Workforce Management Featured Article
Secrets to Making the Case for New HCM Technology
You’ve done your market research. You’ve sat though a dozen technology demonstrations. You’ve followed up with references and combed through countless reviews. You can now honestly say that you’ve selected the best HCM technology for your business. BUT...it’s not a done deal… yet.
In the back of your mind, you know that ushering in new ideas, new processes and new technology will fall flat without your executive’s support. HCM technology can positively impact the employee experience and increase productivity, but still many business professionals struggle with getting executives to back HCM technology investment.
Findings from Ceridian’s HCM Maturity Report may give us a clue – pointing to a strong disconnect between front-line employee’s experienced reality with their current HCM solutions and executive perceptions.
The bottom line is you need to persuade, convince, and essentially campaign to prove the tangible benefits for making the switch. This article outlines some steps to take:
1. Number crunch the ROI
Numbers speak volumes. Your quest for a technology investment and buy-in from your executives should begin with a budget assessment. Calculate the cost of the new system and how much the company will save through reductions in time and resources required for everyday tasks. You should know these numbers inside out, and be able to have both high-level and detailed conversations about the budget required for a technology investment.
2. Know your main message points by heart
Create some message points or dialogue around the “case” for why the organization needs the new HCM technology, the problems it will solve and how the organization will benefit. Use these key points as the foundation for your conversations with various stakeholders.
3. Get others in the organization on your side
Before you approach your executives, identify others outside of your immediate function who support the technology upgrade. The support of IT will help you demonstrate the validity and positive impact of the investment. These supporters can also help you address any objections you may encounter and can help you rally the additional support you need.
4. Lobby for your cause
Identify the other stakeholders who will influence the technology investment decision at your organization and meet separately with each person or department to discuss their current HCM issues, how the new solution will address them, and specific KPIs the technology will influence.
5. Personalize your message
Remember your audience and outline how the new solution will address the HR issues important to each decision maker. Offer real life examples of the ways the technology will improve performance and the bottom line.
Successfully advocating for an investment in new HCM technology is entirely possible with the right approach, due diligence, team input and a focus on what matters to your decision makers: how this investment will help distinguish your organization as best-in-class.
About the Author
Warren is the Chief Information Officer at Ceridian. He is responsible for the organization’s global information technology requirements and leads the design, delivery and management of Ceridian’s technology infrastructure. Additionally, he supports and helps grow Ceridian’s business with IT excellence to ensure compliance, protection and security for all data. Warren’s strategic initiatives prioritize performance, scalability and responsiveness for the company and customers focused on improved service delivery, self-service capabilities and agile business models for cloud solutions.
Warren was previously co-founder and vice president of infrastructure and compliance at Dayforce. Prior to that, Warren was a co-founder of Workbrain, where he held several positions in senior management. With over 16 years of industry experience, Warren has held leadership roles at a variety of leading technology companies.
Warren earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from York University.
Edited by Alicia Young