Don’t Miss Thursday’s HRchitect WebMingle with Lynne Mealy and Nov Omana of IHRIM

January 4, 2012

The HRchitect WebMingle is designed to give you some insight into the puzzling world of HR technology, talk about upcoming events in our industry, and provide insightful interviews with people of our industry – who they are, what they do and why you should care. The WebMingle has become the most popular live weekly Internet show in the HR technology industry!

The WebMingle has truly redefined how people get information about vendors, trends and really anything related to HR technology and we are very proud of that.

This week’s guests, the first of 2012, are Lynne Mealy, President and CEO of IHRIM, and Nov Omana, Chairman of the IHRIM Board of Directors.

Formed in 1980 from informal gatherings when HR and IT professionals found themselves needing mediators, IHRIM has become the world’s leading clearinghouse for the HRIM (Human Resource Information Management) industry. Today, IHRIM is a community of experts – a dynamic group of practitioners, vendors, consultants, students, and faculty that continues to grow, not just in numbers, but in its scope of knowledge and information.

Lynne Mealy currently serves as the President and CEO of IHRIM, inc., a nonprofit membership organization whose mission is to education and inform its members on the use of HR information technology. Lynne holds an MBA from Suffolk University and achieved her Human Resource Information Professional (HRIP) Certification from IHRIM in 2010. With more than 28 years’ experience in human resources, with a focus on HR information systems and strategic management, Lynne is a published author and presenter.

Nov has been in the HR Technology arena for over 35 years.  He is known for his thought leadership, his understanding of combining and leveraging technology in new ways, and his strong knowledge of the vendor community surrounding HR technology.  His reputation is “connecting the dots” between technologies to create new solutions and solve business problems. Nov is currently on the International Human Resources Information Management (IHRIM) Board of Directors (Chairman), IHRIM Educational Foundation Board (Vice Chair), an advisor to the Oracle HR User Group Board (OHUG), ClearView Management Advisory Board, and EpicHR’s Advisory Board. Nov also is a certified Human Resources Information Professional, HRIP, since 2010 and winner of the prestigious IHRIM Summit award in 2007.

Visit http://blogtalkradio.com/mattlafata to listen live this Thursday, January 5 at 2pm CST. If you missed any of our previous 90 or so WebMingles, you can also access them from that page.

We look forward to welcoming Lynne Mealy and Nov Omana with IHRIM to the HRchitect WebMingle and hope to have you join us as well.

If you would like to be considered as a guest on an upcoming WebMingle, please contact Tiffany Appleby at tappleby@HRchitect.com

Matt Lafata, HRchitect

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Pending Reschedule: Today’s HRchitect WebMingle with Lynne Mealy and Nov Omana Talking About IHRIM

September 15, 2011

Editor’s note:  Due to a last-minute scheduling conflict, IHRIM’s appearance on the HRchitect WebMingle is going to be rescheduled for a later date.  We’ll update this post when a new date has been confirmed.

 

The HRchitect WebMingle is designed to give you some insight into the puzzling world of HR technology, talk about upcoming events in our industry, and provide insightful interviews with people of our industry – who they are, what they do and why you should care. The WebMingle has become the most popular live weekly Internet show in the HR technology industry!

The WebMingle has truly redefined how people get information about vendors, trends and really anything related to HR technology and we are very proud of that.

This week’s guests are Lynne Mealy and Nov Omana, representing IHRIM (International Association for Human Resources Information Management.

IHRIM was formed in 1980 from informal gatherings when HR and IT professionals found themselves needing mediators, IHRIM has become the world’s leading clearinghouse for the HRIM (Human Resource Information Management) industry. Today, IHRIM is a community of experts – a dynamic group of practitioners, vendors, consultants, students, and faculty that continues to grow, not just in numbers, but in its scope of knowledge and information.

Lynne Mealy currently serves as the President and CEO of IHRIM, inc., a nonprofit membership organization whose mission is to education and inform its members on the use of HR information technology.   Lynne holds an MBA from Suffolk University and achieved her Human Resource Information Professional (HRIP) Certification from IHRIM in 2010.

Nov has been in the HR Technology arena for over 35 years.  He is known for his thought leadership, his understanding of combining and leveraging technology in new ways, and his strong knowledge of the vendor community surrounding HR technology.  His reputation is “connecting the dots” between technologies to create new solutions and solve business problems. Nov is currently on the International Human Resources Information Management (IHRIM) Board of Directors (Chairman), IHRIM Educational Foundation Board (Vice Chair), an advisor to the Oracle HR User Group Board (OHUG), ClearView Management Advisory Board, and EpicHR’s Advisory Board.  Nov also is a certified Human Resources Information Professional, HRIP, since 2010 and winner of the prestigious IHRIM Summit award in 2007.

