It’s that time of year. You’re coming out of year-end and you’ve got no love left for your current HCM solution. From an outdated system and processes to manual data entry and bad client support—it’s not you, it’s your provider.
It’s time for a fresh start. To help you find your best HCM match, we’ve broken your search strategy into three easy steps:
- Determining the reasons to leave
- What to look for in a new HCM provider
- How to find a solution you’ll love
Reasons to leave your current provider
We took a look at the many reasons organizations search for new HCM solutions. If you see your pain points listed here, you can trust in your decision to move on.
Outdated technology: Just like a car you’ve outgrown or an inefficient appliance—sometimes a system just can’t keep up with your needs anymore. When your solution can’t integrate with your other systems, it’s probably best for you to move onto a more modern cloud-based HCM system that allows you to integrate and easily manage your data anywhere and any time.
Lack of functionality: If you’ve been using your current solution for years and the features and functionality haven’t improved, your system may not have what it takes for you to efficiently manage your payroll and people needs. Look for an HCM partner that offers more flexibility and scalability to support your growth.
Hard to use: If you’re getting complaints from your team and feeling frustrated by a lack of support from your vendor, it’s time to look for a provider that has the complete package. You deserve modern functionality and responsive client care. You spend a good portion of your time at work—you need tools and care you can rely on.
Expensive to maintain: There comes a point when there’s no point in trying to maintain upkeep on an older system. It costs too much to maintain and your vendor may be asking for a considerable sum to make necessary upgrades. Time to walk away.
No love from support: Frustrating client support experiences mean you’re probably not getting the answers or the help you need to get your work done in a timely and efficient way. Make the switch to a provider that cares about your time and has the expertise to help you with any challenge.
Fee fatigue: When you signed on with your current provider, you may not have realized how many extra costs you would incur. If you’re paying extra every month for basic services like off-cycle pay runs and reporting, you should take a look at an all-inclusive pricing solution.
Lack of innovation: If you haven’t shopped for a new HCM solution in awhile, you’ll be amazed by what a new solution can offer you. From streamlined processes, data insights, and automation, to advanced reporting, increased security, and employee self-serve—modern HCM solutions are always improving and sharing with their clients. Look for a solution that has a growth mindset.
Compliance issues: Are you concerned about compliance risks with your current HCM solution? From withholding the correct taxes and deductions to flagging compliance issues related to labour laws, you need a solution that can automate and update based on every legislation change related to your business.
What to look for in a new HCM provider
Now that you know what you don’t want, you can focus on what you do want. The best way to find an HCM solution that will work for you is to put together a list of your wants, needs, and goals for a new HCM provider. Here’s a few thought starters:
HCM Wishlist:
- Streamlined, automated Payroll and HR processes for scheduling, hiring, onboarding, and more
- Integrated Payroll and Time & Attendance
- Advanced scheduling features
- Easier employee management for contractors, seasonal workers, hourly and salaried employees, and unionized employees
- Reduced manual data entry
- Improved data accuracy and visibility
- An integrated system for reducing payroll processing time, decreasing errors, and eliminating double data entry
- Advanced reporting features
- Employee self-service capabilities for accessing pay statements, T4’s, benefit balances, managing profiles, swapping shifts, and more
- Worry-free compliance with legal and regulatory requirements related to Payroll and HR
- Reduced costs for manual HR and Payroll processes
- An improved user experience for employees and HR/Payroll teams
- All-inclusive pricing, no extra costs
How to find an HCM solution you’ll love
Now the exciting part, or maybe it’s the part you dread, either way, taking the first step towards your search means you’re ready to move on to a better fit for you. Just follow these steps and everything should be just fine:
Do your research
Now that you’ve determined your company's specific HCM goals from the list above, you should have a good idea of the features and functionalities you want. It’s time to research different HCM providers to see what they can offer you. If you’re in Canada, look for Canadian providers that have experience in your industry and a track record of success.
See what their clients have to say
To get a good understanding of how a prospective provider treats their clients, dig into online reviews and testimonials to get a sense of the provider's reputation and client support.
It’s also worth your time to go through their case studies. You may find an organization similar to yours and will gain insight into how they tackled issues you’re currently experiencing.
Make a list and narrow it down
By now, you’ve probably got a reasonable list of contenders. To narrow down your list, look at what providers can come closest to giving you your dream list of features. To avoid demo fatigue, try to get your list down to five or less.
Demo time
The time has come to contact the providers on your list and schedule demos of their software. If an HCM solution was a car, this would be your test drive. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want to see in a demo. Let your prospective provider know what your pain points are in advance so they can show you where they can help and give you a hands-on understanding of how the software will meet your needs.
Talk money
By this point, you’ve hopefully narrowed your search down to one or two providers. Now it’s time to talk about money. This is where you’ll want to compare pricing and contract terms of the providers.
Be sure to watch out for extra costs. Many providers will tell you what you want to hear in terms of PEPM (cost per employee per month), but what aren’t they telling you? Ask about additional costs for reporting, off-cycle or cancelled pay runs, implementation fees and more. It’s reasonable to incur fees for a proper implementation of your new system, but you want to avoid additional fees for processing payroll—they add up fast.
When it comes to pricing, what you ultimately want is value. The best overall value for your company will save you time, money, and frustration in the long run. Don’t settle for the cheapest option, choose the best match for your needs.
Reference check
Look at you, you’re almost there. Your choice will crystallize once you’ve conducted a thorough reference check with the provider’s current clients. Don’t skip this one, it’s your last step and last bit of due diligence before signing on the dotted line.
You did it! You found your HCM match!
Good job. Enjoy the moment, because you worked hard to get here. When you’re ready, be sure to get the ball rolling for a successful implementation. Your implementation experience should solidify that you made a great choice. Be sure to work closely with your new provider’s implementation team to create the rules, workflows, processes, and automations that will ensure your happily ever after.
Additional Reading Links
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