The Puzzling World of HR Technology

In a November 12, 2008 blog, we introduced you to the steps you should undertake in a software evaluation and selection project. Here is step one…

Before any project can be undertaken, it is advisable to create a project definition and a timeline that will outline the scope of the project.  This written plan will also provide your organization with an understanding of the amount of resources (and the specific roles and responsibilities) needed to conduct the evaluation and selection of a new talent management system.  In essence, it will become the “contract” between your talent management system selection team and the rest of the enterprise.  Basically, the project definition document is your agreement to meet the dates and deliver the expected scope, provided that the enterprise does not re-direct your scope (scope creep) due to changing business plans or reduce your team resources or project budget.

Careful consideration should be given to the creation of a “Core Project Team”.  This is the small, high-performance team, ideally with no more than 5-6 members and cross-functional in profile, that will coordinate or perform the bulk of the identified project tasks.  Typical membership should include representatives of the Staffing department (ideally those that support any current company talent management systems), your company’s HRIS manager or an HR systems analyst, as well as representation from Information Technology (IT).  Without this breadth of representation, it is not possible to ensure that the new software will meet your recruiting system business requirements.  Except at very large employers, this team is usually part-time and works on the project only 1-2 days a week. 

The Project Leader, who may be full-time, should be someone with a strong understanding of Staffing’s processes and business requirements and has had previous experience leading a human capital management (HCM) software evaluation.  If this person is not available within your organization, you may wish to look outside the company for a consultant, or new employee (who has performed an HCM project at another employer), to become the Project Leader.  Alternative roles for this new resource could include augmenting a current Staffing, HR or IT department member (in their role as Project Leader) and serving as their Project Advisor or co-Project Leader. (This is an ideal role for a consultant, since the formal project leader, for political and “buy-in” reasons should be an established company employee.)

There will also be other company resources outside the Core Project Team, often referred to as the “Extended Project Team”, involved with the project including Legal, Procurement, company management and the many process owners that make up the recruiting workflow within the enterprise.  This latter group will become your subject matter experts (SMEs) that will contribute their knowledge and experience during the requirements definition phase and will participate in the vendor demos and presentations.  Team members need to respect each other’s area of business expertise; your legal counsel should be considered as the company’s ultimate authority on legal issues, whereas it comes to business issues, the Staffing department should be the final test as to the fit and usability of the new system.

Many organizations also charter a “Steering Committee”, typically represented by HR and/or Staffing senior management and IT senior leadership, to oversee and “champion” the project team’s direction.  Some of their duties include “running interference” and communicating with other company senior management team members, making decisions related to potential scope or budget creep (especially in light of any unexpected changes in the company business climate such as mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures) and “ruling” on any process/policy disputes or any formal policy changes recommended by the Core Project Team.

During the Core Project Team project initiation meetings, the following tasks should be completed:

• Determine project metrics of success and create a risk mitigation plan
• Review the selected project methodology
• Develop a Project Definition document detailing the scope, budget and timeline of the project (this should be formally signed off by the Steering Committee)
• Develop decision drivers for making a vendor selection (we have touched on this in past blogs)
• Finalize project team membership and roles
• Schedule separate kick-off meetings with the Steering Committee and the Extended Project Team
• Assemble any existing project documentation
• Determine who the SME’s are and begin developing interview schedules
• Determine project team meeting frequency and duration
• Decide who will serve as Project Recorder (minutes and agendas should be used at each meeting)
• Develop a communication plan to keep other appropriate parts of the organization up to date on the project status

Next up…the Strategic Planning portion of an evaluation

Solving a piece of the puzzle…

Matt Lafata, HRchitect

This entry was posted on Monday, November 17th, 2008 at 4:12 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.