| Whether due to company expansion, new management or simply time for a change, before long every HR department will be looking to upgrade or replace its existing HRIS software. But in order to get the right package you have to you know the right questions to ask. It sounds simple, but first up you need to consider the reasons for the change. Is it due to:
Your current application falling short due to obsolescence or withdrawal?
Having reached a poor stage of relations with your current vendor and not wishing to continue with them?
Or perhaps a new senior officer of the organisation has reviewed current capability and has decided that more advanced HRIS will deliver more benefits?
These are probably the most common reasons vendors encounter.
In all cases I would urge this: review the position - maybe with an HRIS expert - and see what your options could be. It’s possible your existing package could actually do the job with more focus on what’s needed and some collaboration with the vendor. After all, no vendor will willingly lose a customer.
The case for sourcing a new HRIS will depend heavily on factors outside of the sponsoring department. HRIS exist to assist service departments such as HR and Payroll to contribute effectively to their organisation (the need for Time & Attendance also has its roots in operational and commercial needs). For this reason alone, it is a good time to go back to the internal /external 'customers' and ensure that your thinking and expected departmental output is aligned with their requirements of you. In this way, you will strengthen support for your proposal when the time comes to pitch for the resources.
Determine the specifications.
One of the biggest problems companies face when looking to change HRIS is that, often, they 'don’t know what they don’t know'. The preliminaries are straightforward; HR, Payroll, Time & Attendance. But what modules are required, e.g. absence, recruitment admin, employee self-service? It is then very tempting to start thinking in terms of features in these applications. But this can lead to unrealistic wish lists.
It is far better to look at the key current HR/Payroll/T&A processes in terms of their effectiveness, efficiency and resources needed to keep them running. Only in this way will you fully realise the benefits of the incoming new technology, and get smarter processes into the bargain. Replicating outmoded processes on new software is just a waste of money and resources.
If you are short of in-house expertise, and resources permit, use a reputable external person to check through those processes. Their view will be objective, and will highlight weak areas that were never questioned due to their longevity. When that review is completed – and it should not be a lengthy exercise – you will then be armed with the prototype for your list of application features.
Apart from the operational and administrational aspects, there are peripheral considerations as well:Does everything have to be supplied by a single vendor? What is the preferred purchase basis? (rental, capital purchase) What is the preferred supply basis (hosted, managed, insourced) What IT requirements are necessary to ensure compatibility with an incoming HRIS application? How many users will I have – and who will be system administrators?
One stop shop
One thing to bear in mind is that there is probably no 'perfect fit' for you; as with most things in life, there is always a compromise, unless you are prepared to spend a lot of money customising the product. Customisation can, in many cases, indicate that a particular existing process is being replicated on the new technology. Look again at all your processes, work flows and procedures, to weed out inefficiency and introduce improvements, before bringing them on to the new software. Your research can be augmented by software exhibitions where you can see software demonstrated. The public sector and many larger organisations in the UK use request for further particulars (RFP) or invitation to tender (ITT) procedures, where a project is likely to exceed a given value. I have seen the reactions to this from both sides of the fence. Purchasers often over-specify for fear of making a mistake, while it’s only the vendors who think they have a decent chance of getting the business who actually respond to them – they can take up a lot of someone’s time to actually complete. |
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