Are you planning a HR technology implementation project? Perhaps you are about to start a new digital HR journey?
This quick guide will provide some helpful tips and tricks worth considering.
In the past 10 years, the world of digital HR has grown immensely. Not only are more and more organisations implementing technology but also, there are so many more solutions and vendors coming into the market. There’s much more choice than ever before.
In the next decade, the digital HR world looks set to continue changing and evolving rapidly. The next generation of technology – artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and block chain to name a few is starting to capture significant attention.
But how do organisations ensure success when it comes to implementing technology? It may not be an area that many HR professionals are familiar with. And with so much information out there, it can be very daunting.
Over the past 18 years, I have worked with many world-renowned global organisations, across many different markets and industries. During this time, I have developed a wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to implementing HR technology. While every business is unique, there are many recurring themes I’ve seen throughout my career. Many of these still stand tall, regardless of the constant technology changes.
Sometimes, the simplest moments hold the deepest wisdom. Let your thoughts settle, and clarity will find you. Use this quote space to share something inspirational or reflective, perfectly aligned with the theme of your article.
1. Work within a strategy that supports strategic business goals
It’s crucial that you are clear about which problems you are trying to solve by implementing a system. It’s really easy to get blinded by all the amazing tech products and solutions out there. But they must all be implemented with a specific purpose, to solve a specific challenge.
Consider the vision and goals of the business first. At this point, you can think about a digital solution to aid the realisation of these goals. Technology can be immensely powerful. However, it should be viewed as the ‘enabler’ rather than the ‘driver’.
2. Standardise and optimise global processes
A HR technology implementation project is an opportunity to do things differently. It allows you to actively seek out optimisation and enhancements for the ways you currently do things, which you may not otherwise look at.
Businesses are dynamic and should always be looking for better, more efficient ways of doing things. There is always room for enhancements, so do not be afraid to challenge the status quo.
If you are part of a global organisation, think about how the business should implement global vs. local processes. In most cases, the 80:20 rule works well as an general principle – 80% global and 20% local. Global organisations will see the benefits of operating one set of core processes. Such processes may include on-boarding, off-boarding, performance reviews, merit and bonus reviews. Standardised global processes will make supporting the system, carrying out upgrades, enhancements and training much more straightforward. It will also allow for central control and provide better management reporting.
Ultimately, these factors will help keep costs to a minimum for the business and improve the experience for all colleagues.
However, local processes or variations may also be needed. General best practice advice would be to keep such variations limited to where there is a legal or regulatory reason. Local preferences could be permitted in some circumstances. However, if you are not careful, it can be easy to deviate from the global design. This would most likely result in you not realising the full benefits of the global system and creating additional challenges to manage. Therefore, ensure there is clear criteria defined at the outset and a robust process is used for the approval of any localisations.
3. Choose the right vendor and implementation partner
Implementing a new system is typically a large investment and will be part of a long term strategy. Therefore, selecting the right partners is a key element to success. It will take time to evaluate all the options before making commitments but it will be worth it.
New vendors are coming into the marketplace frequently and there are more options than ever before. I would suggest looking at the things that are important for your organisation. At an early stage in your HR technology implementation journey, make time to properly assess the vendor candidates.
4. Effective governance
Strong governance is key to a successful HR technology implementation. From the outset, ensure that you create a clear governance structure from the outset. This framework will typically include a Project Steering Board, with decision-maker level representation from the key areas of the business. Such representation would normally include HR, Finance and IT, but possibly others too. Ensure the overall budget holder is included as part of the Project Steering Board. At the beginning of the project, you should set expectations and agree core principles for how the implementation will be managed.
Additionally, you will also have a strong Project Board. This team would be made up of Project Management, Workstream Leaders and IT Project Managers. It may also include selected members from your chosen implementation partner.
Provide regular updates to the Board groups as the project progresses. Make use of their influence to ensure swift resolution to risks and issues. Keeping documentation as full and complete as possible, will also eliminate confusion and ensure there is a clear audit trail of decisions made at each stage of the project.
5. Set-up a strong, dedicated project delivery team
One common mistake I see frequently (and can relate to personally) is placing more demand on employees with busy day jobs, to avoid additional costs. Whilst this may seem like a good way to save money, it has inherent challenges. Dedicated HR technology implementation resources can increase costs but they also reduce risk to the project falling significantly behind schedule, by providing dedicated resources that can keep things moving at all times.
Another reason for specialist support is that HR and IT colleagues are often experienced in their own areas. However, rarely have the experience of implementing HR technology projects. It should not be assumed that IT resources have the correct knowledge and experience required, just because it happens to be a technology platform. The same applies for HR – often HR colleagues have little or no experience of running HR technology projects. They also tend to focus on how things have ‘always been done’ as opposed to challenging the status quo. Of course, there are always exceptions. Some may have a level of experience – but be aware that HR technology is a specialist area and plan your resources carefully.
