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.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
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)
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)
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
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: 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.
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?"
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?"
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