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Sabtu, 23 Agustus 2008

Who will Perform your HR Software Implementation by Clay C. Scroggin

Who Will Perform Your HRIS Implementation is as Important as the Software You Select

Human Resource (HR) managers and staff go through a great amount of effort to find and select the Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) that will best meet their needs. The problem is that they rarely apply enough effort into choosing who will implement the software. In any profession there are those with experience and those without, and there are those who are good at their jobs and those who are not. Unless you ask the right questions and demand information up front, you have no idea if the person installing your HR product has ever done so before or is qualified to handle your organization's unique HR system requirements. It is extremely important that you put the same effort into picking who will handle the implementation that you applied to selecting your HRIS application.

Apply the following steps to make sure you receive the best HRIS implementation:

Find out exactly who will be doing the HR software install and what their background is.

How many installs have they done? I would not recommend using anyone who has not performed at least 10 installs of your chosen HRIS. Sure they may be certified on your HR system, but until they have performed a large number of installs they won't be able to handle all the pitfalls and issues that inevitably arise. It's also a good idea to ask for references about the individual who will be working on your HRIS project, just as you would ask for references about an HRIS software product before purchasing it.

Set expectations.

Now that you have verified that the implementation consultant and/or staff are qualified to handle the job, you need to make sure that both sides are in full agreement as to what is included in the scope of the project. Avoidable misunderstandings regarding expectations create cost overruns and can lead to poor implementations. Make sure everything is in writing, and when I say that everything should be in writing I specifically mean that you should be provided with a detailed list of project requirements and an estimated time of completion for each. Most companies will provide a low and high expected range ("two to three months", for example).

HRIS project cost versus hourly or daily.

Implementation projects are typically quoted either daily or by the project. Project costing has some advantages, because you know you most likely won't go over the quoted amount unless needs arise that are outside of the project's original scope. The disadvantage of project costing is that companies are going to charge you a higher rate since they have to quote the project on the high side. Daily or hourly quotes for consulting are fine, but make sure to get a detailed plan on the consulting time. In the past I have broken down hours according to each step in the implementation process: Half day for network installation, one day for code table setup, one day for benefits setup, etc.

Be prepared for your HRIS implementation!

In almost every case where a project I was on went over budget, the client was at the least partly to blame. I understand that that is a very strong statement and it was intended to be so. Before you begin the implementation, make sure all information and data the consulting staff will need is ready to go. There is nothing worse than a $150 an hour consultant doing nothing while waiting for data on benefits plans. This became such a problem at companies I worked for that we would not schedule an implementation until all needed data and information for the implementation was received. Also make sure that anyone the consultant or implementation team will work with is available during the process (IT staff especially - make sure they know when their services will be needed). If you have to close the department or limit the hours for accessing HR, do so. We sometimes did training on Saturdays to avoid interruptions; see if a similar arrangement is an option for your organization.

Stay on track.

As an HRIS system implementation is taking place the customers are learning more and more about the capabilities of their new HR software. Make sure you don't get off track with work that is outside the scope of the project. When I was working on a project and a client asked me about work outside of it, I would tell them that we needed to finish the core project first and then determine how much quoted time is left for other considerations. The most important thing is that you have the base system setup and your staff trained on the HR product; push off anything extra or "nice haves" until the basics are completed.

About the Author

Clay Scorggin has worked in the human resource software industry for 15 years. The newest venture is CompareHRIS.com. We offer a great tool to assist you with your HR software search and selection process, our HR Software Selector Tool is easy to use and free.

HR Software Employee Self Service by Clay C. Scroggin

Does Your Company Need a HRIS, HRMS or HR Software Employee Self-Service Application?

Many of the Human Resource Information System (HRIS) products on the market today offer Internet-based employee self-service options. But do you need one, and how can they be helpful?

Typical HRIS Employee Self-Service Features

Employee Self-Service (ESS) products have gained in popularity over the last several years. In a nutshell, these applications are Internet-based products that allow employees to view and/or edit information related to their HRIS employee file. Employees may be able to update their emergency contact information and personal contact information, or even change their address when necessary. A number of the self-service applications also include Benefits Open Enrollment. Employees often like this arrangement because they're in charge of their own data, and Human Resources (HR) professionals like it because it cuts down on their input workload.

Another, often unmentioned, benefit of ESS is manager self-service. In many of these systems, managers and supervisors are able to view data on both direct and indirect reports. So instead of having to contact HR they can simply look up the data they need about an employee online. The benefits of an ESS program can be tremendous - but not to every type of organization.

