netrashetty
Netra Shetty
AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AGCO) is an agricultural equipment manufacturer based in Duluth, Georgia, USA. As a leading global manufacturer of agricultural equipment, AGCO offers a full line of tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage and tillage equipment, which are distributed through more than 2,700 independent dealers and distributors in more than 140 countries worldwide.
Verify the Implementer’s Experience – Every implementation expert has to perform their first HRIS software implementation; just don’t let it be you. If it were me, I would not be in their first ten installs and maybe even twenty, if the implementation involves payroll. When it comes to implementing HRIS software and especially HRMS Payroll systems, there is absolutely no substitute for experience. Be sure and find out exactly how much experience the individual has that will be overseeing or performing the engagement.
It’s highly likely that you have checked references on the HRIS or HRMS software, but have you also checked references on the individual who will be performing your implementation? Important questions to ask when following up with these references might include the following:
o Was HRIS or HRMS software implementation project completed on time and within budget?
o Would you use the implementer again?
o How was the implementer at explaining technical issues?
o Were you delivered what was promised?
o How was the HRIS or HRMS software training?
• Is Scope Well Defined – This is one of those cases where assuming can cause you lots of problems. Don’t assume what you expect to have done will be completed in the hours allotted for the engagement. Make sure everything you expect to have completed is included in an implementation schedule.
I recommend requiring the company performing the HRMS software implementation, provide you a low to high expected range of time for each phase and for each product option of the engagement. If you have a custom report or interface that needs to be created, make sure it is included in the estimated hours.
Once Work Begins
• Be Prepared – This seems obvious but, believe me, this is a constant issue for HRIS software and HRMS software implementation consultants. We told clients exactly what we needed when we arrive for the first day of the engagement and at least a quarter of the time, the client would not be prepared. The problem became so common that we started requiring clients to email or mail us the information we needed on day one before we would even book travel or schedule the trip.
• Clear the schedules as much as possible – I hated sitting around during an engagement but sometimes this was unavoidable because the people we needed to meet with, such as I.T. or human resources, were not available while we were on-site. Make sure to let your I.T. staff, or any other departments that may be involved, know when they need to clear their schedules.
• Keep Job Focused – This is as much the consultant’s job as it is yours. While on engagements, I frequently had clients ask about additional capabilities or the "oh yeas, can we do this too?". I always handled this situation the same. Let me finish what we have to do and then we can look at available time or extra time, for extra work not included in the original scope. This was not an issue on my projects but one of my consultants had a real challenge with staying focused and was over budget on the majority of his projects.
• Track Hours – If the project is a long one, make sure to track the hours worked by the consultant. Believe it or not, very few of the companies I worked with actually did this.
Importance of training in recent years:
Recent changes in the environment of business have made the Training and Development function even more important in helping organization maintain competitiveness and prepare for the future. Technological innovations and the pressure of global competition have changed the ways organizations operate and the skills that their employee need. The tight labor market has increased the importance of training in several ways. First higher employee turnover means that more new employees need training. Second, it has been suggested that frequent and relevant development experiences are an effective way to gain employee loyalty and enhance retention of top-quality staff.
Need for Training:
Training must be tailored to fit the organization’s strategy and structure. It is seen as pivotal in implementing organization-wide culture-change efforts, such as developing a commitment to customer service, adopting total quality
management, or making a transition to self-directed work teams. Pace-setting Human Resource Development departments have moved from simply providing training on demand to solving organizational problems. Trainers see themselves as internal consultants or performance improvement specialists rather than just instructional designers or classroom presenters. Training is only one of the remedies that may be applied by the new breed of Human Resource Development practitioners. In an age of network organizations, alliances, and long-term relationships with just-in-time suppliers, leading companies are finding that they need to train people other than their own employees. Some organization offer quality training to their suppliers to ensure the quality of critical inputs. Organizations with a strong focus on customer service may provide training for purchasers to their product.
1. Shortage of skill: Skilled and knowledge people are always on short supply, alternatively they are too expensive to hire from outside. The best way is to improve the skill and knowledge of the existing employees through Training and Development.
2. Technological Obsolesce: Growth of technology takes place very fast. This will
render current technological obsolesces in the near future
3. Personal Obsolesce: At the time of recruitment employees posses a certain amount of knowledge and skill. As the time passes, their knowledge becomes obsolesce unless it is uploaded by proper training. This happens because of changes take place in product methods procurement of better machines.
