This document provides advice for successfully purchasing and implementing HR technology. It summarizes points made by William Tincup at the HR Tech Europe Spring Warm-Up conference. Key recommendations include thoroughly understanding your needs and processes before talking to vendors, negotiating contracts carefully as your power decreases after signing, and proactively involving internal stakeholders in change management and training to boost adoption. Open communication and sharing experiences with peers is emphasized as the best way to improve both technology and its use.
5. Recently
I
was
aDending
HR
Tech
Europe
Spring
Warm-‐Up
in
London
where
@william;ncup
was
sharing
some
things
you
should
consider
when
buying
HR
technology.
6. Allow
me
to
share
the
best
pieces
with
you,
so
you
can
benefit
from
them
as
well.
First
of
all,
these
are
the
7
points
of
soQware
sa;sfac;on:
7. Product
1.
Don’t
look
for
soQware
that
will
fix
your
bad
process.
Good
soQware
will
only
highlight
how
bad
your
process
is.
2.
Vendors
know
what
a
good
process
is,
so
don’t
lie
to
them
about
your
process.
8. Sales
1.
Once
you’ve
signed
the
contract,
all
your
power
is
gone.
So
how
do
you
feel
about
your
vendor
before
you
sign?
It’s
going
southwards
aQer
that..
2.
You
typically
buy
from
people
you
like.
So
really,
really
think
about
what
you
need
before
you
talk
with
them.
3.
Are
you
being
oversold?
Salespeople
rarely
say
no.
9. Sales
4.
You
don’t
want
to
be
the
first
one
in
your
industry
to
buy
a
solu;on.
You
want
a
vendor
to
know
and
understand
your
industry.
(‘There’s
no
such
thing
as
an
hr
industry.
There
are
industries
in
which
hr
prac;;oners
are
prac;cing.’)
5.
All
demo’s
are
awesome.
6.
If
vendors
don’t
have
case
studies,
it
might
mean
they
don’t
have
great
rela;onships
with
customers.
Are
references
easily
provided?
10. Nego;a;on
1.
Ask
your
vendor:
How
do
you
make
money?
2.
In
a
lot
of
soQware
deals,
you
don’t
own
the
data.
You
actually
pay
the
vendor
to
get
your
data.
3.
Buy
at
the
end
of
the
quarter,
preferably
the
31st
of
December;
sales
people
are
driven
by
quota’s.
11. Implementa;on
1.
How
long
is
it
going
to
take
before
you
can
use
the
soQware?
Lots
of
vendors
outsource
implementa;on
and
it’s
in
the
interest
of
consultants
to
make
sure
that
implementa;on
takes
a
long
;me..
2.
Make
sure
people
(internally)
are
aware
of
change
before
you
change.
Let
them
know
what
you’re
doing.
Otherwise
they’re
going
to
hate
whatever
new
thing
you
buy.
12. Training
1.
Realise
everybody
learns
in
a
different
way.
Assesss
for
learning
styles
and
learning
differences
to
make
training
beDer.
13. Adop;on
1.
Your
vendor
knows
everything
about
how
you
use
their
soQware.
Will
they
ever
tell
you
that?
You
should
want
to
know
it.
14. Support
1.
The
vendors
job
is
to
meet
you
where
you
are.
Support
shouldn’t
be
reac;ve,
but
proac;ve.
2.
Is
the
vendor
charging
clients
for
support?
15. Share
The
real
solu;on
off
course
to
make
vendors
build
beDer
products
and
hr
prac;oners
make
beDer
acquisi;ons
and
use
of
hr
technology
is
if
we
all
start
talking.
So,
ask
your
peers
about
their
experiences
and
advice
and
share
your
experiences
and
advice
with
them.
17. HR
Tech
Europe
2014
The
next
opportunity
to
meet
your
peers
and
find
awesome
new
hr
technology
products
is
#HRTechEurope
in
Amsterdam.
For
more
informa;on,
please
visit
www.hrtecheurope.com
I
look
forward
to
mee;ng
you
there.
18. Share
&
connect.
Feel
free
to
share
this
presenta;on
and
connect
with
me
wherever
you
want:
E-‐mail
rene@onrecruit.nl
Telephone
+31-‐611604603
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