Industry

It stands to reason that white-collar organizations are going to have a higher percentage of employees with Internet access in their homes than blue-collar organizations do (though this is certainly not always the case). Before investing in an online HRIS employee self-service product it's a good idea to find out what percentage of your employees will be able to access the product from their homes. Even if the percentage is small that does not necessarily mean you should not invest in an ESS product; I have seen and helped a number of companies setup kiosks in break rooms or cafeterias where the employees can access the company ESS product. But the overall usefulness of such a system to your employees is definitely an important consideration.

How Technical Are Your Employees?

Once again, this is a call you need to make before investing in an ESS product. If most of your employees are not very technical they may be reluctant to use the product, or your HR staff might have to answer so many questions that the system doesn't end up actually saving time and effort.

Manager Self Service

Some of the HRIS companies we list on compareHRIS.com price the self-service products per user. So, regardless of the technical capabilities of the employees, it may be a good idea to put a product in place for supervisors, managers, and executive staff.

Security

The most common concern I see from HR professionals regarding ESS systems is a reluctance to have employees making changes to their data. There are system features that can help eliminate this concern. For example, you are usually able to select which fields they can view and which they cannot, and which fields they can edit and which they cannot. Obviously you would not Jane Doe changing her pay rate, but you may be okay with her changing her cell phone number. Some systems also include workflow features in which employee-made changes do not take effect in the HR product until a supervisor approves them. Another common worry is that an unscrupulous employee might make unnecessary changes to other employee's information. This is always a risk, so such concerns must be weighted against the other benefits that an ESS product offers.

Finally, even if your organization doesn't need an ESS application today, it very well might in the future. For that reason alone it may be a good idea to select an HRIS product with the capability.

About the Author

HR Software Interfaces and Integration by Clay C. Scroggin

Expect to hear the terms interface and integration frequently during your search for a Human Resource Information System (HRIS) product. Both refer to the interaction of two systems, but there are differences and it's important that you understand them. An interface usually requires work on your part and data changes do not happen in real time. Integration, however, is automatic and requires no work on your end. Either provides the capability to eliminate time consuming, error-prone double entries, but because an integration generally means less work you should select systems that integrate whenever possible.

Human Resource Software Interfaces

Almost all business software applications on the market today should be able to create and accept some type of import or export file. This allows you to transfer data to and from numerous independent solutions.

Let's say, for example, your company uses one product for payroll and another for all other Human Resource (HR) functions. Obviously you would not want to enter changes to employee data separately into the two systems; it's a lot of extra work and literally doubles the chances of an error. An interface would provide the opportunity to take data from your Payroll product and download it to your HR system following each payroll run. Now here's the catch: A file must be created or run from the payroll product, then downloaded to the HR product either through a custom interface or some time of import utility. This might not take more than five minutes, but it's still an extra step you would have to apply to keep your HR system up to date. Another important issue here is that your HR data is only as current as your last download. So if you are not frequently interfacing the data, you might find that the data in your HR system is often out of date.

Interfaces require extra work and will not be real time, but they are an important means of tying two systems together, eliminating repetitive double entry, and reducing manual entry errors. You will be probably be working with interfaces far more often than true integrated software applications. While an interface may not be the perfect solution, it does sometimes offer the easiest method of eliminating time consuming double entry.

Human Resource Software Integration

Integration is always the best-case scenario, but it's rarely offered. An integrated system requires no work and changes happen in real time; the two systems share the same database, so you only have to add or update data once. If the two systems from our earlier example were integrated, a change made to payroll would show up automatically in your HR product (and vise versa). If you are going to want an integrated HRIS you will probably have to get all of your HR software products from the same company. Take a look at our products list, as we offer a number of systems that provide integrated HR and Payroll software solutions.

Stop Manually Entering the Same HR-Related Data in Various Systems

As I said before, almost any HR application on the market is going to allow you to import and export data. So the capability is probably already there for you to eliminate time consuming, error-prone double entries. Solving the problem is usually just a matter of effort, expense, and a little time.

Clay Scroggin has over fifteen years of industry experience, five working directly for Sage Abra Software and ten as a value added business partner for numerous HRIS software companies. During that fifteen years Clay has sold, implemented, and supported hundreds of HR Payroll, HRMS, and HRIS products.

About the Author

To make Money on Google AdSense using these Three Proven Strategies by JAIPREET SINGH

Google AdSense is a great program that Internet businesses can utilize to make money. If you want to earn a significant amount of money through Google AdSense then read on. You will learn three proven strategies that will optimize your Google AdSense earnings.

Following are three ways to make money using Google AdSense:

1. Add more messages in your email sequence that is driving customers to your website pages that have Google AdSense advertisements. Increasing the frequency of your email messages will provide more chances for Internet visitors to click on your Google AdSense advertisements.

