Josh -- Good question.

In my experience, a great HCM solution should be integrated into other enterprise data stores such as a ERP.

We found that that the information about our people is the most valuable when combined with relevant information from across the business. (The kind of information that is usually maintained in a CRM or ERP).

We've been working on a lot of integration of technologies throughout 2008, and have seen very significant ROI (although we've also seen very significant up-front investment).

We ended up (recently) choosing to implement our own homegrown HCM platform that integrates deeply with everything else we have. We didn't find much out on the web that would give us the granularity and the level of integration we were looking for with our other systems.

After all, we are a service business and a 'knowledge company.' So that level of complexity is really important for us to get a handle on how effective our employees are. If we were a different kind of business, I could see how an 'over-the-counter' solution might work well for us.

In terms of web-based or in-house -- ours is web-based, for universal and mobile access. In terms of modules worth purchasing, we found that the only thing that was worth paying for was integration with email and calendaring (for which we chose Google Apps and MS Exchange). All other functionality was eventually built in-house.

Our case may be somewhat unique -- since building software is a core competency for us (as we build systems like this for our clients all the time).

Hope that's useful!

Best,
Adil Wali

Links:

• http://www.richappsconsulting.com/

posted 10 months ago

Josh,

This depends on the problem that you are trying solve. There are two different issues at hand that need to be evaluated. First, you have the task(s) that the person is responsible for performing. If they left tomorrow - I really mean that they do not show up - do you know EVERYTHING they do and how it is done to a high level of excellence?

Second, is the person themselves. What kind of skills and personal characteristics make them such a valuable player?

If you don't have answers to these two questions you can never build a great team or company regardless of what kind of software you use.

Take a look at the book I just recently wrote that addresses these issues. You can download the eBook version for free by entering your name and email in the site below. Or the printed version is for sale at Borders and Amazon - but I am offering to save you $24.95.

Hope this helps,
Mike

Links:

• http://ftiglobal.com/fti/contact_us.asp
• http://theultimatebusinessplaybook.com/ubp/authors.asp

posted 10 months ago

Hi Josh,
A lot of problems and maintenace efforts are the result if you don't have HR integrated (and I mean tightly) with the other business processes. That is of course logical because people ar alomst everywhere involved in these processes by means of their fysical being or because of the funds and costs they are generating. I have done implementation with best-of-breed HR solutions and always come up with the problem that you have to define interfaces, that you have to invest on knowledge on the specific needs of that application, while their is knowledge in place for let us say the ERP system in place.
Especially with ERP systems you often have the HR software there and can be used against reasonable extra costs.You only have to configure it.
Looking at payroll for instance.Within the ERP environment all bokkings are handled automatically taking care for the regulation sthat are part of these transactions (SOX). With best-of-breed you shall have to built something to be able to handle these bookings.
Also with logistics , projects, manufacturing and distribution the HR component is tightly involved (you often see with no integrated HR is that HR functionality and data is copied in those systems, delivering you with all the problems of redundant data).
There is a lot more to say for integrated HR. If you are interested, you can reach me on gijs@houtzagers.com or g.houtzagers@kirkmancompany.com.
Regards

posted 10 months ago

I would prefer to have Human Capital Management software - Integrated. There are certain reasons which show benefits of integrated HCM.

Here, i would like to distinguish the terms 'Automate' and 'Informate'.

Automate : The term “automate” describes how the use of IT can save
mental or physical labour in the management of data.

Informate : The term “informate” to explain how IT ``tools'' can generate new
sorts of information, where information is yielded as a by-product, thus generating new streams of information'' (Zuboff, 1988, p. 9).

In the past, organizations deployed ERP software to gain internal efficiency in back-office operations, such as manufacturing, accounting, HCM, financial management, and purchasing. Such technological investments helped management reduce costs. But today’s businesses can no longer rely on automating back-office processes to achieve top-line growth and bottom-line
improvements.

It is correct that "Informate" Derives from and builds on, automation. Automation is necessary but not sufficient condition for informating.

When technology informates HR processes, it enhance the explicit information content of task and sets in motion a series of dynamics that can ultimately reconfigure the nature of HR functions.

Informate approach enable manager to integrate their business oriented objectives with wider corporate objective.

Senior Management and HR department could have access to integrated data from across the enterprise thus enabling their join involvement in strategic Human Resource Planning.

An integrated HRIS helps the potential for the flexible and imaginative use of stored, personal data, which can in turn encourage a transformation of both the people management style used and the role of personnel/HR department.

posted 10 months ago

With the experience that i have with my clients, i really feel that the integration would not be a big issue at the medium level. In the hetrogeneous environment, the scalability could be the problem and still it can be solved with the available tools for the integration. So integrating HCM with ERP will not be an issue at all. But hwen you speak about the hosted model, definitely yes there are advatages over it. The customer would get benefits in terms of money, TCO, managebility and flexibility.

The trend would be surely the hosted model business to manage the business.

posted 10 months ago

Dear Josh
mmmmm you have more than one question ? and i have more than 23 pages to answer you .but i will do the best in my answer :
The concepts are straightforward – hire great people, ensure they are properly trained, reward top performance, and provide timely motivation to retain the best employees. While these are seemingly simple goals, implementing them successfully across a diverse and complex organization can be challenging. In fact, 94% of HR professionals do not feel their personnel are adequately prepared to meet their companies’ future goals, up significantly from previous years.
Leaders in all business functions – including CxOs, human resources professionals, and line-of-business managers – need accurate and accessible workforce information to make the right decisions to support these goals. To provide this level of visibility, organizations must integrate their Human Capital Management (HCM) – or people management – processes and information into a holistic business system.
HCM is the strategic approach to integrating and optimizing end-to-end workforce processes, including workforce planning, recruiting and hiring, performance, skills development and learning, succession planning, compensation and rewards, and employee records.
At the core of this strategic approach is the employee system of record, which includes employee data, talent profiles, jobprofiles, on-boarding best practices, and competencies. Thisinformation, once made consistent across the organization,feeds your critical HR business processes, facilitates the linkages across these processes, and ultimately enables improved business analysis and insight.
Softscape is uniquely positioned to help organizations with its single, integrated platform that connects end-to-end workforce processes and improves business insight.
Softscape Apex is the industry’s most comprehensive HCM platform that seamlessly links end-to-end workforce processes, improves reporting and business insight, offers a superior user experience, and drives business performance.
Through a single, integrated platform that is easy to use, Softscape Apex connects your critical workforce processes into a single, end-to-end system to more effectively plan, hire, align, manage, develop, motivate, retain, and analyze your high performing workforce.
Each suite has the capability of achieving organizational objectives when independently implemented. Implemented as a whole, the suites define a first-class, fully integrated HCM solution

posted 10 months ago