Are you being cornered by your HR Software Provider?

With the hyper connected world we are in today, its not difficult to find competing Cloud Based HR and Payroll Software.  However the challenge is everything looks great on a power point presentation, but the reality kicks in only until later in the implementation, when the process is almost 80% through, the point at which it is extremely difficult to go back and change, at this stage its far enough to not walk out of a contract and not near enough to get a fully working solution.

We take a look at some of the key pointers you can employ to make the selection and implementation process, so your implementation is a success rather than a failed case study archived under lessons learned:

• Key Requirements: The first and the most important step is document the features you are looking for in the solution, i.e. you should be clearly documenting expectations e.g. employee self service, payroll management, store employee personal information, mobile app access, what are the key things you need as an absolute must have, good to have, or to be added later, this will create a baseline, for you to benchmark the solution you want to implement, so you can simply tick the box, whether the feature exists or not.
• Not Only Powerpoint(s): What this means is don’t just be impressed with a flew slides showing you screen shots and workflows which are manually drawn, insist on a live presentation on the actual software it self.
• Technical Requirements: Make sure you know in the first meeting, what are the technical requirements, whether it is a cloud based hr and payroll solution or an on-premise, if it is cloud based where does your data reside, what are the minimum and maximum technical constraints, make sure you run through your IT department to check whether there is any additional cost which needs to be factored in, apart from the solution pricing, this will also help assess any other associated costs in the short term and long term.
• Proof of Concept: Always make it a point to take some case samples, execute those in the solution and verify whether the results are expected, so you can get a realistic view as to how the solution would perform.  An example would be do a sample payroll process for 5 employees, generate reports, payslips, with various combinations.  Doing a sample performance appraisal also is a good idea to see how the forms are generated, how it is keyed in by employees, their managers and the full workflow, the actual user experience.
• Blue Print: Make sure you have a detailed document make only to list down what features are needed, how they should work, what are the expectation, what are the time lines, milestones, this document should serve as your business and project blue print which will also define, what are the success criteria, process to obtain sign off for the required milestones.  This will help eliminate any future surprises and you will be most likely left will only operational challenges which may crop up later in the implementation.
• Support: Ensure that you are covered properly with adequate support, you should know, the SLA and ensure how you will measure the SLA, make sure you have access to the providers ticketing system, so all requests get a case no, which can be tracked with history.
• Cost: Finally it is the cost which will matter, there will be a one time license cost and an implementation cost and an ongoing support cost, please ensure you understand what all of these are and what you are entitled to in return after paying these associated costs, what happens if the requirements change slightly, how is additional cost arrived at, what is the formula, is it hourly or scope based, you should have complete information of any costs, there should never be hidden costs, all costs should be mentioned upfront.
• Reference Check: Now you have ironed out almost every piece of the puzzle, don’t forget to conduct reference checks, on existing clients, make sure you get at least 2 to 3 reference checks, from existing clients who are using, so you can be sure you are choosing the right provider.  It is more important to deal with a provider who has integrity and professional attitude rather than a provider, who may have a better solution, but will leave you mid way, on a petty disagreement on the contract, putting all your investments with regard to time and money, and your own reputation at risk.  You should prefer to work with a providers who are more interested in the success of the project, rather than find a way to bill you more money.

Above were a few pointers you can count on to find the right provider.  All of these may or may not be applicable or you may have others, too, but this will enable you to have a good starting point.

HR Chronicle is a leading Cloud Based HR and Payroll Management solution, we have served our customers since 2006 that when the very first version of HR Chronicle came out, HR Chronicle is available in 2 flavours, Cloud Based and On Premise.  To know more give us a shout, we will happy to discuss more.