As the adoption of cloud based solutions cross over from early adopters to main stream become the norm in the way businesses purchase HR technology solutions, the delivery of professional services is being commoditized and/or diluted to help win new business. The actual delivery of the solution and how you viewed the demonstrated maybe not be possible with the low professional services estimate or statement of work.

The goal of cloud based providers is to get the client up and running in the tenant (a fancy term for the data center) as quickly as possible so they can begin billing. The implementation, configuration and training of their clients is nothing more than an obstacle for some of the vendors. A classic example is the ATS provider Taleo (now Oracle) with their Business Edition implementation model. It has always been this inexpensive, quick, remote model to help to get the system deployed fast at an affordable price. A price that can be sold to an executive without going to RFP or a long evaluation process. This strategy for Taleo, prior to the Oracle acquisition, was very successful and stock holders in tune of $1.8 billion in revenue. Today, Oracle is peeling back what they actually purchased and realizes that the Taleo client base is under utilizing the Taleo system because of the lack of planning upfront and what specific issues the client was trying to solve. As a result, the client will ultimately blame the solution and move to a new vendor when their three year subscription ends.

It is imperative that business leaders realize that they are not going to solve all of their problems, especially with cookie cutter approaches to implementation and training. The vendors that are in this for the long haul realize that they need to spend the time up front, scoping the professional services with the right about of hours to make the client successful and have them fully utilize all of the system capabilities that they are about to purchase. They also realize that when it comes time to renewing the next 36 month agreement that those clients that have fully embraced their HR Technology have a very high probability of renewing.

Think about it, who wants to go through another implementation? It is hard enough handling your full time job plus having to deploy new software.

Here is a short list of Red Flags to consider when evaluating a vendor and their approach to implementation

• Low costs implementations

• All remote delivery of professional services

• A majority of the deployment falls on the client, not the vendor

• No scope of work details for professional services to be delivered

• The challenge is that the vendors sales team didn't demonstrate that type of a system, but a rich, user experience with lots of features and capabilities enabled

Mike Maiorino is the CEO and Founder of HRMS Solutions. His 24 years of dedication to the HR technology profession, with a proven track record of results and recognition, has earned him a reputation for being a subject matter expert regarding HRMS software and SaaS solutions. Mike has served in a number of sales and managerial positions for leading providers of HR and Payroll solutions, including ADP, Sage Software, Kronos and Infor (fka SSA Global / Infinium). He is a member of the Northern Virginia Chapter of SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management) and completed his certification as a PHR (Professional in Human Resources) in December, 2002. Mike was also recognized in Biltmore Who's Who in 2007 as one of Washington, DC's most distinguished members. Mike's philosophy of representing a choice to his clients has resulted in creating partnerships with the industry’s leading HR and Payroll technology vendors to sell and implement these solutions to meet client needs.