Visit www.HRchitect.com/Knowledge/WebMingle to listen live today, September 15 at 2pm CST. If you missed any of our previous 80 or so WebMingles, you can also access them from that page.

We look forward to welcoming Lynne Mealy and Nov Omana to the HRchitect WebMingle and hope to have you join us as well.

If you would like to be considered as a guest on an upcoming WebMingle, please contact Tiffany Appleby at tappleby@HRchitect.com

Matt Lafata, HRchitect

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The Final Day of theHRshow 2009 Provided Us With Six More Great Presentations

June 17, 2009

 

After many months of anticipation, planning, and buzz throughout the entire HR industry, theHRshow 2009 virtual event came to a completion on Friday with six different presentations for a total of 16 presentations over two days and 5 vendor panels on the first day. The presentations that took place on the final day include: 

  • Insource, Outsource, Cosource
  • Workforce Analytics: Key to the new HR Decision Science
  • Linking Competencies to Compensation
  • How Web 2.0 is Driving Employee Engagement Across Global Audiences
  • Enhancing Job Fit – What Managers Can Do
  • From Structure Planning to Succession Planning

One of the many comments received from attendees to the show summed it up nicely:

“Kudos to you and the rest of the HR Show planning team on a job very well done.  I think you’ve set the stage for others to follow your lead with providing insightful sessions in an interactive, engaging and creative manner.”

The show was completely free, thanks to the generosity of HRchitect and our sponsors which included: 

  • ADP VirtualEdge
  • Assess-Systems
  • Authoria
  • HRchitect
  • HRmarketer.com
  • iCIMS
  • IHRIM
  • Manera Group
  • NuView Systems
  • PDS
  • Peopleclick
  • Plateau Systems
  • Taleo

HR professionals can visit www.thehrshow2010.com for preliminary details on the planning stages for theHRshow 2010, which is an on-site event that will take place February 4-5, 2010 in Frisco, TX. It will be the largest regional HR technology event in our industry and the one HR technology event you simply can’t miss!

 

 

Matt Lafata, HRchitect

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May 29 WebMingle Featured SPECTRUM HR, Next Up is Lawson

May 29, 2009

 

Our weekly WebMingle is designed to give you some insight into the puzzling world of HR technology, discuss news from around the world that we find interesting, talk about upcoming events in our industry, and provide insightful interviews with people of our industry – who they are, what they do and why you should care. The WebMingle has become the most popular live Internet show in the HR technology industry!

The 55-minute WebMingle on May 29th, the 23rd in our WebMingle series, featured Sybll Romley, President and CEO of SPECTRUM HR. It was another fun and fascinating WebMingle with somebody who has been in this industry for a number of years and we touched on a number of issues including:

 

  • SPECTRUM’s long life in the HR marketplace (25 years)
  • We learned about iVantage and why it is not your typical HRIS
  • Differentiators of iVantage that helped it win the HRchitect Beauty Pageant for mid-market HRIS
  • Types of clients that typically use SPECTRUM HR
  • How clients typically iVantage
  • What SPECTRUM HR clients can look forward to in the coming years.
  • ….and more

About SPECTRUM HR

In 1984, SPECTRUM’s founder—an HR professional—became tired of using mainframe systems and developed a system that was easy to use and met all of his needs. Spectrum became the first company to provide an HRIS for the personal computer. Soon to follow were other firsts—HR software for a network, a Windows-based HR system and a completely web-native system. For 25 years, Spectrum has focused on one thing—HR. We provide best-in-class HR software and best-in-class service and support, creating the ultimate user experience.

About Sybll Romley, President and CEO of SPECTRUM

Sybll has been with SPECTRUM since 1987. She has worked in almost all areas of the company. Prior to Spectrum, Sybll was in human resources at Price Waterhouse. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Diplomacy and World Affairs from Occidental College.  Sybll currently sits on the board of IHRIM (International Association for Human Resource Information Management).

If you missed this past week’s WebMingle, or any of our past WebMingles, please visit our web site at www.HRWebMingle.com. You will see a complete list of upcoming guests and will be able to listen to past shows.

Our next WebMingle will take place on June 5 Larry Dunivan, SVP of HCM Global Products with Lawson. We look forward to welcoming Larry to the HRchitect WebMingle.

We hope to have you join us!