Whilst there may be a dedicated core delivery team to alleviate pressure, it’s imperative to include selected current employees as SMEs. They will prove to be invaluable in sharing insights, collating requirements, testing, training and most importantly, adoption of the solution. This approach, ensure they are not overburdened by project activity but still remain an integral part of the implementation team. Unfortunately, I have seen projects fail because full control was delegated to a contract project team. When the team left, all the knowledge walked out the door with them. Therefore, striking the right balance is what you are aiming for.
6. Plan ahead
HR technology implementations, like other projects have high demands. When you get embedded in the day-to-day detail, focus can easily be taken away from what is coming down the line. It is crucial to be 10 steps ahead. If you are just looking at the day-to-day, important things will either get missed or hit you when you are unprepared.
In most projects, the delivery is important but it’s only the first step. The real success comes later, once the system is introduced to the business. Here are a few critical factors that I find are often left too late in the game. As these are fundamental to success they should really be planned in from the outset and tracked throughout the project, in parallel to the delivery.
Such examples include:
1. Change and communications
2. Training & roll out plan
3. An end user support model.
7. Global SME representation
As discussed earlier, you may have a contract team to manage the project and do a lot of the heavy lifting. However, be sure to include key subject matter expert (SME) representation in the project team. This is particularly during the design and testing stages. These resources can complement the core project team, to add further context around the organisation.
In the case of a global project, ensure that relevant country representation is included. This is important to ensure acceptance of the end solution but will also assist with highlighting local challenges and legal considerations early on.
SMEs will most likely be the ones who are close to the system once it is implemented. Therefore, allowing them to build up knowledge throughout the project will be extremely beneficial. This is always much more effective that trying to handover all the controls at the end. There will still be a level of knowledge transfer required at the end. However, the SMEs will already have context, be familiar with the product and its configuration.
8. Don’t underestimate training and change management
This is one of the most critical success factors but is often not given the attention it deserves. You can have the best system in the world, but effective communication and training can be the difference between success or failure. It sounds obvious but it is surprising how many people underestimate its importance.
Take the time to build a strong change management and training plan. You should think about the following, as a minimum:
1. Share your vision for how the new solutions will positively impact the business. How will they make people’s everyday lives simpler, easier and more enjoyable?
2. Warm up business stakeholders to the idea, rather than dropping it on them with little warning.
3. Showcase and emphasise the benefits of system, rather than the features.
4. Don’t just list out the benefits to the business. People will want to know how it will impact them directly, rather than the business as a whole.
5. Be clear about implementation dates and any future plans.
6. Develop a communication plan for the roll out.
7. Provide good quality documentation. Consider the idea of quick guides for specific processes or features, rather than one lengthy user manual. Be clear where to find this documentation.
8. Training may not be necessary for everyone. However, consider offering drop in or optional sessions for those who want to understand more or who are struggling.
9. Consider offering briefing sessions for senior leaders and line managers before the launch.
9. Consider a suitable and realistic roll out strategy
Try to be realistic on dates for your HR technology implementation (where possible). I’ve all too often seen business leaders set unrealistic target dates. However, if you feel these dates are genuinely not achievable, there should be a challenge back to flag the risks of not meeting those dates.
Another strategy which can be effective is to undersell and over deliver. Focus on promising only the features that you are confident can be delivered in the agreed time frame. Position any additional features as a bonus. This approach which will often help a solution to land much better than promising a whole list of features, which are only partially delivered. If you promise everything and under deliver, the project may not be viewed as the resounding success you hoped for.
Finally, consider the most effective option for roll out – is a ‘Big Bang’ approach really the best option? The term itself is pretty frightening! There may be a legitimate reason for rolling everything out at one time. Equally, there may be arguments and merit in staggering the delivery. This will be a decision that is unique to every business and every situation. However, consider all angles and more importantly, be realistic. Often a phased roll out will allow a much more controlled approach.
Data
Data underpins everything – without accurate data, having a state of the art system is pointless. Bad data also gives HR a lot of bad press, even if the functionality of the system is as slick as it can be.
You want the new system to provide a solution to any history of inaccurate data – not compound the issue further. If this has been a challenge for your business, rectifying this one factor, alone, will immediately highlight the success of the solution – before you even introduce any of the cool, slick new features! On the flip side, if data is still questionable in the new system, it will make the business users question everything else you deliver.
My advice is set aside time to look at and investigate the state of your data early on. This will be even more important for larger organisations that may have multiple countries and legacy systems.
Once you have assessed the state of the data, develop a plan for extracting, cleansing and migrating relevant data to the new system. This process often takes more time than people think, so allow plenty of time and consider which resources you will use.
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Disclaimer: Information correct at time of publishing and may contain subjective opinions, based on the author’s professional experience.