decisionwise

HowtoChoosetheBestHRSoftwareTools

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Introduction

HRtechnologyisexplodingexponentially.TherearemorechoicesthanevertohelptheHRprofessionalmanagewhatisbecominganincreasinglyimportantbusinessfunction.WhetheryouarebuyingacomplexHRinformationsystemorlookingtoimplementatimeandattendancesolution,makingtherighttechnologychoiceis

critical.WehavepreparedthisguidetoassisttheHRprofessionalinmakingtherightHRtechnologydecision.

Beforewediveintothedetails,however,weneedtoshareafewkeyinsightsabouttechnologythatwehavelearnedfromourownexperienceandfromourclients’

successesandmissteps.

?Technologycannotsolveabusinessprocessyoudonotunderstand.

?Technologycannotcompensateforlackofexperience.

?Technologycannotdothethinkingandanalysisforyou(eveninthiseraof“bigdata”).

?Themoredatayoucollect,themoredatayoumustprotect(fromunauthorizeddisclosures–i.e.,databreaches).

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CASESTUDY:

HowtoWaste$20,000aYear

Ananecdotefromseveralyearsagosomewhatillustratestheselessons.Wewere

advisingastart-upthatwasfoundedbyagroupofmarketingprofessionals.Admittedly,theydidn’tunderstandmuchaboutfinanceoraccounting,buttheybelievedtheycould“fill”thisholeintheirexecutiveteambybuyingacomplexenterpriseresourceplanning(ERP)softwaresystem.TheERPtheypurchasedwasasystemthatwasmostoftenused

byorganizationsthatemploytensofthousandsofworkers,havemultiplelocations,hundredsofsuppliers,intricateoperatingprocesses,andcomplicatedinventory

systems.

Ourbrilliant,yetmisguided,foundersmistakenlybelievedthatthemorefeaturestheirsoftwarehad,the“smarter”itwas.And,“Ifthebigcompaniesuseit,thentheyshouldbeusingittoo.”Distilledtoitsessence,theybelievedtherewasnoneedtohiresomeonewithafinancialbackgroundbecausethesoftwarecoulddoeverythingforthem,plus

more.TheyputtheirtotalfaithinthisERP.

Intheend,theyspentnearly$20,000ayearonasolutionforacompanyoflessthan15people.And,overthenextfewyears,theircompanywascontinuallyhamperedbyan

accountingsystemthatwastoocomplicated,tooexpensive,toohardtounderstand,toohardtouse,anditdidn’tintegratewithanyothertechnologytheyusedintheirbusiness.Insteadof$20,000peryear,theycouldhaveboughtQuickBooksforafewhundred

dollarsandbeenmuchbetterserved.

Ifyoueverhearasalesrepresentativetellyouthattheirtechnologywillsolveallyourproblems,ouradviceistorun;don’tevenwalk!Technologyismerelyatool,andit

isonlyasgoodastheuserwhounderstandstheunderlyingbusinesstheoriesandprocessesthatwillbemanagedbythetool.

GETTINGSTARTED

Thisguide’spurposeistohelpyounotonlyfindandselecttherighttechnologybasedonfeaturesandprice,butalsotohelpyouidentifyandconsidertheserelateddeploymentissues:

1.Keepingtheprocessunderbudget

2.Managingtheimplementationandtimeframe

3.Minimizingyouruser’slearningcurve

4.Addressingscalability–willthetechnologygrowasyourorganizationsgrows?

5.Ensuringintegration–willthetechnology“talk”toyourotherlegacysystems?

6.Canthesystembecustomized?

7.Doesthesystemcomewithqualitysupportandtimelyservice?

8.Willtheimplementationrequiredramaticchangestoyourbusinessprocesses?

Tip:Beforeyoubuyexpensivesoftware,makesureyouhavelookedatyourchallengesandconsideriftheymightbesolvedusing

simplersolutionsorbyoptimizingyourcurrentbusinessprocesses.

