The Puzzling World of HR Technology

On May 20, HRchitect will conduct a webinar entitled:

“Going Global with Talent Management Systems – Information Columbus Wished he Had. How to Successfully Select and Implement a Global Talent Management System”

You can register by going here but in the meantime, I wanted to include 8 tips for a successful TMS selection project. We will cover four in this blog and four in a subsequent blog. Of course these points will be expanded upon during the webinar.

As you know, HRchitect is the leading HR systems evaluation and selection firm and  can help you sort out this dynamic market and select the right Talent Management Systems (TMS) software for your company’s unique needs.  Today’s TMS software market consists of a complex combination of vendors offering partial components of the complete solution, including Applicant Tracking Systems, Performance Management, Succession Planning, Compensation Management, Learning Management, Competency Management, and Workforce Planning Systems.  New innovative products continue to be introduced monthly while the market consolidates around several leading TMS suites vendors.  To add to the challenge, traditional HRMS vendors including Lawson, Oracle and SAP are now delivering different components of Talent Management Systems software products.  Here are just a few questions that HRchitect can help you answer during the software evaluation and selection process.

Which vendors currently have the products, vision, technical architecture, customer base and viability to provide a long-term TMS solution?

Should you consider TMS modules offered from your existing HRMS vendor or a “best-in-class” product?

How easy is it to configure or customize your TMS solution to meet your company’s current and future talent acquisition and talent management needs?

What is the real cost of data integration to your HRMS?

Should you consider a TMS Suite and which vendors offer this?

Tip # 1 – Form a Global Project Team

• Global Project Manager – knowledge of global considerations and various TMS technical platforms and vendors
• “Even if you do have available and experienced internal resources, it would still be beneficial to bring on an experienced external consultant  who would be able to provide a third-party perspective on your planned requirements definition process and share with you what other organizations have done”* and current information on potential TMS vendors
• Team composition – stakeholder representatives from all major global regions, countries and corporate business functions (e.g., Human Resources, Information Technology, Human Resources Information Services, Procurement, Global Communications)
• Communication vehicles – Evaluate pros and cons based on localities. Utilize variety of vehicles, but real-time phone communication, webcasts, video conferencing and live face-to-face meetings, while expensive and potentially more time consuming, foster a higher level of inclusion

Tip # 2 – Do Your Homework Before You Begin Evaluation

• Fully understand your company organization structure
• Fully understand your company financial and resource limitations
• Determine if there is a well-defined strategy that identifies how global projects are funded for deployment and on-going running costs.  Numerous scenarios:
  • Centrally – the corporation covers all costs
  • Corporation covers all deployment costs, localities cover only on-going running costs 
  • Corporation covers generic deployment costs, localities cover location-specific deployment costs and on-going running costs 
  • Identify method for distribution of on-going running costs to localities
    • Shared equally by all localities
    • Based on ratio of locality employee population to total global employee population 
    • Degree of funding and method of on-going running costs distribution impact locality business case/ROI and system adoption

Tip # 3 – Define Your Global Talent Management Strategy

• Strategy defines your global resourcing policy, principles and process
• Strategy supports corporate global business, HR, HRIS & IT strategic plans
• Strategic process should be used as the framework against which TMS solutions are evaluated
• Decide whether the TMS will be selected based on its ability to support the strategic process or the process will be changed to meet the capabilities of the TMS solution
• Recommendation – select TMS that is designed to meet your process through system-delivered configuration capabilities 

Tip # 4 – Conduct a Thorough Requirements Study

• Clearly define both functional and technical global talent management requirements at the corporate and local levels – global consideration items
• Conduct surveys to identify needs at each locality
• Technical requirements definition needs to include:
  • Identification of current and potential future systems integration requirements
  • Evaluation companies technical readiness to implement in-sourced and SaaS-based applications
  • Clarification and documentation of technical standards & conventions
  • Evaluate whether or not existing TMS components will be kept

To Register, visit http://hrchitect.com/News/Webinars

Matt Lafata, HRchitect