So, here I am writing my first blog entry - EVER.   I have been selling/marketing/pitching software based solutions to the financial services market for over 20 years and all without the benefit of a blog.  I’ve picked up a few nuggets through those years that I hope will help Achievant become an industry leader at delivering HR based offerings like applicant tracking, HRIS and performance management.  All of these capabilities are tied together in what we refer to as Human Capital Management (HCM).  

One thing that has changed dramatically over 20 years is the trust factor between buyers and sellers.  Buyers are so skeptical today because they’ve been burned time and again by promises. Promises made easily in the sales process to be quickly forgotten during implementation.  Promises about go live dates that come and go as easily as when they were given.   Promises about stellar client support that delivers 24 hour turnaround.  That doesn’t sound stellar to me.  How is Achievant any different? 

A successful software solution organization really revolves around offering your clients three basic things.

1)      Software that works and supports fundamental business processes.

2)      Client service that’s responsive, honest and filled with best practices to make their business stronger.

3)      Promises that get delivered – give them a company they can trust.

Achievant strives to execute these tenets on a daily basis. 

Please notice nowhere in here did I mention cool cutting edge software, revolutionary rapid deployment methods or infrared Cisco routers that read your mind.  Now believe me, I understand promises are a part of doing business in the technology industry.  I’m just saying live up to them.     

So, in my blog I will offer insight into the way Achievant does business, offer my opinion of how software solutions should be marketed and sold and ultimately vent about whatever’s driving me nuts that day.  I hope you find this topical, valuable and most of all entertaining.

I had the best of intentions.  We purchased the coolest blog service from Compendium Blogware (www.compendiumblogware.com) and I was going to blog once a week and let the world know what my thoughts were on life, business, HR and brag a little about Achievant's success.  Well....it's 8 months later and I've written 5 blog entries.  I've fallen 27 entries short of my goal of once per week. Pathetic.

I feel like some of the organizations we're talking to about applicant tracking, HRIS and performance management. They bought some software with great hopes and expectations.  They were going to load their employee data, track time & attendance, do on-line benefits enrollment and automate their performance management review process all at the same time. Somewhere along the way their "day job" got in the way. We both needed more than just software - we both needed a partner invested in our success.

That's what makes Achievant so different from the rest.  We invest in our clients by ensuring they utilize our platform.  We invest in our clients by taking responsibility for getting the application up and running - loading employee data, configuring workflows, defining reports, training the organization and ensuring after the 90-120 day implementation period they can be proud of the decision they made.

I will have to say the Compendium has held us accountable to our initial promise and have been on-site recently to ensure a good kick in the pants.  They know how to partner and so does Achievant.....our clients will testify!

What’s the best way to monitor time and attendance?  Is it the honor system?  A swipe card system? Or, should we just trust that everyone’s working a full day?  What factor does trust play in your decision?  The answer clearly lies in the organization, role and position.  These are all good questions.  Regardless, each and every organization needs to make a conscious decision on how they are going to monitor time & attendance.

Not coincidentally, there are just as many vendors out there that can help you monitor your organizations time & attendance policy.  How do you make a choice?  Who’s the best?  What’s right for your organization?  Achievant is in the time and attendance business and I can offer a few things for you to consider.

1)  The overarching goal should be to accurately capture your employee’s time on the job – both hourly and salary.  In a perfect world time data gets sent to multiple systems including those that perform payroll and time off accruals.  Don’t over think the solution hoping to catch someone cheating you out of 15 minutes a day.  It’s much more important to have a seamless and integrated flow of data among the HR applications you’ve deployed.

2)  Your time and attendance needs to be flexible enough to meet the needs of your desk and floor staff.   One size definitely does not fit all.  Swipe and punch systems are the only real alternative for manufacturing/distribution/warehouse floor.  The desk environment can work well with pc based clock in and out.  However, both have a need to track and monitor your time off plans with an associated approval process.

3)  How does your time and attendance decision integrate into your human capital management (HCM) needs?  Most small and mid-sized companies are well served by deploying an integrated HCM platform and not best of breed solutions for applicant tracking, time and attendance, HRIS, learning management, performance management and benefits management.

All of this may seem obvious but when looking at time and attendance applications many organizations can get tunnel focused on finding the “best of breed” system and lose sight of how this application fits into the overall architecture of the HR infrastructure.  Take a step back to get a better view into your time and attendance decision.

With over 22 years in the software solution market I have seen a number of very well intentioned buyers (including myself) make some very poor decisions.  We are all under a level of pressure and stress that seems higher than any point in recent memory.  The fact that we are all immediately accessible with our state of the art treoberrycentro cell/email/contact device attached neatly to our hip doesn’t help.  It’s no wonder that when it comes time to make important software solution decisions that we can fall down on occasion.  So, with holiday spirit in mind I have written my own top 10 list.  I hope the Late Show can forgive me.

The top 10 things to keep in mind when making a software solution decision.

10)  Don’t let cost drive the decision.  It’s important but it’s also more expensive to make a switch after a poor decision.

9) Do compare to at least 2 others.  Doesn’t have to be a full blown RFP but make sure you know the market.

8) Don’t choose the “cool” application.  Make a substance based decision not one based on a killer demo.

7) Invest in the implementation budget.  You can’t do it yourself.  Don’t kid yourself – you have a day job.

6) Properly evaluate each company’s leadership team and talent pool.  Look for industry experience and success.  When you struggle, and you will, you need a team behind you that will ensure a positive project.

5) Don’t always make the safe choice – nobody ever gets fired for picking the industry leader, right?  They do if it doesn’t go well.

4) Talk to references.  If a company can’t find one or two organizations for you to talk to about their experience then beware.

3) Be realistic in your timelines. 

2) Prioritize your needs.  Make sure they align with your choice.  You’re only going to use 20-40% of whatever application you implement (think Word, Excel, your cell phone, etc…).  Make sure your choice aligns directly with your prioritized needs.

1) Character, integrity and track record matter.  There is nothing wrong with taking a chance but do it with the right company.

Why do companies make it so hard to do business with them?

In my experience, one of the most frustrating things for buyers to overcome is a vendor’s pricing model.  Deciphering the total cost of ownership (TCO) is often the most difficult thing to find out from a vendor.  Why?  Many organizations don’t really want you to understand the real TCO hoping to hide fees for integration modules or super deluxe add on versions of what you should be getting in the standard product.  Why? Because once you’re in – it’s very difficult to get out.  A client’s dissatisfaction with a vendor needs to be quite high in order to go through the pain associated with switching to another provider.  Software companies know this and use it to their advantage.

I am a big believer in the keep it simple model.   Whether it’s performance management, goal management, HRIS, training management or applicant tracking – you need to understand the value and cost associated with each module going into your relationship with Achievant.  If your Human Capital Management vendor’s pricing and licensing isn’t clear, concise and easy to understand then they’ve over engineered it – or worse yet, deceived you.