Purchasing a new enterprise-wide absence management software product is probably the most dangerous thing a company can do. Think of it – productivity, training, and maintenance are so bound up in the systems that employees use that any usability or functionality issues could spell hundreds of human resources hours to overcome (if you ever do). If you follow these steps, however, you should find a great product that helps to streamline your business processes.
1) First, find out what your absence management business processes are currently. Do a thorough audit of your tech capabilities and systems. Record all hardware and software systems that you current run or plan to acquire in the near future. Document your current attendance tracking and scheduling procedures. Make sure to consult with the folks who interact with the system the most. Record your company’s hours-of-work policy and pay procedures, and the step-by-step time and attendance admin details.
2) Create your requirements document for vendors. What are your technical needs – and your limitations? Sit down and figure out what you actually need the system to do for you. This is often the most neglected step in the process, even if it sounds simple.
3) Send out a Request for Proposal to at least five attendance tracking software vendors. Request a response that takes into consideration each of your itemized requirements. Specify that if they can’t meet the requirement they should lay out what it would take (in time and money) to implement it. Ask about cutting-edge developments in the industry. As the experts, the vendors are in much better touch with what’s available. If you can, retain a consultant who can’t bid to review the technical offerings with you. Vendors will use acronyms and fancy graphics – get somebody who understands the attendance system industry and can cut through the cruft.
4) Call your shortlist and get them to present. Ask for high-level overviews and a general budget proposal. Pay close attention to the company’s values and dynamics – do they present as a team, or is each module presented separately? This is – seriously! – an important indicator of how well the system’s components will integrate too. Specify that you would really love to see both a software engineer and workflow management expert on the presentation team, not just the sales group.
5) Select vendors like you’d select employees – focus on great references, and a winning personality. Then send the winner a letter of intent subject to a reference check. One tip: make sure the reference can speak to the areas that are most important to your company specifically, and not just the vendor’s services in general.
6) If there’s no perfect fit, ask for a “proof of concept” period. Like a trial period with commercial software, negotiate a trial period for a nominal fee that will let you test the time tracking software. Analyze the results – if the time and attendance software does most things, ask the vendor if they can quote on specific modules / additions, if required – if you want it, other people might just want it too!
7) Enjoy! Satisfaction with new absence management software often starts out with huge expectations; employees hope that it will function much better than the old system, and it should. However, new is scary, so this is often followed by despair as use brings users down to earth. An adjustment period always has a learning curve, which is often painful. But your users’ experience will level out, and within a few months staff will begin to understand the new system’s strengths and capabilities, and use them to the fullest!
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