Rapid City Area Schools Streamlines Onboarding and Integration with Helios

Rapid City Area Schools Streamlines Onboarding and Integration with Helios 

As the second largest school district in South Dakota, Rapid City Area Schools (RCAS) serves nearly 14,000 students across 22 schools and employs approximately 1,800 people. RCAS is committed to guiding each student from preschool through graduation as they grow academically, follow their passions, and uncover their unique strengths.  

Summary   

RCAS uses the Helios Core module, Onboarding, as well as an ongoing integration with Skyward. Helios has recently developed a recent partnership with Skyward, making data integration even more streamlined.  

Challenge 

Before partnering with Helios, RCAS was looking for a solution to simplify onboarding and reduce duplicate data entry. They were also seeking a solution that could integrate with their existing system, Skyward.  

The Helios Solution for Rapid City Area Schools  

By implementing the Helios onboarding module, RCAS now has the ability to communicate new hire onboarding information, and new team members can electronically complete onboarding packets in a timely manner. Their team is able to save valuable time and resources by digitally sending forms, their new employee handbook, and agreements to new employees. Richard Harming, Human Resources Generalist, says “Helios is a great way to communicate and digitally complete new hire forms and documents.” Harming adds, “Being able to create custom packets for each type of employee is very helpful.”  

Integration and Implementation

The RCAS HR team found the Helios implementation to be simple and Harming shares that “Helios customer service is helpful and responsive.” With built-in help guides to empower users, the HR team was able to start using Helios quickly as they found the system to be very user-friendly. The Skyward and Helios interface was the icing on the cake for RCAS. A Helios interface helps eliminate multiple entry by staff and leverages Helios’s capabilities, all while keeping existing systems. 

Best Practices for Skyward  

When it comes to their Skyward interface, the team at RCAS has onboarding practices in place to set them up for success. Once the HR team receives the hiring agreement via Skyward, they bring the applicant data from Fast Track to Skyward and complete all necessary administrative actions in Skyward for the new employee’s profile. The HR Team chooses which onboarding packet (ie. credentialed, classified, etc.) and adds the employees name and email address into Helios. Helios automatically sends a new employee the onboarding packet.

After the employee has completed the necessary digital onboarding packet, the HR team checks the packet for accuracy. The new employee is then invited to an in-person onboarding class where they put the finishing touches on the onboarding process. 

Why Rapid City Area Schools Chose Helios Ed 

One of the reasons that Helios was the right fit for RCAS, was because Helios is built specifically for K-12, and truly understands the needs of HR and business professionals in the K-12 space. RCAS also appreciated “the potential for expansion to other education-based modules within Helios,” says Mr. Harming. Between the ease of onboarding new team members and the new integration partnership with Skyward, the SKY is the limit for Rapid City Area Schools with Helios Ed!