Assemble the Right Team for your HCM Project

A small percentage human capital management technology projects fail. They get through implementation, launch it with plenty of hoopla, then watch it become just another software platform nobody wants to use.

Most succeed. One of the primary reasons is that they have the right team in place. They carefully evaluate the competencies needed to do it right and make sure they have them before they begin. Let’s take a careful look at those skills so you can assess your team.

Do You Have the Skills You Need for Your HCM Project?

The people who make up your team will be a group of essential experts, but should include representation of experience from every part of the business. The team should include each of the following eleven competencies.

• Visionary leadership with the ability to communicate the vision to stakeholders from the newest employee to board members and investors.
• Executive sponsorship to act as a senior advisor and connection to the C-suite. Your sponsor will guide you on what the concerns of top leadership are and what they value. The sponsor and visionary leader are almost always the same person.
• Financial expertise – the CFO or a delegate – to guide the team in building the business case and calculating the ROI. (It will not hurt to seize the opportunity to educate Finance on the value of talent.)
• Knowledge of procurement procedures, including an RFP if you need it.
• Talent management expertise, including learning and development and organizational behavior. This may require several people to make sure you have the depth of knowledge necessary for each role.
• Successful experience in change management. This essential competency is often the most neglected, and the one most likely to impact your results.
• Hands-on experience in every human capital function.
• Expertise in every business segment. The talent management needs in Finance are different from those in Sales or Logistics, and every part of the organization should be heard. It is much better to have issues come up early than after launch. Including people from throughout the company is an essential part of the change management effort. They become your change ambassadors.
• Technical ability in infrastructure, cloud integration, and security.
• Data management and governance. Your new platform will generate a tremendous volume of useful data if you plan well.
• Data analytics and visualization to help plan how you will deliver information to the people who need it.

Get HCM Implementation Support if You Need It

Now is the time to decide if you need extra help. An experienced, independent consulting partner may be best, or you can use staff augmentation services. For example, a data scientist can be helpful, but that level of ability is expensive. You may only need that level of specialization for a short time.

Be as disciplined and diligent in selecting your partner as you are in choosing your software platform. Not all consulting partners will meet your standards, and costs range from very reasonable to astronomical. Ask for references and contact them.

The Right Talent for your HCM Team

As in every other business activity, having the right people on your team at the right time will carry you to success.

Pixentia is a full-service technology company dedicated to helping clients solve business problems, improve the capability of their people, and achieve better results.