 

 

Matt Lafata, HRchitect

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HRchitect’s Matt Lafata Appointed to IHRIM.link Editorial Committee

April 24, 2009

 

HRchitect, the leader in HR systems strategic consulting and the premier Human Capital Management (HCM) and Talent Management systems consulting firm, is proud to announce that Vice-President of Sales and Marketing, Matt Lafata, has been appointed to the IHRIM.link Editorial Committee for a two-year term.

 

IHRIM.link is the flagship, bi-monthly publication of IHRIM. Year after year, member surveys indicate that the publication ranks as the #1 or #2 member benefit for IHRIM members.  Quality editorial content is presented free-of-charge to IHRIM members as advertising funds the production of the magazine. The IHRIM.link committee is committed to assembling a diverse group of editors that represent a wide cross section of the human resources information management industry.

 

“We are pleased that Matt has been appointed to the IHRIM.link Editorial Committee,” stated Rick Fletcher, President and Founder of HRchitect. “Matt has one of the largest networks in the HR technology industry and his contacts and knowledge will be a big benefit to the IHRIM.link publication and the IHRIM community at large. I personally served on the committee for a number of years and helped move the publication from “The Review”, which was published four times a year, to the current IHRIM.link publication. HRchitect and its people have been big supporters of IHRIM over the years having served on committees, past IHRIM Summit award winners, and more, and this is just another way for us to give back to the community.”

 

Some of Matt’s qualifications that helped him get appointed to the IHRIM.link committee include:

 

·         Maintaining two blogs at HRchitect – http://hrchitect.wordpress.com and http://hrchitectvendornews.wordpress.com.

·         Involvement in creating the monthly newsletter for HRchitect, The HR Authority

·         Writing frequent presentations and webinars on HR Technology

·         Speaking at many industry events and user conferences

·         Host of the weekly HR Technology Happy Hour WebMingle – a live broadcast where key people in the HR Technology industry are interview. The WebMingle has become the most popular live Internet show in the HR technology industry

·         Host and moderator of the HRchitect Beauty Pageant webinar series where HR technology vendors compete to be crowned the winner

·         Chair of the IHRIM-DFW regional HR technology event that was put on in Frisco, TX in March 2008

·         Chair of theHRshow – the largest regional HR technology conference and expo

 

“I am honored to be appointed to work alongside other dedicated volunteers to try and further improve on an already excellent publication for HR information management professionals,” added Matt Lafata, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for HRchitect. “I have spent a tremendous amount of time monitoring the HR technology space over the past few years for trends, keeping tabs on what vendors are doing, and reading publications, blogs, and other social networking sites related to HR technology. This has helped me gain the knowledge I have today that is currently expressed through my own contributions to blogs, social networking sites, educational webinars, presentations and more and I feel the IHRIM.link opportunity will allow me to reach a broader audience with timely and useful information.”

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HRchitect to Present Pre-Conference Workshop at the 2009 IHRIM HRM Strategies and Technology Exposition

April 7, 2009

 

HRchitect, the leader in HR systems strategic consulting and the premier Human Capital Management (HCM) and Talent Management systems consulting firm, will be conducting a pre-conference workshop at the 2009 IHRIM Conference and Expo in San Diego on “Creating a 3-5 Year HR Technology Strategy”.

 

“We are pleased to provide such an invaluable session at a time when HR professionals really need to step back from what they are doing and look at how different pieces of HR technology fit their organization’s overall plan,” stated Matt Lafata, Vice-President, Sales & Marketing with HRchitect. “This session is designed to help businesses determine how to best invest in HR technology to meet their business objectives and create a more integrated talent management environment.”

 

The pre-conference workshop at the IHRIM 2009 Conference and Expo will take place on Sunday, April 19 from 8:30am to 5pm. This session will teach attendees about the steps necessary to create an HR technology strategy and will include topics such as:

 

• Phases of creating HCM (Human Capital Management) technology strategy

• HCM and ITM (Integrated Talent Management) defined

• HCM technology strategy ‘must haves’

• HCM technology roadmaps

• Decision drivers used in evaluating and selecting HR and talent management systems

 

The session will be conducted by Dan Katavola, EVP with HRchitect, and Jacqueline Kuhn, President of Kuhn Consulting Group and Past Chair of the IHRIM board.

 

“HRchitect developed our HR Systems Strategic Planning consulting practice a number of years ago and we refine it continuously based on our increased knowledge of how these plans are used in real-life organizations,” added Rick Fletcher, President and Founder of HRchitect. “Investing in HCM technology without a strategy on how each component system will support the other often results in the implementation of systems that are not best suited to meet a company’s business objectives, which results in wasted time and money, as well as staff inefficiencies.”

 

HRchitect will be exhibiting at the IHRIM 2009 Conference at Booth #313. Non-IHRIM members can receive a $125 discount on this workshop, or any pre-conference workshop by visiting http://ihrim.org/Events/2009Spring/Courses/index.htm and using code “EX9”.

