Q:What are the keys to a successful problem solution implementation?

A: Once you have decided to implement a particular software a HUGE key to a successful implementation is a good implementation specialist.  The whole implementation will hinge on how effective this person is at managing the process.  To this end, the client should be able to speak with the implementation specialist who will be assigned to their project.  It would be good to ask about their process and understand the level of support you will have throughout the implementation.

Now the Team has been assembled everyone involved in the implementation should have a kick-off meeting.  During this meeting the roles of each project team member should be defined.  It would also be good to define the client stakeholders and subject matter experts.  This may be the client's IT department, payroll administrator, supervisors, or HR professionals.  Now that the roles have been defined the project plan and timeline should be communicated/set.  Everyone should know exactly how their part affects the rest of the project so that if one person does not make a deadline they know what it does to the implementation.  Now that the ball is rolling weekly meetings should be held to check in on the progress of each action item.  This will keep everyone on the Team accountable and uncover any potential issues that will arise.

Each vendor will have their own implementation approach but as long as each Team member keeps in communication and follows through on their commitment the implementation should be a success.

Q: Review your success metrics blog #1 & reflect/comment

A:  I was really thrown for a loop since I first recorded what I expected from the class.  I thought that I would learn what's new in the world of HR software but what I got was so much more.

It was extremely valuable to see some of the systems out there first hand so I would say that the demos were the most illustrative of the class title.  I sit here with my spreadsheets and Word documents so seeing anything was a big improvement over my current system.  I liked that we saw systems that were free (Google sites) all the way up to the "Cadillac" systems of PeopleSoft and Workday.

The thing I was not expecting was the education in process or project management.  Without giving away too much, it dawned on me that each week I was gaining valuable skills that were immediately applicable.  In a small company like mine I wear many hats and lead projects of all kinds.  I am an organized person but would have trouble keeping others on track, getting buy in, and mapping the process out into the future.  I am great with checklists but needed the framework of the Charter.

Another takeaway I had from this class that the name implied but I really didn't have a clue would be included was the process for analyzing potential HR systems.  I realize how unprepared I was to step into the world of assessing the value of one system over another for the problems I am trying to solve.

Jun, thanks for a great 10 week class and who knows, maybe down the road I will be able to come in and demo InView from Ceridian!! :o)

The future of work...where will HR be?

Ooops, just saw this in my "draft" folder!  Meant to post this long ago!

Q:  Given the future of work, what's your HR strategy?

A:  The world is going mobile, not just because we are focusing on technology in this class, but because it is happening and it is here to stay.  I think my HR Strategy would be how to maintain the sense of teamwork, community, the feeling of belonging to a company yet working remotely.  The Boomers worked at the same company for 30 years, Gen-Yers want to work on their own time (flex hours, long vacations, etc), and Gen Xers are social to the core and that is what they demand of the workforce.  The one common factor is that we still have to work together to make companies work!

The very best way these days to make a diverse workforce come together is through technology.  The older workforce may not know (or want) to use technology but somehow the younger generations need to include them.  Boomers have amazing knowledge and skills that younger generations need.  Younger generations demand that everything is electronic.  It is up to the younger generations to harness the knowledge of the older workforce before it is too late.

Q: Blog - case study

A:  Case #3
You are an HR generalist, and your VP of HR has asked you to implement Successfactors for performance reviews.  She was at a conference where she saw the product and was very impressed.

How do you approach this request?

Just because my VP of HR saw SuccessFactors at the conference does not mean that it is (or is not) the right solution for our business. I would start from the beginning by 1) creating a charter and 2) conducting an HR software analysis on SuccessFactors.

CHARTER: First things first, I was not even aware that we had a problem around performance reviews! Let's define the problem and document the current processes in place for performance reviews. This will give me the opportunity to pick my VP's brain on exactly what she wants to get out of the technology. What problem do we want the technology to solve? Maybe Successfactors is not the best solution for the problem we are trying to solve.

SOFTWARE ANALYSIS: Now that we have defined the problem and written the charter it's time to analyze Successfactors. We are an international company, does it have global capabilities? Successfactors is a SaaS, what kind of software do we need to have to make it work? What kinds of SLAs does Successfactors offer? How long is the implementation? Can we talk to our implementation specialist before buying? How often is the system upgraded? What systems do we have in place that need to be integrated? Can they be integrated? What are the one time costs? What is the annual cost? Once implemented, what kind of data are we going to be able to access?


Once a full software analysis has been conducted we will be in a better place to answer the question "Does Successfactors solve the problem we are trying to solve?"

Q: What did you learn & what do you hope to learn next class? Anything that your can apply right away personally or professionally?

A:  After reading the Forrester Wave: Human Resource Management Systems, Q1 2012 article I found out that I not only have a 5.00 on my hands but that the potential for adding a suite of integrated products down the road looks promising!!  At my company I am currently implementing Ceridian's InView time and attendance product.  I was thrilled to see that it ranked 5 out of 5 on the evaluation, and here is why.