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HowtoSelecttheRightHRTechnologySolution

SAASVS.ON-PREMISE:IT’SASECURITYDECISION

SaaS(softwareasaservice)iscommonlyreferredtoascloudcomputingor

cloudservices.WithaSaaSsolution,thesoftwareproductisaccessedthrougha

website,whichmeansthesoftwareisnotinstalledorhostedonyourorganization’scomputersbutismanagedentirelybythesoftwarevendor.Thevendordoesall

thework.Theymanagetheupdates.Theymanagethestorageandtechnicalrequirements.

Anon-premisesolutioniswhereyoubuyandinstallaversionofthesoftwareon

yourorganization’scomputersystemsoryouhireadatacentertohostthesoftwareapplicationforyou.Withanon-premisesystem,youareresponsibletoeitherbuyamaintenanceprogramortakecareofthemaintenanceyourself.

Unlikeanon-premisesolution,aSaaSofferingmeansyoudonothavetobuyspecialhardware,maintainanyhardware,deploysoftwareupdatesorpatches,orotherwisehireexpensiveITprofessionals.AndwhileSaaSsystemsaremucheasiertouse,

therecanbeadownside–youlosecontrolofhowyourdataissecured.Whileyourdataitistypicallytransmittedtothevendor’sserversovertheinternetthroughanencryptedchannel,youlosecompletecontrolofthedataonceithitsyourvendor’sservers.So,buyerbeware.Itisimperativethatyoudoyourduediligence.

Vs.

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Ifavendoriscompetentatadatasecurity,thenyoumightrealizebettersecuritybyusingaSaaSmodel.However,ifyourITsystemisuniquetoanindustry,suchashealthcare,

thenyourproprietaryITsystemmightbebetteratprotectingyourconfidentialdata.

InformationsecurityisacriticaltotheHRprofessional,sinceHRprofessionalsare

constantlyhandlinghighly-sensitive,personalinformation.HRdepartmentsstore

everythingfromanemployee’sannualsalarytoanindividual’sperformanceratings.Hence,dataprotectionandsecuritymaybethemostimportantfeaturetoconsiderasyouexploretechnologysolutions.

Tip:IfyouselectaSaaSmodel,pleaseaskfordocumentation

showinghowtheysecureandprotectyourconfidentialdata.

Youmightneedthisinformationtoprovetoothersthatyou

areexercisingreasonablecareinsecuringyourorganization’s

confidentialdata.Youmightalsoconsideraskingwhetherthe

SaaSproviderhasacyberinsurancepolicythatwouldcoveryourorganizationintheeventofadatabreach.

ADDITIONALRESOURCES

ThefollowingarticledoesanexcellentjobatconsideringtheprosandconsofSaaSvs.On-Premisesdeployment:

/pros-cons-saas-vs-premises-deployment

ThislinkdirectsyoutoacybersecurityquestionnairethatcomeswithaCreativeCommonscopyright:

https://digitalimpact.io/document/vendor-cyber-security-questionnaire

ThistypeofsecurityquestionnairewillhelpyounavigatethemyriadofissuesthatcomewithprotectingandsecuringconfidentialHRinformation.

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WhatTypeofTechnologyDoYouNeed?

Inmostcases,HRtechnologyisdesignedtotakeanexistingprocessandeither

automatetheworkfloworimprovethewaythebusinessprocessfunctions.For

example,priortoemployeeHRself-serviceportals,theexistingprocesswasto

provideemployeeswithinformationthroughphysicaldocuments(printednoticesandletters),posters,PDFs,andotherelectronicfiles.Now,anemployeecan

logontoawebsitewheretheywillfindallsortsofrelevantinformationabouttheiremploymentrelationship.Wecallthistypeofsoftware–ProcessImprovement

Technology.

