens when a system changes.

Respond

Be specific about what your integration needs: which systems, which data, who looks after it and what happens when it fails. Answer against the problems they named, not with a general promise.

Say this
“That's fair. Every integration is something else for your team to look after.”

Say this
“Which of your current HR integrations causes the most trouble?”

Say this
“When one breaks, how do you find out, and who fixes it?”

Variations

Head of HR Systems: “We already spend too much time keeping our HR systems talking to each other.”
Enterprise Architect: “We're reducing the number of systems, not adding to them.”

Questions people ask

How do you respond when IT says they don't want another HR integration?

Acknowledge that integrations create ongoing work. Ask which current integrations break, how they find out and who fixes them, then be specific about what yours would need: which data, who supports it and what happens when it fails.

Why does IT push back on new HR software?

Each new HR tool usually needs to share data with other systems, and IT tends to own those connections when they break. Their concern is the ongoing maintenance, so answer with specifics rather than reassurance.