YOUR GUIDE To choosing an Employee Management System

YOUR GUIDE To choosing an Employee Management System

Introduction Crown Computing is the UK s leading supplier of Workforce Administration and Management solutions to medium-to-large organisations in both private and public sectors. Our experience in Time & Attendance and the broader aspects of Employee Management and Time Accounting applications is exceptional and this is reflected in our client base, which includes major organisations such as BAE Systems, Salvesen Logistics, ITN and several large Local Authorities. Our mission is to provide our customers with the very best systems to optimise the investment they make in their workforce. With our help, customers will identify areas where improvements are required and where costs can be saved resulting in improved productivity, better customer service and success in the market place. 2

What is an Employee Management System? Traditional Time and Attendance Systems have developed considerably over the years. Technological advancements have led to more comprehensive management solutions that not only record when and where employees are working, to manage sickness, absence and overtime, but can also interface with payroll and HR systems. Additional functionality has also been added to provide more rounded workforce management suites that may include access control facilities, activity management, workforce scheduling and rostering, web-based employee self service facilities, data warehousing and time accounting to recharge employee time. What is the trigger to looking for a new Employee Management System? Your current system may be creaking at the seams and causing your staff more problems than it is solving. You may have grown in structure and style since last reviewing your time and attendance system. You will probably want to take advantage of the latest technology. You need meaningful management information to measure staff performance rather than just checking when they started and finished work. Any one of the above issues and probably a mixture of others could be the reason why you are considering a new Employee Management System. Whatever the driving force to increase employee and company value, the decision will be a major investment in your company s productivity. As a consequence you need to consider carefully your requirements before choosing a system. This guide has been compiled to help you through this process. By consulting many companies, who have recently undergone the same task, we have compiled an independent guide to provide an objective view and help you in your evaluation. 3

Phase 1-What do you want? You will be aware of the issues to be resolved and you now need to define what you want from a system. The Evaluation You should start by evaluating the processes, departments and divisions to which you wish to apply the new Employee Management System. For example: Review your current data such as time records and performance statistics to see where you are falling short. Identfy inefficient processing functions where data is re-keyed and disparate data sources are consolidated for management reporting. Review your employment rules and how these will need to be handled. The Wish List From the evaluation create a wish list of critical factors you will require from a new system. Identify those that you will need when the system is first implemented and a timetable for the introduction of the others. Take this opportunity to consult all departments to ensure their plans are covered in your list. For example, what is the structure and strategy of the current computer and/or manual systems and how will these impact on your requirements. Critical factors often forgotten are: What do the users want from the system? What functionality do they expect? How will it fit in to their day-to-day activities? 4

The Statement of Requirements Once you have completed the evaluation process you will be able to produce a statement of requirements, which should be approved by key personnel. To help you through this phase we have developed a checklist, which can be found at the back of this booklet and should provide you with a good starting point. Phase 2 How do you find the System? From the companies we consulted this seems to be the most difficult phase the initial problem being how to find the right companies with suitable products. In response we recommend the following information sources: web searches, product and service listings in key directories and magazines, HR exhibitions and events and references from companies already using employee management systems. Phase 3 Invite Suppliers to Tender From the information gained in Phases 1 and 2 you will be able to pull together a high level tender document. This will define your authority, budget, timescales, information and presentation requirements. The clarity of details at this stage will pay dividends when you are evaluating potential suppliers and should help to make sure they understand your requirements GOOD SUPPLIERS WILL ASK FOR MORE DETAIL. Whilst you are awaiting their responses, ask your financial and legal advisers to make a high level assessment of the stability and potential longevity of each supplier. Phase 4-First Stage Product Evaluation and Demonstration Once the suppliers have submitted their responses to the tender invitation, request a workshop style demonstration of the two or three systems, which seem to match your requirements most closely. Ensure you request a demonstration that is specific to your agenda and has been tailored to the critical factors that emerged from the evaluation. Larger organisations may prefer a number of function related demonstrations to gain a thorough understanding of the products full capabilities. 5

To clearly identify the comparative strengths and weaknesses of each product use the list of requirements compiled during Phase 1 and a simple scoring system. To help you we have detailed a simple system on page 10. It is essential to be aware of the ultimate users of the system and how best each product meets their requirements. Invite key people from different areas to be involved in the specification and evaluation process. Ask these people to note any features of each system which would be particularly useful, but which were not included in your initial specification. This approach will provide you with a clearer view of each system s capabilities. Identify for each system, which of your requirements are met by standard features and their ease of use. Also ascertain the company s implementation procedures. What project planning, implementation and training services do they offer and how will they ensure the system is up and running within the required timescales? Don t be afraid to ask searching or apparently stupid questions. The way suppliers respond will help you build a true picture of them and their product. Finally it can be difficult when looking for a new system to identify and understand exactly how a system will meet your needs, so obtain expert advise whenever possible. Phase 5-Company Visit and Customer References The First Stage Product Evaluation should identify two or three suppliers with the correct credentials. You should now take time to assess their ability to deliver on their promise. Visit their offices; see how stable, successful and forward thinking they appear; speak to development and implementation staff; check out in detail the financial position of each supplier. 6

