What to consider when purchasing your next HCM platform

BY HRD 11 Sep. 2019

When it comes to purchasing a new Human Capital Management (HCM) platform, the sheer variety and choice available on the market can be intimidating to employers.

HRD Canada spoke to TELUS Employer Solutions, a TELUS division with close to two decades of experience managing HR and payroll for Canadian organizations, who revealed the necessary steps your company should take when looking to invest in a new HCM.

According to the experts, there are five key questions to ask prior to your purchase:

What are we ultimately trying to accomplish with a new “People & Payroll” system?
What level of customization do we require?
What paper and manual workflows and/or reports could we automate with a new system? Which BI metrics reporting do we need to easily access?
What ROI are we looking to achieve with a new system?
Have we built and approved a business case and established a budget before we start shopping?

Based on the answers to these crucial questions, you can develop a clear sense of exactly what you need. Next, you must secure that all-important executive buy-in.

“Because HCM platforms perform functions that affect all employees through the lifecycle of employment, sign-off is important at all levels, including the Executive team,” explained TELUS Employer Solutions.

To facilitate sign-off, TELUS Employer Solutions recommends a face-to-face meeting with the team, well in advance of software selection, to discuss the goals you want to accomplish and obtain budget and timeline approvals.

Next, examine the benefits or return on investment (ROI) your new system will deliver. According to TELUS Employer Solutions, these normally include the following:

All HR functions can be performed in a single-source system, eliminating the need for multiple software systems that can’t communicate with each other.
By using a fully-integrated system that significantly reduces HR cycle times and manual paperwork throughout the employee lifecycle, your company will generate ROI by eliminating many inefficiencies.
All job applicant information is retained in your system’s database for future reference.
The self-serve functionality enables employees to perform basic HR transactions, such as changes of address, banking information, and/or benefits or beneficiary selection, directly in the system.
Hourly workers can enter their time directly in the system, with managers providing real-time approval follow-ups with their team members to complete and forward their timesheets.
These systems provide automated and scheduled reporting (including BI metrics reporting).

To learn more about choosing the right software for you, download TELUS Employer Solutions’ free whitepaper here.