I was recently asked by a client to sit in on a demonstration conducted for the new HRIS product that their organization had recently purchased. The installation project was scheduled to take nine months and the client was interested in my comments regarding the Compensation module.
Strange though, that they hadn’t asked for an outside perspective before the purchase was made.
As I watched the demonstration, I couldn’t help but notice the glassy-eyed look of awe that seemed to transfix the client team. They were mesmerized with all the bells, whistles and do-dads that the presenters were promising to deliver. They seemed almost giddy with excitement; nirvana had been reached.
A Dose of Reality
Upon conclusion, the obvious presumption was that I was going to be as excited as they were. “So, isn’t this terrific?” one analyst gushed, while another with a broad smile said, “This is going to make all the difference in the world.” I glanced over at the CHRO and saw a look of such smug self-satisfaction, as in “Look what I approved” that I almost cringed. What to say?
You see, I’ve been down this road before. I’ve been in the chair where the client project team was sitting now. And in my experience, the promised smooth pavement we had started with soon became pitted and cracked, then curvy instead of straight, then gradually narrowed and finally, that glorious pathway to HR Transformation had transitioned from asphalt to rutted dirt and backcountry lane before tapering off into murky swamplands. And the process had cost a fortune.
But of course, it’s possible that my experiences were a one-off, and that my client today wouldn’t face the same challenges that had troubled my former employer.
The uncomfortable situation I was in was that, while I didn’t want to rain on the client’s parade – and remember that the purchase had already been made – I needed to caution them. The tendency during these marketing presentations is for the purchaser to come away with stars in their eyes. On the other hand, my role is to be that voice in the back of the room waving their hand and saying “Wait a minute!
Unforeseen consequences
Let’s presume for a minute that everything the HRIS presenters have said is true and that the product does, in fact, have the capabilities described. Should you relax with a sigh of relief, or acknowledge the need to roll up your sleeves and get cracking on all the work ahead of you? Because the more data manipulation you desire in a product, the more data you’re going to have to provide – accurately, timely and in a consistent manner. Maintenance will become an essential requirement. Do you have the staff and processes in place to undertake these new responsibilities?
Speaking of processes, is the new system going to automate your existing processes, alter your current methods or create entirely new processes? Or a combination of all three? Most users would be more comfortable automating what they’re doing today, while most HRIS systems have a new/better/different way of doing things. What is the organization’s appetite for procedural or policy change? Might there be unintended consequences?
A surprising development that I faced in an earlier lifetime was that line managers resented the new system, in that they felt (accurately) that some of the work HR used to perform was now the manager’s responsibility. HR’s reputation took a hit as a perception built of “passing the buck,” and no amount of positive communication ever bridged that gap. Managers felt that HR was helping themselves (“HR takes and never gives”) under the guise of giving managers more “control.”
And when managers are given a degree of control, what happens when they don’t want to fully exercise that new empowerment? Perhaps they’ll take short cuts, get sloppy with their data input, let deadlines slip away or otherwise fail to use the system the way HR and the product marketers had intended? Remember the critical nature of system maintenance?
To further stir the pot, many software vendors announce quarterly software updates, which could mean that HR and managers will need to be updated on a regular basis as to the changed workings of the system. Changes could be incidental, or a big deal. Better be ready to handle whatever comes at you.
And your training had better be ongoing, as a crop of new managers is always on the horizon.
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Am I against HRIS systems? No, of course not. They can and do perform essential services within an organization. But I am against becoming all dewy-eyed when listening to promises of new bells and whistles. You need to be fully aware of what it is going to take to install and properly maintain the system you have just purchased. And you need to recognize that HR alone cannot pull it off.
If your managers don’t fall in love post-installation you’re going to be in big trouble.
Chuck Csizmar CCP is founder and Principal of CMC Compensation Group, providing global compensation consulting services to a wide variety of industries and non-profit organizations. He is also associated with several HR Consulting firms as a contributing consultant. Chuck is a broad based subject matter expert with a specialty in international and expatriate compensation. He lives in Central Florida (near The Mouse) and enjoys growing fruit and managing (?) a clowder of cats.
Creative Commons image, "Red Flag," by rightee
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