Experience in staff digitization: 12 most important rules for implementing an automated HR system

Automation of HR management processes using specialized HRM (Human Resources Management) and HCM (Human Capital Management) information systems provides companies with a number of advantages. HR specialists get rid of labor-intensive routine operations and receive convenient tools for interacting with personnel, managers can more effectively monitor and adjust the work of the HR department in a timely manner.

With the help of IT solutions, HR officers save time – from the recruitment process to reporting. At the same time, they work in a single information field according to uniform standards, have quick access to the necessary data and a set of simple and functional tools for processing them. This minimizes the number of human errors, as well as the company’s dependence on key employees: even if the chief HR specialist leaves the company, the new team member will quickly gain access to the entire database of personnel information.

However, the implementation of the HRM/HCM system is not an easy process, since personnel management and its most important components – payroll and personnel workflow – affect all employees of the organization and some related systems. The new solution should be organically integrated into the existing IT landscape of the organization, as well as take into account its specific HR processes, ensure the security of confidential employee data, and be understandable to HR specialists. This process, as a rule, entails serious financial costs, and can also cause staff resistance – after all, some people traditionally perceive any changes critically.

To mitigate these risks, achieve a faster payback of the implemented solution and get all the functional benefits that automation provides, we recommend that you carefully plan your upcoming project and adhere to the following 12 rules.

Rule 1. Clear definition of project objectives

Any project from the very beginning should have clear, understandable goals for each participant – one or (more often) several goals.

Here are some examples from our practice as they can be formulated in this case:

improving the quality of work of HR service specialists, their labor productivity,
minimizing the human factor when working with personnel information,
aggregation of personnel information into a single base to facilitate its processing (search, analysis, storage, etc.),
ensuring access and protection policies for personal data,
rapid acquisition of the necessary personnel data by managers at all levels,
standardization and development of a common HR policy,
integration of the HR management system with external and internal systems of the organization (EDMS, CRM, etc.).

Rule 2. Audit of human resources business processes

The goals and objectives of human resource management in an organization should be structured and linked to the goals and objectives of the business as a whole. During the audit, interesting nuances are revealed: some personnel processes may turn out to be outdated and ineffective, some may be lacking. Most, as a rule, are subject to optimization using digital tools.

At this stage, it is necessary to describe the existing personnel business processes, formalize the goals and objectives of personnel management in the organization, determine the HR processes that ensure their achievement/implementation, develop metrics on the basis of which the result will be evaluated. In other words, you need to understand what result the business wants to achieve from the automation of personnel management, in which it is expressed.

Here it is also important to determine the responsible participants, the powers of the officials in the project team, the necessary documents for the project and their routes. The implementation process will involve not only the engineers of the vendor or contractor, but also the employees of the customer organization, managers and end users who will adjust the requirements for the system.

Rule 3. Evaluation of business effects from project implementation

At this stage, the approximate cost of the solution and the benefits expected from it are determined. The latter may include:

compliance of functionality with the needs of the organization,
ease of use of the system, training opportunities for working in it,
automation of collection, processing and provision of information,
ensuring access policies and reliable data protection
the ability to modify and scale the system flexibly,
compliance of the price, quality and terms of project implementation,
support of the system by the vendor or its partner,
compliance of the hardware and network of the organization with the technical requirements of the system,
acceptable cost of system operation.

Rule 4. Market analysis and supplier selection

To choose the most suitable system, it is necessary to formulate and present in a structured form the key requirements for it. This list will be the basis for the formation of commercial offers and the construction of test benches by IT solution providers. And for the customer company, it will serve as a checklist for evaluating and comparing products.

Here are the most common HR requirements we meet with our customers:

transparent access to information on the organizational structure, business processes for employee management, personal data,
availability of information security tools for full protection of personal data and differentiation of access rights in the system,
availability of integration mechanisms for embedding the solution in the IT infrastructure and data exchange between adjacent information systems,
ensuring data storage and quick access to archived information,
availability of analytics tools and complex reports,
the ability to aggregate personnel information and create a single database,
potential for rework and scaling,
intuitive interface,
high load operation.

Rule 5. Provide hardware and software foundation for the system being implemented

Deploying software within an organization’s perimeter will require certain server capacities that already exist in the organization or must be purchased.

In addition, the composition of the users of the solution should be taken into account: these can be not only ordinary employees and heads of HR services, but also employees of the accounting and financial services, employees of business units (timekeepers, normalizers, etc.), top management and line management, as well as all other employees of the organization who need access to certain data of the personnel system. Based on this, it may be necessary to purchase or develop additional software (BI module, personal accounts, communication system, etc.), as well as build a network connection.