Ask for customer references and speak directly to them or if relevant visit them to get an objective view of the suppliers strengths and weaknesses and their ability to deliver on their promises. Also ask how existing customers use the product in practice and how it meets their own requirements. Phase 6 - Refine the Specification and Scoring Criteria At this stage your attention to detail in the early specification and your ability to get the users to buy into the process will pay dividends. Additional features that were identified by users during the product demonstrations can be added to the original specification and other elements can be refined. This together with your scoring system should produce definitive selection criteria to suit both the needs of the business and users. Phase 7 Final Evaluation and Tailored Demonstrations It is critical at this stage to ensure that you are confident of your requirement specification and the supplier s ability to meet it. Ask the shortlist of suppliers to provide a detailed product demonstration to cover any areas of doubt you or the users may have. Where your requirements have not been met ascertain how the supplier will over come these. Revisit the company if necessary, ask more questions and look beyond your initial thoughts and requirements. Any worthwhile, long term supplier should have an understanding of the future additions planned for the product and additional features or modules that could be added to your system as the needs of your business develop. Finally gain a thorough understanding of how the company will implement your system and what will be required of you and your users to ensure it s smooth introduction. Also assess the ongoing support, helpdesk and training facilities available. Don t be fooled by suppliers who offer scanty training and limited implementation services. 7

Phase 8-Final Selection Your final selection will be dependent upon the supplier s achievement against your scoring criteria and the final evaluation. It is likely that you will have no more than two suppliers at this stage and your only remaining decisions will be price and delivery. By this stage you should have established a relationship and rapport with the supplier which should provide a feeling of trust. Review your scoring criteria, not just system functionality but also system implementation services and post installation support and don t forget to trust your instincts. Phase 9 - Implementation Planning You will now have made a decision on your preferred supplier. At this final stage your supplier should be working with you to ensure the smooth implementation of your new system. Experienced professional suppliers will understand the complexities of introducing a new system to an organisation. Phase 10 How long will it take? Obviously this depends on the size and complexity of the project. However, a poll of customers suggests a range of three to six months. Checklist for Choosing your new Employee Management System. 1. The Supplier 8 Obtain a copy of the company s latest financial statement/annual report. Obtain a copy of the company s client list and case studies identifying those in your market. Obtain a list of clients, which will act as reference sites. What is the company s mission, history and scope of services? Is the company s ownership and financial strength satisfactory? What level of expertise does the company have in your market place? Does the company have expertise in interfacing with related systems already in use with in your business such as MIS, HR and Payroll? Does the company own all of the software and source code?

Does the company have an ongoing Research and Development plan Where is the company and the relevant departments located? Does the company understand the relevant legal regulations and directives? Does the company provide software and hardware (if needed)? Does the company have ISO9001 approval? 2. The System Environment On which hardware platforms can the system operate? Which operating and/or networking environments are supported? Which databases are supported? Will the system operate in any existing hardware environment? If you need new hardware will the company supply and support it? Do you have to buy the complete system or only the modules you require If modular can you easily add additional modules at a later date? If modular, is the data environment integrated or does each module require it s own separate data? How secure is the system? 3. System Functionality Make a list of the functions you require from your new system and identify which are required with the initial implementation and, with a timetable, which you require at later dates. To assist you there is a checklist in the inside back cover of this booklet. 4. Service and Support Functions What implementation and project management services are available? What training facilitates does the supplier provide and what are the costs? Does the company provide training at its site and/or on your site? Is there a good quality user manual or easy to find and understand on screen help? Does the supplier have data conversion routines for your old system or will you need to enter the data manually? 9

Can changes to work patterns and work rules be made by your staff or do they have to be made by the supplier? Is the post implementation evaluation a standard function? What are the options for post-implementation service and support? Do they provide a comprehensive maintenance contract? Where are your contacts and support teams located? How knowledgeable is the help desk support team? How quickly do they deal with your queries? If on-site support is provided, how fast is the response and what will be charged? Possible scoring system for use with the checklist opposite For each item or function identify its priority. For example A Must have (x 3) B - Should Have (x 2) C Nice to have (x 1) Set up a scoring system for these items and functions making sure it is simple but covers all the settings you want. A possible scoring system might be: 4 = meets requirements exactly with standard functions 3 = mostly meets requirements with standard functions 2 = meets requirements with ad-hoc query and report facilities 1 = partly meets requirements with either standard or ad hoc facilities 0 = does not meet requirements A similar scoring system may be applied to other areas of the selection process such as supplier factors, and service and support functions. Record your scores in a Checklist Table, such as the one illustrated opposite, for each of the suppliers. All users involved in the selection process should record their scores in order for you to make an accurate assessment. 10

System Checklist ITEM CROWN SUPPLIER 2 SUPPLIER 3 Number of Employees Supported Number of Users Number of Web Based Users Choice of Time Clock Hardware Platform/Operating System Database Management System Ease of Use Modules/Functions Clocking In and Out Work Patterns Attendance Determination Attendance Exceptions Overtime Absences Disciplinary Rules Holidays Flexitime Annualised Hours Payments User Enquiries and Reports Working Time Regulations Resource Planning Payroll Interface HR Interface Periodic Database Summary Health and Safety Employee Activity Recording Staff Rostering/Scheduling Time Accounting for Re-charging Employee Time Employee Self Service Integrated Desktop/Electronic Timesheets Access Control Open/Integration Data Import/Export Remote Capabilities Multiple Sites Microsoft Accreditation Reporting Tools Standard Data Outputs Interrogation Tools/ Ease of use Web Browser Access Data Conversion From Old System Managed Service Offering Published Prices Support Service Implementation Service

Crown Computing Limited Amber Close Tamworth Business Park Amington Tamworth Staffordshire B77 4RP Tel: 01827 64111 Fax: 01827 60525 Email: sales@crowncomputing.co.uk www.crowncomputing.co.uk We would like to thank all of our clients who helped with the compilation of this guide, in particular Lloyds TSB Registrars.