Even the most competent and engaged of People teams can find the work involved in implementing a new HR system tough.  With any big investment, there is stakeholder pressure to maximise the return on investment and ensure it transforms the way that things are done.

Better efficiency, simple to use, accurate, integrated, engaging… the wish list and goals can be very broad in scope and require both the tech and the teams involved, to deliver.

Budgets are signed off, teams are in place, but there are several things that can derail a project quite quickly, and once momentum is lost, it can be harder to get it back on track.

Here are a few questions we’d ask, along with some advice to help your project succeed:

1.   Have you put the product through specific scenarios during the procurement phase and spoken to clients in a similar sector and size?

Far too often assumptions are made that systems work in a certain way, but the only way to ensure they fully meet your needs is to get the sales teams to demo your live scenarios to see how and if it can work for you.

Like with a new hire, you should seek references. Finding out what the implementation process was like, how technical it was to configure, how supportive the vendor is, and how quickly issues can be resolved are really good insights into what you hope will be a long-term partnership with your new software provider.

You don’t want to find you have selected the wrong product once it’s too late!

2.   Have you ensured your data is up to date, accurate and in a format that can be imported into your new system?

Rubbish in, rubbish out. Even if your new system has the bells and whistles everyone has been waiting for, if your data isn’t correct, it can undermine all of your hard work, and people will not engage with it.

With AI on the rise, it’s even more important to build a foundation of accurate information so that it doesn’t start learning or building on incorrect data that can be very hard to unpick later.

Did you know that there are often security issues linked to data?  If you don’t understand how your new system assigns reporting lines, security roles and access (which is often captured as part of the data import), you can end up in quite a muddle of people, seeing people and things they were not supposed to!  It’s important that you understand the impact of each column of data and its dependencies before it goes in!

Data cleansing is something you can do as you’re negotiating contracts and preparing to start a project.  We usually find that there are multiple systems to extract data from and get into a usable format; historical data that isn’t essential to import, meaning you stand more chance of a clean and accurate base to start with; and data that you simply don’t trust and need to go out to the business to collect – either in preparation or as part of launching the system with end users updating the data as part of their familiarisation and training – win win!

3.   Have you engaged your technical teams upfront to secure knowledge and technical support at the right time?

Whilst the People team is usually the core resource to implement an HRIS, there are always some technical requirements, such as setting up single sign-on and whitelisting addresses to allow system notifications to be received.  There are usually integrations to create, update or disable IT user accounts, which need to be configured for Active Directory, tested and implemented before going live, too.

Like all enabling functions, IT usually has a long list of projects and support they are providing at any one time, so getting their buy-in and resources booked early on ensures any initial questions can be answered and avoids unnecessary delays.

4.   Have you done this before, and do you have the time to learn?

Internal teams often have to play multiple roles on top of their day job when implementing a system.  They need to become internal coordinators or project managers, keep stakeholders updated and engaged, manage risks and issues, redesign processes, manage change, learn the system, teach others how to use it, support and deliver a successful rollout to the business and evaluate its success.

With many system providers working to a light-touch self-implementation model, or a more in-depth and tightly scheduled plan, unless you have resources that have delivered a similar project in the past, or are able to commit a significant amount of their time to learn on the project, it can be a serious challenge to fit it all in!

If all goes to plan, it’s such a rewarding and enjoyable experience to deliver a digital transformation that meets its goals.

Discuss the anticipated resources and skills required with your system provider and find out, as far as possible, what business priorities could impact your resources, time, or budget in advance to build in some contingency or seek the right support to make your project a success.

Not all projects fail, but thinking ahead in these 4 areas can certainly mitigate the risk of yours becoming one of them and turn it into a success.

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