2. Send out a mass email, solo broadcast. Send out an email to drive traffic to your website page that contains the Google AdSense advertisements. Increase the amount of subscribers you have on your list.

3. Increase the amount of money you earn from the advertisements. For example, certain keywords cost more money in Google Adwords. Therefore, you can write articles that contain these high value keywords. You will earn more money through Google AdSense with these higher quality keywords.

Another strategy you can use is to place the keywords in your Title tag. The first 250 words on your website is the second most important piece of information. Write a line then insert a double space. Place keywords in this space. Highlight the keywords so that it is white. This will cause the keywords to blend into the background. Do not use this for search engine marketing! It will hurt you in search engine optimization. It is only used to increase the price you earn from Google Advertisements. The Google spiders see these keywords. However, the human eye will not detect the keywords.

How do you find the high paying keywords? Use www.highpayingkeywords.com. This service provides you a quarterly listing of the high paying keywords. The service costs you money. However, it is a good investment because Google will not give information about the high paying keywords.

Tip: When you communicate with your list, you need to provide relevant content. Don't just send poor content as filler. Don't just send an article or email message to provide Google AdSense exposure. You need to provide content that is a benefit for your subscriber list.

How many emails should you send? You can send as many emails as you want. Sending out various emails is at your discretion. If you send out several emails per week it may annoy some of your subscribers. However, these subscribers can be deleted. You want to send out as many emails as you need because they are bound to bring in more orders for your product or service. Plus, it increases the amount of money you earn through Google AdSense if your subscribers click on the Google AdSense advertisements.

About the Author

For more free resource visit here www.guardadsense.com www.adsense.infozabout.com

How much input will be involved in setting up a new HRIS by Clay C. Scroggin

Have a Full Understanding of your HRIS Input Requirements Before You Purchase

A new Human Resource Information System (HRIS) can save you tremendous amounts of time and make you and your staff far more effective at your job, but it is important to understand work will be required to maintain the database and maximize results. I would estimate that at least 20% of companies purchasing HR software (including HR Payroll software, integrated HRIS products, and other Human Resource Management Software) stop using those products within six months because they are unable to keep up with the input required to maintain the data. So it is extremely important before you have your company make an investment into an HRIS system that you have a complete understanding of exactly how much input will be required from you and your staff. Follow these steps to minimize the amount of data you have to manually input into your human resources application.

HRIS Setup Input

Before selecting an HRIS system you need to have a complete understanding of what data will be imported into your system and where is that data coming from. You may have the data in Excel, a payroll system, or another HR product. Regardless how much data you have in another product, there will still be required input. Rarely will you have the capability of importing benefits data or history, so itâ€™s important to understand that this data will have to be manually input the majority of the time. Any data that you canâ€™t import, or that is not available in another system, will have to be manually input as well. I would recommend asking for an exact list of data fields that will be populated from other sources by the implementation team; make sure it is included in the contract and the scope of the engagement.

Use Human Resource Software Interfaces Wherever Possible

Interfaces allow for data to be transferred from one system to another, but they are not real time and require some type of action to transfer the data. The advantage of an interface is that it can save tremendous amounts of time associated with manual entry. That saved time can mean the difference between a helpful product that your employees use and one that they abandon because itâ€™s too cumbersome. If you are using one system for HR and a different product for payroll, make sure you have an interface for transferring data included in the scope of the project. Itâ€™s important to note that while this step will reduce your input requirements and time investment, it wonâ€™t eliminate them; there are numerous fields in an HR product that your payroll system may not offer, and they will have to be manually updated. Also remember that historical and benefits data are rarely included in interfaces.

Maintaining the Database

To receive maximum benefits from your HR Payroll software, HRIS product, or other HRMS applications you should make sure that the data in that system is up to date and accurate. Interfaces and a good implementation can assist with this, but additional work is always required. For example, all of your code tables for job titles, department titles, and benefits codes will be created at setup, but there will eventually be additions and changes to this information. Whether youâ€™re using an interface or an integrated system, input will be required from your end to maintain the database. Make sure you have a plan in place as to when data will be input and who will maintain it.

About the Author

Hosted HRIS Versus Purchased HRIS by Clay C. Scroggin

The products we list on compareHRIS.com offer ASP, purchase, or both pricing options. If you purchase your Human Resource Information System (HRIS) products you will maintain your data on your own servers. An ASP system allows the customer to maintain their information on the provider's server and access that data remotely.

Advantages of ASP HR Software Products:

Contingency Planning

I live in Tampa, Florida. In 2004 our state was hit by four hurricanes. I have had a number of customers ask about contingency plans in case of a storm. This is one of the advantages an ASP system can offer; the data is not on your server, so as long as you have Internet access your data will be available to you.