PROCESSIMPROVEMENTTECHNOLOGY

Thiscanbecategorizedintothefollowingthreesubcategories:

1.SoftwareforcomplianceandHRdepartmentefficiency

2.EmployeeapplicationsthatprovideemployeeswithHRinformation

COMPLIANCE&HRDEPARTMENT

?Payroll

?HRIS

?BenefitsAdmin

?TimeandAttendance

?Compensation

?Analysis

TALENT

ACQUISITION

?ApplicantTracking

?Web-basedInterviews

?JobBoards

?BackgroundScreening

3.Talentacquisitionsoftwarethathelpscompaniesfindapplicantsandmovethemthroughthehiringprocess.

EMPLOYEEAPPS

?HealthcarePortals

?EmployeeRecognition

?FinancialPlanning

?LMS-Training

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STRATEGICTECHNOLOGY

STRATEGIC

BUSINESSNEEDS

?DataAnalysis

?Engagement

?WorkforceImplementation

?TalentManagement

?CertainAssessments

TheotherprimarycategoryofHRtechnology

involvesbreakingnewgroundbyaccomplishingnewthingsorcompletelyreinventinghowwehandlehistoricHRtasks.Forexample,data

analysisthathelpscompaniespredictfutureworkforceshortagesishelpingtheHRfunctioninwaysthatarenewandinnovative.ThistypeoftechnologyisbestdescribedasStrategic

Technology.

WhilebothProcessImprovementandStrategicTechnologiesareexcitingandoffersignificantbenefits,StrategicTechnologyisgame-changingbecauseitdoesn’tjustmaketheHRfunction

better,itcontributestotheorganization’soverallsuccess.StrategicTechnologyprovidesa

returnoninvestment(ROI)thatisrealandsignificant.StrategicTechnologymovesacompanyforwardbysolvingfundamentalbusinessneeds,notjusthandlingpersonnelissues.

Tip:Startwithaclearunderstandingofwhatyouaretryingto

accomplishandwhichtypeoftechnologywillbestserveyourpurpose:ProcessImprovementvs.Strategic.

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CONSIDERYOURRETURNONINVESTMENT

AnewpieceofHRtechnologyshouldprovideyourorganizationwithanROI.InthecaseofProcessTechnology,theROIcomesbywayofefficiencyandcost-savings

(suchasreducedlaborcoststofulfillthesameresponsibilities).Incontrast,StrategicTechnology’sROImaybemoredifficulttolabelandquantify,butinmostinstances

theStrategicTechnology’s’ROIwillbemuchmoresignificant,asnotedabove.

Tip:MakesureyouunderstandtheexpectedROIand,inaworldoflimitedbudgets,youshouldconsidertheincreasedROIofferedbyStrategicTechnologyofferings.

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5StepstoEvaluateProcessImprovementTechnology

WhenevaluatingProcessImprovementTechnology,theanalysisislinearandstraightforward.

1.IDENTIFYTHEPROCESSORWORKFLOWYOUNEEDTOIMPROVE

Forexample,youremployeeswouldlikeabetterwaytomanagetheirinsurance

benefits.Thebestpracticeistowriteyourgoalsdownandrevisethemuntilyouaresureyouknowexactlywhatchallengesyouwanttosolve.

2.LISTYOURSPECIFICREQUIREMENTS

Thisiswhereyoualsoaddressyourdeploymentissuessuchascustomizationneeds,implementationtimetables,etc.Youmightbetemptedtoskipstepsoneandtwo,butweencourageyoutakethetimetoclarifyyourthinkingbypreparingawell-

craftedrequirementsdocument.Notonlywillarequirementsdocumenthoneyouranalysis,itwillhelpdrivetheprocessbyprovidingstructure.Itwillalsocomein

handyasyoucangivethisdocumenttopotentialvendorstohelpexplainwhatyoureallyneed.

3.BUILDALISTOFVENDORSTHATADDRESSYOURREQUIREMENTS

OrganizationslikesSHRMpublisharticlesandguidesthathelpHRprofessionalsfindandratesoftwarevendors.WehavealsofoundCtobeanexcellent

wayoffindingandrankingsoftwarevendorsintheHRspace.Arecentsearchfor

“benefitsadministration”onCapterrareturnedover100potentialsoftwareproducts.

