5 Mistakes to Avoid When Selecting an HR Technology

Selecting your next HR technology vendor can seem incredibly easy or an impossible task. Here are five mistakes we see organizations make when selecting a new HCM partner. Don’t worry, we’re sharing some of our recommendations to avoid these mistakes. Want to learn more about our vendor selection services? Check our vendor selection page or contact us.

Selecting it for one feature

HCM systems are meant to manage your HR operations and payroll processes. It should be able to handle your administrative needs while helping you be more strategic. If you select your organization’s key HR system purely on one feature, you might end up hating the rest of the features. HR technology encompasses multiple modules, if you stop at basic HR and payroll, you might not see the full potential of the system. Additionally, if you select an HCM purely on one feature that isn’t part of the core capabilities, you may realize your priorities aren’t handled effectively.

Willory Recommendation: Understand the big picture and complete capabilities of your system. Don’t plan to implement it all at once, but develop a project plan that allows you to activate core modules as soon as possible. From there, you can manage the change management of your other modules.

Forgetting about the future

We might not know what the future holds, but what kind of plans does your organization have in place? If you’re planning on doubling your workforce in the next year, certain platforms might suit your organization now but they won’t next year.

But don’t stop at the future of your business, look into the plans of the systems you’re investigating. Investigate what your favorite vendors have invested in the past and what they’re sharing about their future. Pay attention to a few particular areas: mobility, flexibility, and AI.

Willory Recommendation: Have a clear picture of your organization’s future before you begin your vendor selection. During the HR technology selection process, ask the vendors about their future plans.

Losing the humans

No matter if you call it human resources or people operations, you have to be thinking about how this system impacts real employees. Make sure you’re putting the people element at the center of your decisions and know how it will impact their roles. When commencing a review of a new system, you will want to ensure you have the right people in the room to make the decisions. This team will look different for every organization but start by having key process owners and stakeholders available to add their insight.

When you’re selecting a new system ask questions about customer service. When something goes wrong, do you know who you go to or will be in a ticketing system with days between activities?

Willory Recommendation: Before you make a final selection, don’t forget to talk to their references or people you know working within the system. References give you insight into what it will like when the system is implemented for your organization.

Security and privacy aren’t important

HR technology holds millions of pieces of personal information, including social security numbers, addresses, and pay information. Take the time to carefully vet your ideal systems’ passion for security and privacy.

Willory Recommendation: Understand what your HR technology does to prevent security incidents like hacks and their protocols if the data has been compromised.

Lack of planning

Planning is one of the most critical elements of selecting and implementing a new HCM system to support your organization. Before you start your selection, understand your organization’s overall system architecture. Your tech stack might include the alphabet soup – CRM, ATS, HRIS – or the first system you’re implementing might be the HR technology. Seeing how your data flows from one system to another is critical to picking a system. You will want to know if your preferred system will work well with the other systems your company uses.

Another mistake organizations make in the selection process is not asking enough questions about the system’s implementation plan. Activating your new system is key to its success.

Willory Recommendation: Don’t make your final selection without learning about their approach to implementation, training expectations, and timelines.

Saying yes to an HR technology vendor can feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Our HCM consultants love working alongside small- and mid-sized organizations looking to increase their ROI on HR technology investments.

Our process – developed over the last decade – includes an in-depth discovery of your needs, a customized scorecard for objective decision-making, consultative conversations to address all your concerns, and assistance in contract negotiations with the selected vendor.

Ready to discuss your needs? Contact us today!