 

Visit HRchitect.com to learn about the services we provide and how we can help your organization get the most from its current HR systems as well as assist with any new HR technology related projects. Our web site will also show you where HRchitect can be found in 2009 as well as schedules of upcoming Beauty Pageants, WebMingles, and other educational events.

 

Matt Lafata, HRchitect

 

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Fourth Step in a Software Evaluation and Selection Project – Identify Vendors

December 18, 2008

 

The blog on November 17 discussed the first step that should be undertaken whenever evaluating and selecting an HR system. Once you have defined project resources and initiated the project, the second step involves strategic planning and this was posted on November 24. Once the strategic planning phase takes place, it’s time to develop requirements. This third step was posted on December 4. Now it is time to Identify Vendors.

 

The talent acquisition and talent management systems software industry is a complex grouping of diverse organizations.  Many of the vendors have targeted recruitment components (i.e. partial solutions), industry specializations (such as healthcare), technology constraints (i.e. only offering ASP applications or delivering self-hosted applications only for particular technology platforms) as well as limitations as to a client’s employee size.  The project team should research and compile a listing of talent acquisition and talent management system vendors that will meet both the strategic and preliminary budgetary needs of your company.  The vendor listing can be researched through various reference avenues including:  HRchitect’s extensive internal files (contact HRchitect for a “top 20” vendor list with contacts), the International Association for Human Resource Information Management (IHRIM), the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the Employment Management Association (SHRM/EMA), the Electronic Recruiting Exchange (ERE), software system surveys, contacts with other professional organizations and input from your peers in the recruiting profession. (HRchitect has unparalleled first hand knowledge of the leading talent acqusition and talent management system vendors and is strongly acquainted with the respective strengths/weaknesses of each solution, including the company culture and viability.  HRchitect regularly visits the corporate headquarters of each leading vendor; meeting with senior management and attending training classes as new versions are released.)  We also recommend that you consider evaluating your incumbent talent management vendors as well as including your core HRMS or ERP vendor on the vendor list, if appropriate.

 

Optionally, a verbal (or e-mail format) simplified Request for Information (RFI) can be created to confirm the vendor qualifications. Once the vendor list is established, the project team will contact vendors to complete the RFP.   The project team should also develop a vendor response-tracking matrix to track all communications with the vendors and the elapsed response times.

 

Next up…Distributing the RFP and Scoring Responses as part of an evaluation

  

Solving a piece of the puzzle…

 

Matt Lafata, HRchitect

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Workforce Management Article Reaffirms HRchitect’s Position on HR Technology Purchases

December 2, 2008

 

In an article last week in Workforce Management Magazine, the recent study from IHRIM is cited regarding HR technology spending holding steady in 2009.

 

In the study, 42% of the nearly 210 respondents reported that their human resources information technology budgets will remain the same in 2009 as in 2008, the association said in a release Friday, November 21. Another 21 percent of participants said budgets will increase by an average of 23 percent, while 37 percent said their budgets will decrease by a median of 15 percent.

 

So 63% of respondents, almost two-thirds, indicate their HR technology budgets will stay the same or increase in 2009. This is great news for the HR industry as a whole and closely mirrors what HRchitect has told its clients and prospects throughout 2008 through meetings, webinars and other forms of communication.

 

While there is uncertainty with our current economic conditions, companies absolutely have to look to the future as these conditions won’t last. I personally believe our economy will start to turn around in a positive direction by the third quarter of 2009.

 

The HR Systems software market and the Talent Management Systems marketplace continue to be some of the fastest growing software market segments. Hiring and managing people is a must in any organization, regardless of what the economic conditions are, thus part of the reason these segments are staying hot with no sign of cooling. If they are hot now, just imagine what is going to happen when the so-called economic recovery takes place!

 

HRchitect’s advice to companies is to continue to invest in HR systems but be sure to consider the use of a consulting firm like HRchitect to ensure you get the right product, the right services, and the right term and pricing. The cost of the consulting services will easily be repaid many times over by helping you take the risk out of evaluation and selection projects.

 

Surely the vendor market will continue to consolidate in the coming years, and businesses need to do their homework when investing in an HR software vendor, but don’t make drastic budget cuts in this area based on current economic conditions. People are any organization’s biggest asset and HR Systems and Talent Management Systems aid in better managing, maintaining, or growing the employee population in any given firm. Those that utilize HR technology are simply going to have a competitive advantage over those that don’t.

 

For the complete article from Workforce Management, visit here.


Matt Lafata, HRchitect

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