We have been guiding clients through successful digital transformations for decades. The following are some of our best practices.
1. Take a Team Approach
Human Capital Management (HCM) Digital transformations are cross-functional projects that require organizational vision, strategic alignment, and resource allocation. In our experience a project team headed by the CHRO, CFO, and CTO/CIO as sponsors works best. This collaboration ensures that all requirements from IT and Finance are considered and that the necessary resources are incorporated into the planning process and the project team.
2. Spend the Time to Select the Right Vendor and Tool
The vendor selection process is crucial in terms of identifying functionality, costs, support structures, and training protocols. Start with gathering organizational requirements to understand the strategic objective for the digital transformation. When we are involved in the process, we conduct stakeholder interviews to fully understand opportunities and pain points so that the best solution can be selected. HCM technology is a tool and ensuring alignment between tool capabilities and organizational requirements is imperative. Vendors’ models around implementation support and guidance , customer support, troubleshooting, configurations, and integrations vary widely. It is important to understand what resources you, the client, need to provide during implementation and beyond and to develop a plan to bridge any gaps.
3. Create a Data Plan
Most clients are looking for data insights as part of their transformation projects. How will data be used and does it need to move to another system like an ERP or data warehouse to generate insights? Think about your current data, its value and validity, and where and how this historical data will be stored. The time to think about data is at the technology selection phase. Don’t wait until you are at the implementation phase to consider where your historical data will reside. Also, ensure that you have considered your compliance requirements. Ensure that your vendor has the necessary documentation to meet compliance requirements and that your own internal processes don’t create any violations. If data integration is required for other systems such as finance, now is the time to understand the interface options and requirements.
4. Assess Organizational Readiness for Change
Understanding your organization’s aptitude and appetite for change impacts the time and resources necessary to drive digital transformation. If you are an organization that has a Project Management Office (PMO) and is used to continuous change, your timeline and change management process may be more streamline. For those that have not changed HR technology or other technology for some time, the process will take longer and require more change management and communication resources. Also be careful about assuming your employee’s readiness for change. We have helped organizations with a survey or focus group to yield great insight.
5. Develop Your Own Plan
While vendors and implementation consultants have an implementation plan, it is limited to their implementation requirements. Digital transformations require cross-functional collaboration, data alignment, system alignment, change management, process change and alignment, workflow alignment, and communication. Much of the process falls outside of a vendor implementation plan. We have guided many organizations through this process to ensure realization of their transformation goals.
6. Create a Project Plan
Whether you are leveraging internal PMO resources or bringing in outside expertise, following project management protocols including sponsorship, project charter, stakeholder management, project team, project timeline, resource allocation planning and a communication plan keeps your project on time and within budget.
7. Promote Continuous Communication
The project team will need to have regular meetings to discuss status, progress, and blockages. Providing a feedback loop for project team members is a useful tool to help identify successes and challenges. Stakeholder communications are important but so is offering an opportunity for feedback. Technology survey tools can help facilitate this process.
8. Focus on Change Management
Thinking about change management should begin at the start of a digital transformation project. As highlighted in #4 Assessing Organizational Readiness for Change, meeting your employees where they are and bringing them to a state of readiness for adoption is a journey. We recommend engaging both early adopters and laggards as early as possible to create a plan for change. Leveraging these change makers as trainers and resource experts helps to drive adoption. Communication around expected changes, timelines, resources, and other key information, during and after implementation, is crucial.
9. Ensure Training Meets Your Needs
As you plan for your technology rollout, evaluate the training and resources provided by the vendor. Supplementing vendor training can be done internally or with external resources. Using a “train the trainers” approach is an effective means of developing internal experts and creating a structure to train staff. Developing quick guides is another useful tool. Depending upon desired functionality, manager self-service and business intelligence training may be required. Understanding your organization’s needs early in the process allows for a better understanding of training resources that will be required.
10. Conduct Testing and Launch
A detailed testing plan involving SME’s from different functional areas can speed buy in and increase knowledge within the organization. Communicating and celebrating the launch will also raise team spirit and improve user adoption.
Following these lessons learned and planning for the launch improves the likelihood of success. Gather post launch feedback and lessons learned to improve your future transformations.
Schedule a time to chat if you’d like to learn more about how HRComputes has applied these lessons to help organizations navigate HCM digital transformation.