No IT Involvement

Other advantages are automatic updates and freed server space at your location. Your IT staff won't have to maintain or house the data with an ASP system. They won't have to install updates either, since the provider maintains all such details.

Lower Up-Front Costs

With ASP applications you will usually pay some type of minimal setup cost, but once the system is live you will pay a monthly amount per employee. Costs range from $2 to $5 per employee per month. So the up front costs is less but over time (usually a couple of years) you end up spending more for an ASP solution than if you'd purchased the product outright. With that in mind you need to weigh the importance of the other benefits.

Advantages of Purchasing Your HR Software Product

The disadvantage of ASP systems is that, over the long term, they can be expensive when compared to purchasing a system outright. If your company plans to use the HRIS solution you pick for at least five years, it will be far more cost-effective to actually purchase the application. And if your company is looking to lower the up front investment and pay over time, remember that most companies will offer a lease to own option on the software.

About the Author

Payroll HRIS Interfaces Defined by Clay C. Scroggin

During your search and evaluations of HRIS systems or HRMS software applications, you will hear a great deal about interfaces. The purpose of this article is to explain in detail how they are typically used. If you are looking at purchasing an HRIS system, HRMS system or HR software application and plan to tie it to an existing payroll application, this article will prove very helpful. The vast majority of HRIS systems and Payroll applications will offer some type of capability for transferring data from one system to another.

First, itâ€™s important to point out the difference between integration and an interface. With an integrated system, you have two products sharing the same data or you have an automatic real time transfer and update of data from one system to another. With HR and Payroll software applications, this is rare unless you are working with the same company for both systems. If thatâ€™s not the case, then you are going to be dealing with interfaces.

With an interface you will have to either manually, or via an automated process, transfer data from either payroll to hr or vice versa. In many cases, this is a fairly manual process to setup but easy to maintain. If you want to transfer data from Payroll to HR, you will create a file from the payroll system and import this into the HR product using some type of software. The problems with this type of process are that if itâ€™s not automated, you will have to frequently perform the transfer of data because, in this example, your data in HR is only as up to date as the last transfer of information from your payroll application. There is no reason to not accept using interfaces since itâ€™s still the standard for getting two unique products to share data.

How a Payroll HRIS Interface works

If you are using a well known payroll product, such as ADP, almost all, if not all, HRIS systems will provide some type of interfacing capability between your HRIS system and your payroll product. If not, your HRIS system and payroll system will offer some type of import and export program.

System interfaces are also defined as data mapping. Once you determine which system will push the data, a report will be run from that system containing the data needed to import into your import application. Once the report is run, it is typically converted to either Excel or a text file for importing. Now you need to make sure both systems are speaking the same language. This is called data mapping. If in one system the field name for first name is â€œfnamâ€, and in the system you are mapping to the field name is â€œfirst name,â€ you simply direct the â€œfnamâ€ data in product to populate the â€œfirst nameâ€ field. . The same process is repeated for each and every field contained in both systems. The good news is that after you set up the data mapping, you wonâ€™t have to repeat this process. The next time you need to transfer data, you will spend only a few minutes to do so.

The challenge with the setup occurs when the fields are in different formats or lengths. In these cases, the data can be brought into Excel and any needed modifications can be made there before importing the data. In some cases, the actual interface software will provide the ability to alter the information.

Populating your HRIS system database

Letâ€™s say you have just purchased a new HRIS system. By some means or another you are going to want to easily pull as much information from other sources as possible into your new system. If you have another HR product, you may create a file from that system and transfer this data over to your new HRIS system. If you donâ€™t, then most likely you will be pulling data from your payroll system to HR. Itâ€™s important to note that your payroll system will not contain all the information of your HRIS system. So there are only so many fields you will be able to update. Typically, this information is going to include demographic data and data related to pay that will be tracked in your HRIS system. I have seen what rarely transfers from one system to another are benefits data and history. Make sure to ask about the transfer of this data while you are reviewing systems.

Payroll to HRIS or HRIS to Payroll

Going forward, you will have to determine which direction you want to push data and in what system your core input for new hires, terminations, and employee changes will happen. Whichever direction you decide to go, payroll to HR or HR to payroll, itâ€™s important to realize that whichever system is accepting the data will have the interface for that import of data. This is not always the case but in most circumstances it will be.

Remember the data in the system being updated is only as up to date as when the last interface data transfer was performed. This can create problems. Letâ€™s say, for example, that you are pushing data from your payroll system to your HRIS product and the last time you performed an update was two weeks ago. If you run a termination or new hire log from your HRIS system, the data you are relying on is two weeks old. You may have to go through the process of updating your data before running the report. As you have seen, interfaces are not a perfect world but they are a necessity.