How To Select And Implement An HRIS You'll Love

Choosing the right HRIS

According to a survey conducted by Kelton Global, 85% of HR decision-makers regret their choice of HCM vendor. Companies invest a lot of money and time into both the search for HR software and its implementation. This indicates that parts of the process are broken. In order to address those issues, we assembled a panel of HR experts to share their knowledge about the HRIS search and implementation process for the purpose of helping organizations make the right decisions when it comes to choosing an HRIS. 

The panel consisted of Mary Dale, vice president of HR with Convivial Brands, Stacy Hostetler, who recently completed a twelve-year period working with Solera, and Norm Johnson, the director of HR for Giant Communications. 

The first pillar of a successful HRIS implementation project is planning. The first step is to define exactly what the organization’s needs for a new system are. Making a list of needs and dividing it between absolute needs and expectations for features that the company would like to have can help. 

A pros and cons list of features that the company needs versus difficulties the company would like to avoid can also help to guide the search for a new HRIS. Knowing the company’s current bottlenecks is just as important as knowing the company’s needs and “nice-to-haves.” This planning process is also an opportunity for the company to examine areas in which it can improve and how the company expects an HRIS to help with that process.

The second pillar is the search process. The lists of needs and wants, as well as pros and cons, should drive that search and help narrow down the options. Once the company has a list of potential vendors, the next step is to schedule demonstrations for each vendor’s software. The demo can provide a glimpse into how the software works and help narrow down the selection even further. 

An important step is to reach out to other HR professionals. Their experience and knowledge can be invaluable in helping a company avoid making a mistake. HR professionals can share their own experiences with using specific software and working with specific vendors.

Another important piece of finding the right HCM is executive buy-in. The HR professional responsible for the new system must convince company executives that a new system is needed and that it is worth the cost. To do this, the HR professional should be prepared with numbers to show the executives exactly how much money the company would save by improving HR processes with the new system.

The final pillar is the implementation process. It’s essential to not rush this stage of the project because there are many different departments and systems that have to come together for the implementation to be a success. The vendor is an important resource for the company to use. 

A vendor representative can help HR professionals understand how the new system will use the data input into it so that they can enter data in a way that will best suit the company’s goals and needs for the system. Taking the time to coordinate different departments and systems that will use the system can have a major impact on the overall success of the project in the long run.