Rule 6. Solution cost calculation

It is important to understand the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Calculating the potential financial benefits of the implementation will serve as an additional argument in favor of an automated solution.

For example, at the planning stage of the system, a company can bear the costs of various analytical studies and external consultations, additional working time of its own specialists. At the planning stage, when deploying the system, high costs are associated with the acquisition of software licenses, direct implementation and customization, technical support of the system (servers, AWS, network), training of users, and so on. And during operation – with system maintenance, license renewal, maintenance of technical infrastructure, maintaining the qualifications of IT service employees, training new users, system development.

Direct economic impact of implementation for HR department:

reduction of overhead costs for the maintenance of support services (HR, OHS, settlement groups, timekeepers),
re-profiling of a number of employees for qualified managerial and analytical activities, elimination of the routine component of their labor,
Reduce search, selection, evaluation, placement, training and motivation costs.

Financial and IT services also benefit directly from cost savings. In addition, it is important for the financial department to get rid of penalties associated with late submission of tax reports on employees’ salaries: thanks to automation, reporting will be formed much faster and without errors.

The indirect economic effect of implementing an HR solution is calculated from the point of view of the entire organization, management entity and employees.

Rule 7. Implementation strategy

The HR system implementation program must ensure that the project objectives are achieved within the allotted time and budget.

The development of a strategy in companies may differ – depending on how large the company’s staff of IT specialists is, who will be involved in the implementation (independently, vendor, technology partner), which solution has been chosen.

For example, we practice the time-tested Custom Development Method, which includes passing through the following stages of implementation: determining requirements, establishing compliance, determining the procedure, forming an NSI, documenting, ensuring operation, checking, training, support and assistance.

Rule 8. Formation of the customer’s project team

An automation project is always teamwork. It is necessary to form a project team, where there will be specialists from both the supplier and the customer. In the second case, in addition to the end users of the system, it should include company managers, methodologists and IT experts, who will be responsible for the maintenance of the system. Between them, you need to distribute functions, establish responsibility, ensure interaction.

Rule 9. Administrative resource

I would like to emphasize the role of the project manager – the importance of his competencies and influence on the team, company employees and contractor specialists. In our experience, it should be assigned to a person who heads the HR block or occupies a higher position.

He controls all the components of the project:

clear plan of each stage (terms, expected result, conditions of implementation, areas of responsibility),
legal consolidation of the relationship between the customer and the contractor,
interaction of project teams,
procedure of acceptance of works at closing of project stages, mutual settlements,
report on project execution to top management,

and if necessary, organizes group members for more active interaction.

Rule 10. Planned implementation process

Traditionally, the stages of implementation include:

pilot start-up, run-in of the solution on a separate HR process or task, in a specific department or branch,
primary training of users with mandatory control,
putting the system into commercial operation,
collection of feedback from users,
improvement of the system and expansion of its functionality.

Personnel management covers the entire organization and many business processes, at the pilot stage it is important to take into account the features of automation of each of them both separately and their relationship.

Rule 11. User training

Training will ensure that users are ready to work in the system fully, using all its functionality. Depending on the category (top managers, employees of personnel management services, line managers and ordinary employees of other departments), training has a different focus and composition.

Thus, managers of different levels, in accordance with their role, must first of all master management processes in the system: quickly obtaining reliable information about the organization’s personnel (staffing levels, a list of vacancies, employee performance parameters, etc.), making decisions based on this information, monitoring the implementation of business tasks.

For HR specialists, it is important to collect information and its analytics in the field of work with personnel, create reports, as well as tools for automating various personnel business processes.

All employees should understand how, if necessary, they can receive personal information (certificates, payslips) or perform small tasks (fill out a questionnaire, application, take a test, etc.).

Training does not end when the system is commissioned. As the solution is finalized, new versions are released, new modules appear, employees working in the company should receive timely information about this. And better not in the form of an instruction written by a technical writer, but in an easy-to-understand practical format.

Rule 12. Further development of the system

Compliance with these steps increases the chances that the implemented HR system will meet expectations and achieve the planned business indicators. However, it will require development – as the business changes/grows and new requirements arise from users.

Maintaining the company’s IT infrastructure can be the task of an internal IT department, vendor specialists or a certified integrator. When planning improvements, it is worth considering both the developer’s recommendations and feedback from users.

Conditions for a successful project

Summarizing, the main requirements for a successful HR business process automation project are as follows:

reasonable system selection,
balancing user needs and software capabilities
active participation in the project of managers of the customer company, HR specialists and IT services,
employees are ready for change and management is ready to manage change
training employees in the functionality of the system, demonstrating its practical benefits,
competence of consultants involved in the project implementation.