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Author: Nick Throp, Like Minds UK

31/05/2008

Attached: Gary Potter and the HR Portal of Doom.doc

Chapter One – The HR Professional Who Lived

Gary was no ordinary HR professional. He looked normal enough except for the lightning shaped scar right in the middle of his forehead. The scar that ached anytime anybody mentioned the introduction of new technology that would transform the HR function.

That’s because Gary was the HR Professional who had introduced an HR portal and lived to tell the tale. Quite how and why is the subject of this story.

Chapter Two – Hogwash School of Technological Wizardry

Gary attended the Hogwash School of Technological Wizardry. Here there was every conceivable system and product designed to transform the way an organisation worked. From portal software through web front ends of HR management 1nformation systems to plug and play applications, the possibilities were endless.

This was what made life at Hogwash so complex. Which system would deliver demonstrable value to the organisation? What was affordable? Which would integrate most effectively with the existing technology infrastructure? Should Gary go for a major technology implementation or look to enhance HR’s online offering in incremental steps?

Gary had done his homework. He knew that many organisations had struggled with the implementation of technology. He had been to the library and knew that:

of those organisation that had introduced corporate portals, only 10-20% offered employee or manager self service
very few offered deep transactional capabilities, so the technology was not being used to its full potential
the speed and efficiency of the implementation had been problematic.

Businesses were beginning to ask the difficult question – what are we getting for our money? Gary had to find out the truth.

Chapter Three – The Case Study Mirror

Every step that Gary took seemed to lead him further into a maze of decisions and choices. The teachers at Hogwash were not particularly helpful either. For example, Professor Quarrel of the Technological Dark Arts class never explained things in simple terms.

Gary never knew enough about the Technological Dark Arts to know quite what was possible and what was not. Either way, the resources of the Technological Dark Arts department always seemed to be allocated to other priorities in the organisation. He needed help and he needed it quickly.

Gary decided that experience would be his best teacher and so he went to the room where he knew he would find the Case Study Mirror. The Case Study Mirror showed how some organisations had succeeded in implementing HR technology solutions.

Gary sat himself down and gazed into the glass of the mirror. A fog seemed to obscure his reflection and then, through the gloom, Gary saw the story of the successful implementation of an HR portal for a large IT organisation played out in front of his eyes.

This is what he saw…

A clear business case with measureable goals had been set at the beginning of the project
A senior business sponsor was put in charge (not IT and not HR)
Quick wins were identified and prioritised
Knowledge management was a key driver of business success and HR content was delivered alongside access to important intellectual capital
Users – both managers and employees – were consulted about what they would find most useful in terms of content
Lots of transactional capability was made available and, importantly, the HR processes that the technology supported were re-engineered to provide cost savings
A full scale launch was developed with an ongoing communication programme to encourage usage and change behaviours.

The mist descended again. This was ok but he still did not know how to go about developing the business case to begin with.

Chapter 4 – Mapping The Mysteries of ROI

Gary knew that he had to discover the key business drivers that would make the organisation sit up and take notice of what an HR portal could offer. At that moment he bumped into Professor Albert Stumblemore, Headmaster and CEO of Hogwash.

“Gary, when you don’t know where you’re going, it’s sensible to get a map,” Stumblemore commented cryptically and handed him a piece of parchment entitled The Mysteries of ROI (Return on Investment).

“For each organisation it is different, Gary. The map shifts depending on those applications that will deliver most value to the organisation in the shortest period of time. There are four key dimensions…

How does the business make investment decisions and measure their success?
What areas of the HR service can most easily and cost effectively be moved online?
What is your technology infrastructure and what possibilities does it offer?
How ready are your organisation and your people for this change?

“Take, for example, this global leader in adhesives and office products that was exploring the development of an enterprise-wide portal and was looking to HR to provide high-impact applications that would deliver real return on investment. Within the organisation there were different camps – some advocating the extension of their existing HR information system and some the purchase of other portal products. Rather than start by evaluating the competing web products, the organisation created its own ROI map.

“The result was a strategic plan that introduced applications in the areas of performance management, career development, succession planning and communication, building on existing systems and creating process improvements.”

“Thanks, Professor Stumblemore,” Gary said as he rushed off to the dorm. Gary knew a wizard consultancy that had done this kind of work before and, through enlisting some of their tools, knowledge and experience he plotted out an ROI map of his own for Hogwash that looked something like this.

Chapter 5 – The Organisation With Two Faces

Now he knew where he was going, he just needed to get there. One of the biggest challenges that Gary faced was the culture in which HR operated. While “People are our biggest asset” was much-quoted, the prevailing culture of the organisation was driven by the financial section of the Balanced Score Card.

Gary decided to take the culture question head-on. He interviewed all the key stakeholders – including the Head of Financial Wizardry and the Head of Technological Dark Arts.

He also spoke with Snipe, the Head of Operations. Snipe was the biggest cynic in relation to HR and Gary knew that he had to get him on board. Snipe’s agenda was all about delivering profitability (a key measure in his performance plan for the year). So Gary made the case as clearly as he could around how the HR portal could deliver cost efficiencies and explained that progress would be incremental and would not require one huge investment.

He consulted his fellow pupils about how they saw the HR service being delivered both now and in the future. What were the processes that they most valued and which one did they currently find most frustrating? Through these discussions, Gary developed a vision of how technology could support HR in delivering a higher value service to the business.

Now it was time to consult the Fuggles.

Chapter 6 – The Fuggles

The Fuggles were often forgotten about in major technology projects but it was they that had to use the new systems and it was a change in their attitudes and behaviours that would determine success or otherwise.

The Fuggles were the non-magic people – the managers and employees that actually made the organisation function. If the HR portal were to work then Gary knew that it had to deliver real value to this group.

In addition to focus groups and work studies, Gary involved Fuggle users throughout the process of developing and delivering more content and functionality. When it came to launch the portal, Gary could be certain that this tool would be of real benefit and use to employees and managers and not just shift an administrative burden from HR to this already over-stretched resource.

What he needed now was a proper communication programme so that when the portal was launched, people would use the new technology. This programme had the following stages…

Creating awareness – the HR portal is coming
Developing understanding – this is what it will do for you
Building acceptance – this is how you use it to best effect
Getting action – now use it, because this is the only channel now to access certain information and services.

Chapter 7 – The House Cup

So, through a combination of planning, intelligence, bravery and sheer stubbornness, Gary launched the HR portal, to the resounding cheers of his colleagues. He had not tried to do everything at once. He had decided which areas of functionality were the easiest to move online and which had the most value for the business and its people.

He had proved the case from a financial point of view and was measuring the cost savings associated with this new way of delivering HR services. Perhaps most importantly of all, he had taken people with him on his magical journey and now online was just “the way things are done around here.”

Gary smiled with satisfaction as Professor Stumblemore handed him the House Cup and Bagrid, the simple but good-hearted Keeper of Keys at Hogwash and well-known technophobe, turned to him and said…

“Gary, I’d say this makes you a proper HR professional – and a thumping good one at that.”

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