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The final stage, following all of the above, is the execution of the Implementation Plan. The following sections explain each of these steps in greater detail.
Inefficient appraisal process Employees and managers spend too much time on appraisals rather than main business functions HR spends too much time on process rather than optimizing human resources Appraisal work is lost through clumsy electronic document handling (e.g. loss of file attachments, etc.)
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Failure to complete appraisals/Unprofessional appraisal process Resulting in situations where top performers are being lost, employees are dissatisfied and productivity is affected Creating risks around accreditation Creating risks around litigation and cost for wrongful dismissals
Whether these or other so-called pain points are identified and an organization-specific set of requirements is laid out, HR practitioners can then view top vendors marketing materials and online demos, knowing exactly what they are looking for. Following that kind of brief survey, it is a good idea to revisit the original requirements list and subdivide it into mandatory and desirable elements as in the following example:
MANDATORY Easy creation of appraisal form and process workflow Goal and competency management Line manager authoring aids including spell check, language sensitivity and comment helper Automated email reminders Development plan recording and reporting Centralized at-a-glance process status view
DESIRED Sophisticated workflow capabilities Performance journal Electronic signature Seamless integration with merit-based compensation programs Customizations available if needed
Beware what some refer to as advanced VCR features: the sophisticated bells and whistles vendors tend to promote with their solutions. These may be tantalizing but not practical, and can add unnecessary costs and complexity.
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At this stage, HR leaders should outline the benefits they expect their organizations to achieve by implementing an EPM system. This is always a crucial component of any presentation to management. EPM benefits extend from the line manager and end-user level through HR and out across the entire enterprise. Some of the most cited benefits include:
HR DIVISION Reduced administration time Complete status reporting Simpler way of meeting compliance/legal requirements
LINE MANAGER/END USER Ease of completion (writing assistance) Faster completion Clear direction re: requirements for completion
Armed with such information, the management team is likely to approve moving ahead with the EPM evaluation process.
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Once a vendor is selected, the timeframe associated with each of these tasks can be defined with greater precision; because of their different methodologies, vendors often assign a slightly different effort and duration to these steps.
b) Compare the solutions capabilities with the mandatory and desirable requirements established during stage 2. c) Verify that the product will deliver the expected benefits.
The best way to assess a vendors suitability is to request a product demonstration. HR managers should ask vendors to create and demonstrate using their system at least one of their organizations existing appraisal forms as a proof of concept. It is common for organizations to require multiple demonstrations of the product to make an informed and confident decision: dont hesitate to ask to see it again. The evaluation stage is also an appropriate time to request detailed, multi-year costing including license fees, installation fees, implementation fees, training fees, hosting fees, maintenance, support and any other applicable fees.
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To ensure that your assessment is objective and focused, it is best to make use of a well-defined evaluation form. An example of such a form is provided below.
Subscription pricing: the pros and cons An increasing number of vendors today promote the software as a service selling model, whereby the software and all related infrastructure are rented from the vendor for an annual or monthly fee. While this can seem less expensive at the outseti.e. can have lower implementation costsit may not be so in the long term. When it comes time to renew the contract, the customer is susceptible to price increases. Switching vendors and adopting a new solution amounts to starting from scratch, with a potential loss of data and requiring significant data-conversion efforts. One alternative is to purchase a perpetual license and, if necessary, rent only the equipmentin other words have the system hosted by the vendor. At the end of the hosting contract term, a customer in this situation can renew the agreement, switch to a different equipment provider or bring the solution in house while continuing to use the software and data resources that the EPM system has been built around. This is ideal if the IT resources already exist to support the system
Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y
Y Y N Y Y Y Y N Y N Y
Y Y N N N Y N Y Y Y Y
Features - Optional
Electronic Signature 365 Day Performance Journal Integration With Compensation Multi-rater / 360 Integration
Y Y Y Y 315 Good
Y Y Y Y 209 Weak
Y Y Y Y 45 Good
Once this form is completed, the results can be tallied for each of the vendors under consideration and a clear leader should emerge for recommendation to management.
In the case of the figure above, Vendor As solution is slightly more expensive to implement, but the annual costs are considerably lower. (For this reason, it is essential to request multi-year pricing from each vendor being considered.) In fact, Vendor A and C employ a perpetual licensing model, whereas Vendor B sells its software as a servicemeaning that at the end of year five customers may have to renew at higher rates to preserve their databases.
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Some organizations require detailed return-on-investments data; others dont. Those that do should ask their selected vendor to help calculate ROI or provide client case studies that document other customers investment returns using their EPM solution. Outside of the solution itself, it is valuable to know as much about each vendor as possible. How viable is the company? How many EPM customersEPM specificallyhas it served? Do check the references provided; a frank and friendly conversation with someone already using the vendors solution can yield priceless insights, especially when it comes to support and customization. Finally, there are other considerations to be factored in to the decision: Application hostingis this to be done at the customer site, or the vendors? Either way, the pros and cons must be weighed carefully. In-house hosting can put strains on an organizations IT department and potentially compromise responsiveness if the system requires support; external hosting by the vendor raises questions about security (of customer data and the hosted environment itself), reliability and scalability. Customer profiledepending on an organizations size and needs, some vendors may be more appropriate than others. HR managers should review the logos or customer lists on each potential vendors website. A small or medium-sized organization, for example, may not wish to sign on with a vendor whose customers are primarily Fortune 500 companies; its possible the smaller company will suffer from lack of mindshare when it comes to support or contributing to product direction.
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The chosen vendor will usually be happy to help prepare forand even participate inthis presentation, if desired. Certain questions routinely come up during these presentations. HR managers who prepare for them in advance will be well-positioned to garner support for the chosen vendor. One of the most crucial is often: Can we complete the work in time for our next appraisal process? The answer should be accounted for in the Implementation Plan. As well, the chosen vendor should be able to provide examples of customers who implemented their solutions successfully in a short space of time. Will our data be confidential? This is most critical for vendor-hosted solutions. Be sure to have a description from the vendor of the security and reliability of its hosting environment prior to the management meeting. What is the return on investment? Having established an ROI estimate with the vendor ahead of time will help address this question.
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For more information: Tel: 613-270-1011 Fax: 613-270-8311 Email: info@halogensoftware.com Web: http://www.halogensoftware.com Halogen Software 495 March Road, Suite 500 Ottawa, Ontario K2K 3G1