4.NARROWYOURLISTDOWNTOTWOORTHREEFINALISTS

Thisiswhereyoumustdosomegumshoeworkbyschedulingsoftwaredemos,readingreviews,reachingouttocolleaguesforadvice,andotherwiseconductingresearchonwhat’savailable.Mosttechnologyprovidersprovidecomparison

matricesthatshowhowtheirfeaturescompareacrossthecompetition.

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Tip:Priceshouldn’tbetheultimatedecidingfactor.Inmany

respects,it’sthevendorthathelpsyouunderstandwhatyou

reallyneedthatmightbethebestoptionforyourorganization.

Thisalsothetmewhereyouconsiderotherfactorssuchasprice,responsiveness,supportavailability,timeliness,quality,reputation,andthelong-termviabilityof

thevendor.Finaldecisionsatthisstagearealsobasedonrapportwiththevendor,consensusamongyourteam,andalignmentwithyourorganizations’cultureandneeds.

Atthisfourthstage,youwilllikewisewanttoaddresstheseadditionalkeyquestions:

?Howmanysuccessfulimplementationshasthevendorhandledbefore?

?Whatdoestheend-usertraininganddocumentationlooklike?

?Whowilldothetraining–internallyorbythevendor?

?DoyouneedITexpertstohelpwiththeinstallationand/ormaintenanceoftheproduct?

?Whatbusinessprocesseswillyouhavetochange,ifany?

?Howmanycustomersdoesthevendorhavethatarelikeyourorganization?

?Doesthesolutionhitthebasicrequirementsandwhatadditionalfeaturesdoesitprovidethatareaddedbenefits?

?Howlongwillittakeforyoutobefullyupandrunningwiththissolution?

?Howcustomizableisthesolution?

?Istheproducteasytouseandnavigate?

5.DOYOURDUEDILIGENCE

Askforandtalktoreferences.Makesureyouunderstandhowmuchthereferencespent,intotal,toimplementthesolution.Howlongdidtheprocesstake?How

distractingwastheprocessanddiditrequirealotofinternaltimeandeffort?Didtheyexperienceanybugs?Weretheirconcernsresolvedthroughthevendor’s

supportfunctionandhowlongdidthattake?Wouldtheydoanythingdifferently?Finally,hasthesolutionsolvedtheproblemitwassupposedtoaddress?

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EvaluatingStrategicTechnology

WhiletheevaluationprocessforProcessImprovementTechnologyisstraightforward,understandinghowtoselecttherightvendorwithStrategicTechnologycanbequitechallenging.

ThemostdifficultpartaboutStrategicTechnologyisthatitoftenrepresentsa

discretionaryspendofresources,whichmeansyoumustthinkabouthowyouspend

yourresourcestogetthebestresultsforyourorganization.Youcan’ttackleeveryneed,sowhicharethemostimportant.

Wesuggeststartingwithanimplementationmatrixtoinformyouranalysis.

Onceyouhavetakenthetimeallocateyourchallengeswithinanimplementationmatrix,thenwesuggestyouprioritizeyourefforts.Onceyouarereadytomoveforwardwithastrategicsolution,thedecision-makingprocessshouldfollowthesamemethodologywedescribedforProcessImprovementTechnologyintheprecedingpages.

HIGH

IMPACT

LOW

VALUEANDQUICKWINS

DEDICATEDTOSUCCESS

ASPOSSIBLE

LOWEFFORTHIGH

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Conclusion

AsanHRprofessionalinthe21stcentury,yourjobistohelpyourorganizationwin.Whetherthatiswiningbyincreasingsalesorwinningbecauseyournonprofitis

betteratmeetingitsmissionandobjectives.Nonetheless,thegoalistowin.

OnewayyoucontributetothiseffortisbyimprovingtheHRfunctionandbymakingstrategicHRdecisionsthathelptheorganizationfi