After you have completed some preliminary HRIS research, identified your HRIS needs, and prepared a short list of potential vendors you may work with, it’s time for the HRIS demo and trial phases. These can be the fun portion of the entire project, where you finally get to view some software in action and start to visualize how your workplace will function with the new technology.
It’s important to keep a few points in mind during these phases, to avoid getting sidetracked and buying something that doesn’t fit.
Prepare a Spreadsheet with Needs and Priorities
Before viewing any demos or testing software, prepare a spreadsheet with priorities listed and ranked. Compiling the fruits of your labors in a neat list will help you stay on task and avoid any distractions caused by flashy design elements or features. Having these notes on hand may also help you remember to ask vendor representatives certain questions.
Ask the Right Questions
Vendor representatives and associates may obtain a commission for sales or otherwise benefit from selling software or service, even if it doesn’t fit your needs. Be aware of this and practice caution with “yes-men” that try to direct your attention towards the good points of the system.
They may also pacify you, by answering in the way they think you prefer. Always dig for details on all fronts and make sure that you don’t leave out any important questions.
Understand Who You’re Dealing With
Sometimes you may deal with vendor sales associates. Other times, you may deal with customer service, or with representatives that ordinarily assist with training. Knowing who you are dealing with can help put their script into context so that you can understand what can be learned from them and what can’t.
Knowing who you are dealing with may also help set your expectations for the future of working with a particular company.
Test Drive the System Hard
During the trial phase, you should really get to know how the HRIS will work for you in the long run. Take the time to use the system as it will be used, intentionally making errors and seeing how easy they are to fix. It’s also important that you perform functions from a variety of different access levels to test security.
Check the numbers for accuracy and be sure to dive into recruitment, succession planning, progress tracking, training modules, and anything else that the system includes or accesses.
Let Employees in on Trials
If employees from different departments outside of HR will use the HRIS after it goes live, bring a select few in on the trial. This will seem like a novelty to the chosen employees, which may help to drum up enthusiasm and anticipation.
Their experiences will also provide great feedback for you, so it’s of utmost importance to ask employees to provide detailed notes about what they did during the trial and how they felt about the software. Then, you can compile this information and use it to select the best system for your workplace.
If you would like to set up some HRIS software demos or trials, we can help. Visit our HRIS software match page to get started.
