Implementation usually begins in the summer, but NOW is the time to be thinking about potential vendors for your HR technology solutions. To ensure you are on the right track, we have searched our archives and compiled the top 10 insights for implementation oversight.
- Identify Previous Hits and/or Misses: Before taking on the daunting task of transforming your company’s core support systems, first take time to review what is currently working and what is not. This step will allow you to have a clear objective when vetting potential vendor partners.
- Identify an Advocate: During vendor-led implementations, it is critical to review and utilize the full range of the vendor’s organizational resources available. This may include referencing knowledge from a trusted advocate, such as your broker or consultant.
- Identify the Project Scope: By defining the project scope, your company objectives and needs will become clear, which is necessary in determining the best-fit for a vendor-partner.
- Determine a Budget and Stick to It: You probably don’t need much explanation on this one, but determining a budget will narrow options appropriately so you are not distracted by all the bells and whistles available.
- Select a Vendor: This may be a two-fold process of reviewing general RFI responses from a narrowed list of vendors and reviewing RFP responses from a more targeted set of vendors. Selecting a vendor can be a challenge, but with proper knowledge and resources, the process is manageable.
- Contracts: Contracts are often a difficult and confusing step in the process. Leverage your consultant or broker to determine best practices or industry standards for items like Limits of Liability, termination clauses, cyber security/ data breaches and service level agreements with fees at risk, to name a few.
- Keep Stakeholders Informed: Key decision-makers should be kept in the loop and aware of developments, issues and successes. We recommend regular communication – what was completed, what is being completed, and what is still outstanding (with an ETA).
- Establish a Project-Steering Committee: A committee will keep the project on track, within budget and an open line of communication between all parties, helping address any roadblock or escalation points.
- Use Industry Best Practices: Industry knowledge is an important reference during an implementation. History repeats itself, despite innovations, and there are many lessons to be learned. Sometimes there are better ways to manage tasks or process. Ask your vendor or consultant what your competitors are doing to solve similar needs.
- Provide and Source Third-Party Expertise as Needed: Like most topics, subject matter experts are an invaluable resource to those who have little to no experience in certain matters. Implementation is no exception.
Please feel free to comment on your experience with implementation in the section below.