Business ‘As Usual’ : Remote HR Tech Implementations and what's working

Accelerating digitisation and making deeper investments in HR Technology is more critical today than ever before. Because in these extraordinary times, HR Tech is no longer just a system of record, but the nerve-centre for not just business continuity but employee well being as well. 

But unlike ‘normal’ on-site HR implementation projects, remote digital transformations demand more. There is no longer the familiar territory of implementations or good practice guidelines or role modelling in person that can be relied on for any rookie implementation consultant in front of the client. But while our means and natural (work) habitats may have changed, our ambitions and outcomes shouldn’t.

Here are some best practices we learnt for all the remote implementations that we did for customers in the thick of the crisis. So they don’t have to keep waiting for ‘normal’ . We hope this gives you some comfort, clarity, ideas and essential resources to drive a successful remote implementation. And breaks the myth that “it can only happen in person” for it to be successful. 

Replace the Watercooler Conversations with Coffee-on-a-Call

Implementations are all about coming together and working as a ‘team’ for a short period of time. When you’re physically present, cohabitating a project room for long hours each day - there’s a certain comfort, a relationship, a rhythm that gets built. You learn about energy, pace, preferences, boundaries, etc. But when the same thing has to happen remotely, there are no longer smoke breaks or any watercooler conversations happening. It’s just work, work & work from the word go. Which, believe it or not, is more counterproductive than you thought. So if you truly want to quantify productivity, invest in those ‘ice-breakers’ between the teams. Plan for a hang-outs call every week, to just hang out. Keep it unscripted, and focus on purely building a ‘team’. It will not just help increase trust but also inculcate a culture of proactively having discussions and enjoying each other’s company; not necessarily connecting only when there is something to discuss.

Run A Tight Ship - Have a Water-tight Project Plan

Project management is one of the most critical pieces in any successful project. And in a remote implementation, it assumes even more importance and responsibility. So make sure to have a robust Project Plan (in an always visible mode) from Day Zero, in collaboration with the technology partner team. Identify your Project Sponsor, Project Manager & other contributing roles in the organisation. Build a Responsibilities Charter for each of the above roles and communicate when their bandwidth will be required. Block calendars for Milestone Reviews and Governance calls. Freeze Status Briefing Templates & Frequency, and an Escalation Matrix with SLAs for the partner & internal team. 

Reimagine The Process - Create a Space for Ideation

The ideation phase is another make-or-break aspect that determines the success of any project. So how does one have a fool-proof plan for remote process mapping/ideation? Be it discovering a brand new process design or leveraging whiteboarding tools like Mindmeister for brainstorming - the answer better be thought through ahead of time. Some things worthy of attention that come to mind include, preparing a list of data sets to be gathered, gathering as-is process maps and ensuring sufficient ideation for desired state, documenting rigorously the gaps and implications for stakeholder sign-off, UAT testing and giving quality assurance & readiness, and defining the to-be state of the IT landscape and new system integrations along with target dates.

When In Doubt, Over-communicate

There are updates that get delivered and conversations that are fairly seamless across the table. But require additional effort and proactiveness when done in remote mode. So communicate liberally but plan those communications well to avoid fatigue or burn-out. Use a project tracker. Call out minute details. Create a status update email and circulate it across the internal team as well as technology partner team. Build a virtual Implementation War Room by adding all stakeholders to one Whatsapp messaging group. Procure exclusive video conferencing platform licenses for uninterrupted collaboration. Establish a secure folder structure for file sharing and archiving project updates, among others. 

Make Technology Work Harder For Your Business 

While planning, process mapping and project management are important pieces of the puzzle, nothing trumps change management. The buzz that could otherwise be created in the office premises with teasers, posters, danglers etc, need to now be replaced with Whatsapp creatives/GIFs/Tik Tok videos and explainer videos that can enable people to use the system effortlessly through the walkthroughs of different features. 

Let There Be Love (aka Adoption)

Leverage client leadership to make org-wide communications online on the value adds and merits of the new HR technology to maximise adoption. Also proactively plan extensive digital training sessions with the technology partner team, to deep dive into each module and give your workforce an adequate understanding of how to navigate the product. Additionally, you could even leverage internal pulse survey tools to access employee sentiment on the newly implemented system. The job is not done till the product is widely adopted and loved. 

While in the remote mode with so many distributed teams, it may need a few extra phone calls to ensure communication and alignment, a few more meetings to replicate the readiness, translate and deliver on all the commitments that were discussed and ensure unanimous adoption. The User Acceptance Testing may also be longer and more detail-oriented to close all the loops. But is it impossible to accomplish when all of the stakeholders are not sitting together in a room? Not quite. With just one extra mile, this marathon can be won. So for the greater glory get into your running shoes!

Go digitise away! Some detailed implementation stories in the link below :

https://hubs.ly/H0rLJC00