Standardize your HR Software selection process
After you have determined your needs for a human resource software program and after you have determined which HR Software products will meet your needs, the next step is to set up demos and evaluate the numerous HR Information Systems. If you have not yet determined your needs or selected the HRIS products you will review, be sure to utilize our survey tool. It will list the features and options of the leading HR systems on the market. Upon completion of the survey, you will be presented with a list of HRIS applications with a percent match to your needs and it’s all free! From there, simply select the products for which you wish to see a free trial. The point of this article is what’s next.
The typical Human Resource Software demo
With the typical HR Software Vendors demo, a sales person and perhaps a technician will perform a demo either online or in your office. They may show a Power point presentation; they might not. A consultative sales consultant is going to ask you a great deal of questions about your HR software needs and tailor the HRIS demo to those needs. When showing the HR software, they will focus on the features that set their product apart. They will gloss over areas where their product is not as strong as others. Unless you ask the right questions and take control of the demo, you may or may not get a true picture of the HR software’s capability.
You need to take control of the HR software demo
In order to receive a true picture of the HRIS application, you need to take control of the demo. I am not saying you need to be rude. Make sure to ask a lot of questions and make sure to have your IT person in the demo to make sure all technical concerns are addressed. The important thing is for you and your staff to see what you need from the HR software solution, not what the sales person wants to show you.
How to standardize the process and make the right HR software selection
After looking at a few HRIS products, they start to blur together; you can’t remember which product did what. I recommend taking the following steps to standardize the process and make sure you evaluate each HRM Software on an equal basis: Write down a number of processes and ask the person, or people, providing the demo to show the process and then provide a score.
• Hire a new Employee
• Terminate an Employee
• Import a data file
• Run a turnover report
• Run a birthday list
• Show how salary and job history are recorded
• Setup a medical benefit plan
• Create a custom report of your choice
On the medical plans and custom reports, the sales person may or may not be able to perform the task. They are, after all, not implementation experts. If that’s the case, make sure to have a support person or an implementation expert provide a presentation on those processes. As the person shows these processes, make sure and score how easy or how hard the process seems to be. At the end of five demos, you will have a clear understanding as to which HR software products meet your needs and which are going to require the least amount of training and time to maintain.
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About the Author
Clay Scroggin has worked in the Human Resource and Payroll Software Industry for more than fifteen years. During that time Clay and those who have worked for him, have sold and implemented hundreds of HR professionals with their HR software needs. In 2007 Clay began working on Comparehris.com, a site dedicated to assisting HR professionals with their search, selection, implementation and use of HR systems. The site contains several tools to assist HR professionals with their HR software research including: a HRIS HRMS Software Selection Tool, and Human Resource Management articles.
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