A Quick Guide for Propelling Your Department into the New Frontier:

Plan the Project

Now that you understand what you have, it’s time to define the project. 

Consider some of the core Goals hallenges, then build your Project to address them:

Sample Core Challenges w/Goals:

Challenge: We handle too much paper:

The entire department is mired in paperwork from vacancy requests to approvals, Principals receive photocopied Applicant info packets, the applicant files are stuffed with Background checks, credit checks, Referrals, etc. and Filing tasks are excessive.

Goal: Go Paperless with all Hiring tasks and approvals. Consolidate all data gathered from tasks into a single, trusted database so that all information is easy to access.

Challenge: Hiring is difficult:

Too much time is spent looking for Applicants with specific credentials, Principals waste time interviewing applicants that aren’t properly suited for the job, Inter and Intra-office paperwork procedures are cumbersome and slow, and Job Postings aren’t updated timely.

Goal: Use electronic system to post jobs, manage applicants and provide useful search and lookup tools. Integrate all hiring approvals and paperwork so that every aspect of hiring is current and accessible.

Challenge: Lots of Data, not enough information:

You’ve got LOTS of data from various sources but it’s placed in hardcopy files so evaluations, referrals, reference checks, CRC info, etc. are hard to manage and share with principals. 

Employee and applicant information is manually entered into multiple systems and the duplicate effort is time consuming and wasteful.  If this were consolidated into a cohesive structure, a big picture of each employee would be easier to view.

Goal: All information needed to hire an applicant is on-line and when hired, the data is sent automatically to payroll systems and sub-calling system. 

Now you can build a list of implementation tasks and define the order of events and which tasks logically can be be grouped together.

For example:

• HRMS/Finance system

  • Needs to connect/interface with...

• Applicant Tracking

  • Needs to connect/interface with...

• Employee Records

  • Need to be Paperless

• Substitute Management

  • Needs to receive data from...

• Applicant Tracking

One thing to think about: Data should have a structured record of control and be consolidated wherever possible so that information is presented in the most effective manner possible. 

 Implementation

Embrace the Project.  You have a vision, you’ve investigated what you have, identified issues and pinpointed challenges, now, it’s time to determine what can be done.  Begin by discussing your goals and challenges with vendors, then start the optimization process.  Start by defining the projects’ scope and the expected results.

For example:

• Information Availability

• Paperwork Reduction

• Approval Automation

Put your team in place, define Project Managers, Project Teams and define their responsibilities.  Next, decide on who does the actual work.  Select vendors offer consultation services, flexibility, custom systems integration and other services and they may also have existing data exchange solutions for HRMS, Finance and other HR products.  Your IT department may also be a source of these services – but their schedule may be a challenge to work with.

Bottom-line; your job is to coordinate the vendors and to manage your project management team.