Also, most HR systems are proprietary and so do not talk to other systems in the office. Often the software is an international product and if so may require considerable, and expensive reprogramming by the vendor to conform to Australian laws and work practices. And while we are on the subject, how well do your company's work practices dovetail into the HR package? Will you need to make substantial alterations to one or the other, or both?
This may well be the nail in the coffin for some HR systems, if your company has invested considerable time and resources into creating a robust quality system and the HR system requires drastic changes to your procedures for the two to work together; it can be a prohibitively expensive exercise.
Critically, what features do you really need? For example it may be really cool to record and analyse staff professional development, but then who is going to input and maintain the data? Add a few of these little gems to your wish list and watch the HR department's staff list grow alarmingly.
However, there is another way to approach the capture of employee data and that is "self service"; employees have the ability to input a lot of their own data. It would not be too difficult to have the employees input any training they have undergone, and filling out leave and expense forms online is definitely at the top of the wish list.
Then of course you have to extend some of the training in the HR system to the staff general population rather than confine the training to the HR staff alone. If you don't do this prepare to put up with "garbage" data, as some staff will be unsure of the input requirements.
Depending on your company requirements, it may well turn out that not all of a HR package will be implemented. In general, the positions data, payroll, and leave modules are installed but the career succession planning, workforce planning, and performance management programs, for example, are left out as too hard or quite simply not enough time and resources to implement.
It is all too easy to be sucked in by sales people blinding you with all the fantastic bells and whistles, however before even approaching an HR vendor, you should review what your company really needs in the HR system and what benefits the company will obtain. Put simply, prioritise the must-haves and don't get too hung up on a string of nice-to-haves-but-can-live-without.
And when it comes to the must-haves, don't be too rigid in the expectation that a single HR package must be used for all of them. In some cases, while the package of choice may well implement a must-have, it may turn be easier to do the particular function with a spreadsheet. So don't be afraid of carrying out some of your HR outside of the HR system if an alternative method is simpler and more cost effective.
When working out your list of must-haves try determining a cost/benefits analysis on each. For example, what is the cost of gathering and maintaining the data and the risk of not gathering the data? Does the benefit of having the information outweigh the cost and effort of setting up the software and maintaining it?
By now, it all sounds a little daunting, but looking on the bright side a properly explored and implemented HR system can give your company a competitive edge with increased productivity and lower on-costs.
The benefits do not however automatically just flow on. Bottom line, if you implement an HR system, the management and reports available will only be useful if you actually use them. Furthermore, a positive ROI will only be achieved if you actually follow up and implement the outcomes of the reports produced by the system.