Verify the Implementer’s Experience – Every implementation expert has to perform their first HRIS software implementation; just don’t let it be you. If it were me, I would not be in their first ten installs and maybe even twenty, if the implementation involves payroll. When it comes to implementing HRIS software and especially HRMS Payroll systems, there is absolutely no substitute for experience. Be sure and find out exactly how much experience the individual has that will be overseeing or performing the engagement.
It’s highly likely that you have checked references on the HRIS or HRMS software, but have you also checked references on the individual who will be performing your implementation? Important questions to ask when following up with these references might include the following:
o Was HRIS or HRMS software implementation project completed on time and within budget?
o Would you use the implementer again?
o How was the implementer at explaining technical issues?
o Were you delivered what was promised?
o How was the HRIS or HRMS software training?
• Is Scope Well Defined – This is one of those cases where assuming can cause you lots of problems. Don’t assume what you expect to have done will be completed in the hours allotted for the engagement. Make sure everything you expect to have completed is included in an implementation schedule.
I recommend requiring the company performing the HRMS software implementation, provide you a low to high expected range of time for each phase and for each product option of the engagement. If you have a custom report or interface that needs to be created, make sure it is included in the estimated hours.
Once Work Begins
• Be Prepared – This seems obvious but, believe me, this is a constant issue for HRIS software and HRMS software implementation consultants. We told clients exactly what we needed when we arrive for the first day of the engagement and at least a quarter of the time, the client would not be prepared. The problem became so common that we started requiring clients to email or mail us the information we needed on day one before we would even book travel or schedule the trip.
• Clear the schedules as much as possible – I hated sitting around during an engagement but sometimes this was unavoidable because the people we needed to meet with, such as I.T. or human resources, were not available while we were on-site. Make sure to let your I.T. staff, or any other departments that may be involved, know when they need to clear their schedules.
• Keep Job Focused – This is as much the consultant’s job as it is yours. While on engagements, I frequently had clients ask about additional capabilities or the "oh yeas, can we do this too?". I always handled this situation the same. Let me finish what we have to do and then we can look at available time or extra time, for extra work not included in the original scope. This was not an issue on my projects but one of my consultants had a real challenge with staying focused and was over budget on the majority of his projects.
• Track Hours – If the project is a long one, make sure to track the hours worked by the consultant. Believe it or not, very few of the companies I worked with actually did this.
Importance of training in recent years:
Recent changes in the environment of business have made the Training and Development function even more important in helping organization maintain competitiveness and prepare for the future. Technological innovations and the pressure of global competition have changed the ways organizations operate and the skills that their employee need. The tight labor market has increased the importance of training in several ways. First higher employee turnover means that more new employees need training. Second, it has been suggested that frequent and relevant development experiences are an effective way to gain employee loyalty and enhance retention of top-quality staff.
Need for Training:
Training must be tailored to fit the organization’s strategy and structure. It is seen as pivotal in implementing organization-wide culture-change efforts, such as developing a commitment to customer service, adopting total quality
management, or making a transition to self-directed work teams. Pace-setting Human Resource Development departments have moved from simply providing training on demand to solving organizational problems. Trainers see themselves as internal consultants or performance improvement specialists rather than just instructional designers or classroom presenters. Training is only one of the remedies that may be applied by the new breed of Human Resource Development practitioners. In an age of network organizations, alliances, and long-term relationships with just-in-time suppliers, leading companies are finding that they need to train people other than their own employees. Some organization offer quality training to their suppliers to ensure the quality of critical inputs. Organizations with a strong focus on customer service may provide training for purchasers to their product.
1. Shortage of skill: Skilled and knowledge people are always on short supply, alternatively they are too expensive to hire from outside. The best way is to improve the skill and knowledge of the existing employees through Training and Development.
2. Technological Obsolesce: Growth of technology takes place very fast. This will
render current technological obsolesces in the near future
3. Personal Obsolesce: At the time of recruitment employees posses a certain amount of knowledge and skill. As the time passes, their knowledge becomes obsolesce unless it is uploaded by proper training. This happens because of changes take place in product methods procurement of better machines.
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