Best Practices For Implementing Online HR Management Systems
(Updated 13 August 2024)
As remote and flexible working patterns grow in popularity amongst employees, having an accessible, online HR management system is now a necessity for most organisations. Simply put, if employers want to manage their remote or hybrid workforce effectively and efficiently, it’s crucial they invest in robust, online HR software.
Through implementing the right online HR management system, HR teams can keep track of their workers, streamline processes, and ensure compliance, whilst enhancing the employee experience and enabling everyone to stay connected.
“While on-premises solutions were an option when employees were expected to be in the office five days a week, they rarely make sense in the modern working landscape,” remarks Helen Armstrong, CEO and founder of Silver Cloud HR. “Instead, look for cloud-based solutions that empower your employees with platforms that let them make simple changes and requests, see important documentation and access their development plans, no matter where they are working that day.”
An online HR system can also automate administrative tasks such as employee onboarding, as it enables all information, for both new employees and HR, to be collected and stored in one location. “Onboarding can be streamlined and save valuable time for HR teams by having new employee records inputted directly into the system,” says Grace Pariser, HR and employment law consultant at Neathouse Partners.
According to a 2023 report by NTT Data, less than half of the organisations surveyed provide employees with the technology they need for remote or hybrid work. With so many employers now managing a distributed workforce, it’s essential to ensure the right technologies are in place.
With this in mind, here are some best practices for implementing an online HR software in your organisation, whether staff are working from home or in the office, which keep employee experience and productivity in mind.
Ensure robust project planning
Before any online HR management system is implemented, it’s crucial to plan the project in advance, so that the objectives are clearly defined, stakeholders are involved early on, and timelines are agreed.
“In terms of project planning, it’s important to include integrations, communication planning, adequate time for testing and your rollout,” advises Zoe Wilson, founder of ReThink HR. “Build in regular key stakeholder updates to ensure, if there are any risks or impact on time, quality or budget, that these are flagged and managed early on. Communication about change impact is also key – what input do you want or need from managers and employees, and what training will they need?”
Organisations can adopt various strategies when project planning, adds Sophie Bryan, founder of Ordinarily Different. “For instance, creating a detailed project timeline, allocating resources appropriately, and setting clear milestones are just a few that can help the process go smoothly. Collaboration among different teams is also essential for seamless execution.”
Establish team bandwidth
There is a huge amount of work that goes into a new online HR system implementation, so it’s important to ensure the teams involved have the bandwidth to take on the project and the extra responsibilities. This means ensuring they are fully trained, clear on the objectives and know what is expected of them.
“Clarity is also important when considering team bandwidth,” remarks Helen Armstrong. “Not only does your team need to be able to candidly share how much they have on their plates, but you also need to be explicit about the additional expectations that would come with this project. It’s only when both parties can be extremely clear and forthright that you can plan without risking burnout.”
Prioritise data management
Data accuracy and security is essential for a successful implementation, to ensure that all data is stored correctly in the new system.
“Always check and cleanse your data and explore the requirements with other functions to add bespoke fields that could help reporting or integrations work seamlessly,” says Zoe Wilson. “We always advise a data check with IT as a minimum, if you’re looking to connect Active Directory to your HRIS, because even if you think it’s well aligned, there are always departments, locations and job titles that are a mismatch, and you need to agree what is the source of truth before HR starts overwriting IT systems.”
When looking at data, Helen Armstrong advises HR to consider and clarify the following: “What data do you already have? How is it structured and does that need to change so that your new system can understand it? Who has access to each area of data? How will you use both the data you bring forward from your previous system and the data that you will be gathering with the new one?”
Effective data management ensures the accuracy, integrity, and security of employee information, adds Sophie Bryan. “Organisations must establish data governance practices, set up data quality controls, and comply with data privacy regulations to enjoy the best possible system performance, as well as maintain trust.”
Listen to employee feedback
Listening to, and acting on, feedback is hugely valuable during the implementation process, as it means any problems or concerns can be dealt with quickly and the project team can ensure everything is user-friendly and working well so that employee experience is improved, not jeopardised, by your implementation.
“Organisations should actively ask for input from employees at various stages,” comments Sophie Bryan. “They should also encourage open communication, address concerns promptly, and incorporate suggestions for enhancing user experience. Engaging employees in the process is critical as it promotes a user-centric approach when putting different processes into action.”
Zoe Wilson echoes this view. “Employee feedback throughout the project is important. Having a key group that’s wider than your project team can be really helpful in supporting the adoption of the new tech and ensuring everything is user-friendly.”
Maximise rollout success
To ensure the rollout of your online HR management system is a success, it’s important to, for example, provide comprehensive training on the new system for all users, offer ongoing support, and keep lines of communication open.
“Communication is key,” says Helen Armstrong. “We like to say that you can’t over-communicate in these situations. Especially as people absorb information in a variety of ways. Don’t rely on a single message to relay information. Instead, use multiple channels and formats to both disseminate and gather feedback.”
Measure success of implementation
Finally, an important part of any online HR software implementation is measuring its success, so that everyone knows whether the system is working or not – and there are several ways to do this.
One method, says Helen Armstrong, is to examine employee data. “Look at things like employee engagement and usage rates, particularly if there are any areas you want to understand better. You can also send out employee surveys to gauge sentiment and perceived engagement. Combining both the quantitative and qualitative data can give you a good picture of how things are going.”
Another way is to refer back to the goals that were set out at the beginning. “Ensure you have clear goals and objectives at the start of the project, so you can continue to review and keep the project aligned. You can also measure the time taken for processes upfront, capture process maps of before and after and volume of queries or support around certain items, then remeasure once the new tech is embedded, six months down the line.”