Prior to this class I had no exposure to the project management process.  The key steps of Discovery, Defining the problem, and Designing a solution were loosely completed but the decision to purchase InView was based mainly on the fact that it was 1) affordable and 2) integrated with Ceridian payroll on the US side of our operations.  Because our data on the Canadian side was not integrated we knew it would not be a perfect product for all our needs but we knew it would be "good enough".  The back-end user (namely myself) can rest assured that the vacation accruals are accurate and that wage & hour requirements are compliant.  The end user is able to update some of their personal information, create/send time off requests in real time, and managers are able to view the time off for their employees 24/7 (not to mention run user friendly reports!).  Even though InView has it's limitations this article made me feel like, however accidentally, we picked a great product.

If I were to be able to go back in time and start the process over I most certainly would.  I am not sure that the outcome would have been any different but at least I would know exactly what this technology can do and what additional HR technology products will be available in the future.  My class charter is around a SOR.  After reading this article I need to evaluate if it makes sense to move forward with a stand alone product and make sure it integrates seamlessly with Ceridian Payroll and Time & Attendance OR if we should hold off to see what Ceridian has in store down the road.  As Ceridian has bought Dayforce it sounds like it could be worth the wait!!

Q: What did you learn & what do you hope to learn next class? Anything that your can apply right away personally or professionally?

A:  We talked about a simple yet incredibly important idea..."Make sure your solution solves your specific problem".  So many times we have something we want to be done better, different, or more efficient.  In the race to make our lives easier we don't stop to think, REALLY think, about what the problem actually is and therefore, how good is our solution?  Recently we set out to bring on a time and attendance solution.  We spoke to the sales people, the price was right, the demo looked good, but we failed to make it all the way through implementation.  The product was far from intuitive to the end user and the vendor provided absolutely zero training materials for our employees.  We forgot to ask the most basic question, "is this going to be a solution that our employees will use?"  The system made sense from an administrative and compliance standpoint but we forgot to ask the end users.  In the end we scrapped the implementation.  We fought (and succeeded) to get the monthly fees back from the company but we were out the one time, up front fees.

GOOGLE SITES!!!  This is 100% something that I can use right away.  I feel that (especially in smaller organizations) so much is done with so little time/staff/dollars.  I am responsible for all on boarding activities in both the US and Canada.  This means different health & welfare plans, different tax forms/rules, different handbooks, holidays, legally required notices...and the list goes on and on.  A Google site is a highly visible way to make the new hire process less confusing for the new hire and adds immediate cache to the organization.  It is no small thing to successfully on-board an employee.  The more an employee feels welcome the longer they will stay.  Ummm, not that I have any hard data but that must be true, right?!?!

Q: Define a business problem & articulate a charter

A: GROSVENOR USA LIMITED: System of Record Charter

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Problem Statement

The Grosvenor HR department currently utilizes a hodgepodge of different IT solutions to capture employee data pertinent to dates of employment, benefits, payroll, compensation history, tenure, benefits eligibility, employee data (address, dependents, DOB, degrees, certifications, spouse, etc), titles, time & attendance, and various other recordkeeping.  The most predominantly used applications are Excel (as an employee database) and Ceridian (as a payroll, tax, compliance system) but there is also a shared HR drive that only HR personnel have access.  At this time we are implementing a time & attendance software that should integrate seamlessly with Ceridian.

This system is cumbersome, often times inaccurate, time consuming to keep updated, and provides for a great deal of manual data input.  The HR department is looking for an integrated system that is accurate and automates much of the daily/monthly/annual work of the department.  Preferably with a self service option for managers and employees.

Customers

1. HR department
2. Senior Management
3. Managers
4. Employees

Business Case

Time is money.  It is predicted that 25-30% of HR time used to complete these tasks could be freed up to focus on supporting Senior Management and Managers.  Reporting is a key takeaway from having a system of record.  With this kind of functionality HR can provide the data that managers need, when they need it, and how they need to see it to make better business decisions.

In Scope

1. Solution to replace current Excel spreadsheets that house employee data
2. Solution that will integrate with current Ceridian and time & attendance solutions
3. Solution that will contain both the US & Canadian employees

Out of Scope

Not yet determined.

Success Metrics

1. Automated process that reduces the amount of time needed to access employee data
2. Capability to deliver metrics to Senior Management
3. More accurate employee data

Deliverables

1. Evaluation of options to replace spreadsheets
2. Evaluation of metrics to be reported
3. Evaluation of integration with current software
4. Discovery of data to be uploaded into new solution
5. Communication Plan

Resources

1. Sponsor - HR Generalist
2. Core Team - HR Director/HR Generalist
3. Senior Management
4. Finance Manager

Solution Options