HR Software Case Study

HR Software Case Study

Cascade HR helps streamline APM Group s HR processes and procedures by introducing Cascade s.net HR solution. Emma Vernon, HR Advisor, from the APM Group led the project to implement Cascade s.net HR Solution. APMG Overview The APM Group (APMG) accredits professional managers. We provide the infrastructure and professional expertise for any organisation wishing to establish a certification or qualification process for knowledge-based workers. Industry Professional Services. Organisation Size APMG employs approximately 100 staff. Business Challenge Empower HR so less time is spent on repetitive and monotonous administration. Solution Online based e-hr system with self-service capability for all employees internationally. Results Tackling real HR issues, rather than wading through tons of paperwork and waiting for inefficient processes to kick in. Interest Areas Core HR Workflow System Designer Self Service Key Services Project Management User Training System Consultancy Implementation Services Workflow Consultancy Data Migration Core Technologies Microsoft SQL Platform Microsoft.NET

Business Need Used to have all employee data backed up on Excel spreadsheets or paper based files. Every process was paper based which meant potential for delay or being lost within the system. More and more time was being spent on administration due to increasing headcount. Information was difficult to analyse and took too much time to produce any meaningful reports. Online based e-hr system with self-service capability for all employees internationally. Empower HR so less time is spent on repetitive and monotonous administration. Selecting the preferred supplier Emma comments I attended the CIPD Software Show back in 2007 and talked to various vendors and watched presentations. I then requested information from each of the vendors and arranged first demonstrations with myself and the MIS Manager. I used the Acceptance Criteria shortlist to whittle down 10 providers to a final few including Cascade. This really helped us as we had a clear view of our business needs and whether each of the systems could meet this. From 10 we shortlisted to three and had second demonstrations where the CEO and management team could view and rate the system. Finally when we opted for Cascade I visited a local organisation that had implemented Cascade who provided a reference. This was invaluable as the opinions are straight from the HR professionals that used Cascade day to day. Cascade was particularly useful as they demonstrated on a live version of a product we asked whether the system could do something and then it was demonstrated in real terms how this could happen. Ultimately Cascade s organisational culture was similar to that of APMG. I believe both can be classified as medium sized organisations but not in terms of ambition!

Preparing for the Project Project Initiation Meeting (PIM) Emma comments For our PIM we had myself, the HR & International Manager and MIS Manager involved. Our CEO unfortunately had a prior engagement but Aileen held a separate teleconference to answer any questions he had. The more information you can bring to the table the better, for example our Business Case helped form the Project Initiation Document as we had a clear idea of our business needs and expected benefits. It s also worth considering how and when you want to roll out each module for us we wanted managers and employees to benefit nearly as soon as HR did! Data Migration Emma continues In terms of data, it took a while to translate my garbled spreadsheets and paper based records into Excel but with the deadline in place the expectations were clear from the outset. Cascade had a template in place so it was a simple enough task, just lengthier due to having no historic HR system to export data from! Aileen (Cascade s Project Manager) as PM remained on hand for any queries as was the IT team at Cascade. Understanding Technology Emma continues, I d imagine most HR departments are in the same position, it was essential to get IT s buy-in. By showing that HR would own and control the system and therefore would only leave the set-up of the servers to IT, this meant no additional workload for them. Therefore I d advise people to involve IT as early as possible, if you can get them involved at the demonstration stage even better. Rolling out Module by Module Emma continues This was a very quick process, following on from sign off the plan and Project Initiation Document (PID) were drafted which gave guidance for HR and IT as to when the deadlines would be, for example preparing the data for transfer. We gave Aileen the deadlines as Project Manager and the PID was drafted around this it was tailored to us as an organisation and not prescribed. After Cascade had been installed and during the pre-requisite checks, it was merely a matter of sustaining the Excel spreadsheets until our training the following week. This was relatively simple as it allowed me to practice entering the data during our hands on training the following week. It took a matter of minutes to work through adding an absence as a complete novice.

Week 1: 22/09/2008 Cascade Installed onto APMG Server Week 2: 29/09/2008 APMG Data Transferred into Cascade Database Week 3: 06/10/2008 Core System Administrator Training Self Service Configured Week 4: 13/10/2008 Self Service Rolled out to Managers and Employees Rolling out Module by Module We opted for Core HR, Self Service and System Designer initially, with Workflow a month later and then Training and Survey in the first quarter of this year. The modular approach worked very well for us as it allowed APMG to opt for a phased approach and gain confidence in using the system effectively. We distributed plans to the Management Team as soon as possible and held a number of in house sessions for employees people knew that Cascade was coming! And also why it would make their lives infinitely easier rather than waiting for weeks for a holiday form to be processed! Benefits Gained Emma comments We are planning on issuing a staff survey to all employees internationally, according to category such as manager, employee, HR user. Ultimately would like to look into cost savings compared to the figures originally suggested in the business case however it s evident that I m not spending so much time on administration any more! Cascade has been well received within APMG, the ability to draw up a report using the Query Builder function meant that I had data for the CEO within 10 minutes, rather than the 2 hours which he had expected. Ultimately we have achieved our aim as a department on tackling real HR issues, rather than wading through tons of paperwork and waiting for inefficient processes to kick in. Further Information Other useful FREE documents available on Cascade s Website, www.cascadehr.co.uk, include; Free Buyers Checklist written by Lisa Price, Director of Group HR at the Tenet Group. Free System overview document with functionality illustrated with screen shots Free video with brief overview of our solution