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Centri Tech Pulse Series: Is Your HR Technology Supporting Your Business Strategy?

Introduction

HR technologies can significantly enhance and support a company’s HR objectives. These technologies play a crucial role in HR management, facilitating a wide range of processes and programs, including workforce planning, talent acquisition, onboarding, payroll management, total rewards administration, performance management, feedback, development, employee engagement, predictive modeling, and reporting. Moreover, they offer self-service capabilities for both employees and managers. Adopting the right HR technology can result in more precise, efficient, and cost-effective HR practices, enabling data-driven decision-making and ultimately improving organizational performance. Unfortunately, many companies have experienced underperformance in their HR technology platforms due to misalignment with HR strategy, growth-related incompatibility among multiple systems, and an excessive reliance on manual data entry. These issues impede the flow of information and hinder overall administrative and decision-making processes.

A Case in Point

A leading wholesale distributor, operator of retail stores, and owner and lessor of real estate operating across the US was seeking to replace its legacy HR system. The company aimed to optimize the effectiveness of HR program delivery to management and employees in support of its business strategy. The existing processes were manually intensive and prone to human error. Employee records were maintained across several systems, making it difficult to manage. Leadership recognized the need for a modern HR technology solution providing HR with the tools to collect, analyze, distribute, and leverage timely and accurate data. This would enable them to truly understand the needs of employees, managers, and executives to run the business more efficiently.

Action

Centri conducted a review of the client’s human resources, benefits, payroll processes, and technology platforms in their current state. The review included discovery and walkthroughs with process stakeholders, identifying system integration points, developing a set of use cases, and systematically conducting a high-level review and assessment of the readiness of HR to support the company’s business strategy and growth plans effectively and efficiently.

The client’s current technology platform included a recently implemented payroll solution.  The project team developed and applied a set of decision criteria to the set of use cases and updated previous HR process analyses, technology strategy, and key business requirements to answer the question, “Why not proceed with the Human Capital Management (HCM) solution from the same vendor?”. This approach jump-started the assessment and drove the design of the future state HR technology blueprint, which optimized the client’s recent investment in their payroll solution.

Results

Our team used Centri’s HR Maturity Model to identify areas of improvement and create technology recommendations based on industry best practices to optimize the client’s HR operating model. A primary focus was on reducing the number of manual activities and integrating data into a centralized database.

In line with the client’s technology strategy of leveraging best-in-breed solutions and meeting key business requirements, the recommendation was to maximize their current investment and proceed with the payroll vendor HCM as the core HR technology platform. Much of the implementation work involved automating integrations between the cloud-based applicant tracking, performance management, training, and timekeeping systems from different vendors. Solid change management played a key role in the company’s transition to the new model.

How Centri Can Help

Our team of experts provides a diverse range of solutions aimed at securing the success of your business. Achieving a successful transformation when implementing an adaptive HR operations delivery model and HR technology platform necessitates the harmonization of your business strategy, HR strategy, and technology strategy. This alignment is crucial for ensuring a seamless transition. A contemporary and flexible HR technology platform and HR operations delivery model serve as pivotal catalysts for enhancing both employee and manager experiences while boosting productivity to address the ever-evolving demands of your business. At Centri, our HR Advisory professionals are well-equipped to serve as a valuable resource, assisting you in the evaluation, selection, and implementation of a modern HR technology platform. Please contact us to learn how our experts can support your journey.

Ray Zaso

Senior Director | Human Resources Advisory Practice

Ray is a Senior Director at Centri Business Consulting. He has more than 30 years of Human Resources and Finance Strategy, Business Transformation and Technology Consulting experience. Throughout his career, he has assisted domestic and global clients address a...

Michael Warech

Managing Director | Human Resources Advisory Practice Leader | Ph.D.

Michael is a Managing Director at Centri Business Consulting and is the leader of the firm’s Human Resources Advisory Practice. He has more than 30 years of experience designing, developing, and implementing data-driven human capital...