Tips for your HRIS project - from vision to go-live

Preparation is the key

Based on my years of experience as an HRIS implementation project manager, I highly recommend reserving enough time to explore the options of HR systems and compare them. It is important to make a choice considering your organization’s strategy, readiness, targets, and priorities. At the same time, seize the momentum when the need for change arises. The business environment is rapidly changing and postponing important renewal projects may also be costly in the end.

Despite good planning, it is important still to be prepared for surprises and challenges. However, typically by investing time into planning, you ensure that the actual project will run smoothly, and you’ll meet the targets.

These points are worthwhile paying attention to before the actual project begins:

• The framework in which HR will support the organization in the future

• The options provided by the new tools

• Capabilities and skills required by the organization when implementing a new HR system

• Sufficient team for the project and after the go-live

• Clarity of the roles and clear ownership

• Data quality

• Change management and communication

Where is the HR heading in your organization and how will it support the organization in the future?

It is important to understand what the target state of your HR processes is and describing it outside the chosen HRIS tool is a useful exercise. When taking care of this preparation step, it is more likely that the project will be on schedule. It is good to describe in a nutshell what is your organization / HR trying to achieve by implementing a new HR tool: Is it more self-directing processes for managers and employees and more self-service processes? What kind of analytics is required? Do you need to have common and more harmonized processes?

When you have done this pre-work, the actual design for the future solution will be easier and faster during the project.

Looking for possibilities

As the next step, evaluate different options. What are the available systems and how would they fit to your organization’s needs? What kind of items are on their roadmap? How flexible are the systems for different use cases?

The skills / competence requirements of the project for the organization

Consider what the HRIS renewal project means for your organization in practice. For example, what kind of skills are required from your HRIS team to carry out the project and to continue enhancing the system in the future? How do you organize HR and IT to support the newly implemented system? Is your organization ready or do you need to develop in certain areas first?

During the project, your team members are acquiring new skills, and therefore, the project offers a good opportunity to address the post-project roles and skills required from your HRIS team after the go-live and the years to come. Therefore, already when setting up the project, think about the future ways of working and practices, which will help you cumulate and share the knowledge.

Even though we are talking about Human Resources (HR) systems, it is also important to be prepared for more technical topics. The integration and technical skills for integration development and testing are a necessary part of the system maintenance and enhancement.

Resourcing

It is also essential to ensure enough resources for the project before the start of the project. The project will need resources (depending on the scope) to focus on the project work and to take care of the project activities. Some of these project roles may be full time, during some stages of the project.

Clear roles and ownership

Pay attention to the role clarity in the project organization. It is good practice to define the roles of the decision-making authority. Think about whom the key decision makers are and involve them in relevant forums as necessary.

Gathering data

The project will reveal the quality of the HR data, in a good or a worse sense. Your data will set the limits of the possible baseline data quality in the new system. It is crucial to get ready for the data-gathering effort as such. For instance, by building automation regarding extraction tools or just understanding what kind of different master systems will be your data sources. This all is needed to plan the necessary coordination effort in the data area.

Change management and communication

In the end, the end users are the ones who will use the system, they will make it work and they will benefit from it in their daily activities. They need to know how, and what is expected of them. Therefore, to have a successful project, it is crucial to keep the end users in mind. The change management practices provide tools on how to prepare the organization well and engaged during the project. You can read more about this topic in this blog.

Our promise

We, at Tietoevry Tech Services, can support you with any stage of your HRIS project from the early pre-projects to the go-live and beyond. Our Workday and SAP SuccessFactors certified professionals have been carrying out successfully many HRIS projects and are ready to help you too. Reach out via the contact form or check this page for more information.