3 Tips for Great Software Implementations from #DTHR

In case you missed it, our very own CEO, Sean Pomeroy, was recently on the DriveThru HR podcast, where he covered a number of interesting topics regarding HR technology with hosts Bryan WempenNisha Raghavan and William Tincup including the false promise that alluring technology can often make, how to create team chemistry beyond technology, and the desire to get his open weekends back after having kids. But what we really loved was how he gave simple, smart tips about great software implementations (after all, that’s what we do).

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Don’t Fall for the New and Shiny

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the show was people need to begin stepping away from the idea that a piece of technology alone will solve a problem, and that once they have the latest and greatest in whatever process they’re trying to optimize, the solutions will quickly arise. Your search should begin with a solution to a problem and how technology can help fix that, not what new piece of tech you can use.

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“I remember someone telling me one time, ’nobody buys a drill because they want a drill. Nobody says gosh, I want the best drill ever! They buy a drill because they want a hole.’” – Sean Pomeroy, (@Sean_Pomeroy)

Don’t Always Aim For Perfection

One of the biggest issues the hosts cited when a group begins using a new technology is having to repeat part of the process after the company has become more well-acquainted with the tools. The core of the problem is communication, and neither the client nor the vendor are really at fault. Clients don’t always begin a project with a perfect strategy and can lose sight of the goal after seeing the bells and whistles. Better best practices brief, asking questions about what the client wished they had. The goal of perfection can interfere with the actual task.

Share on LinkedIn: “We’re getting ready to record a video library. We already have a lot of our items… and instead of trying to get everything perfect… I’m having my team try to have more fun with it. It’s okay if you cough in the middle, it’s okay if you have verbal slip here or there, or if something’s not perfect, and so I think these things help build a relationship between parties.” – Sean Pomeroy, (@Sean_Pomeroy)

Establish a Human Relationship With Clients

Vendors want to be considered collaborators, not just vendors. Can they ever become trusted advisors? According to Sean, they can. He looks at the process of a new hire as dating, and you have to give and take in a relationship. Visibility Software has what we call outbound tech support, where we ask a client if they have any questions about the software, or if anything’s bothering them. By letting the client know that the relationship works both ways, we’re able to foster better relationships with our clients and earn their trust. Don’t just keep selling to them. Don’t confuse support with sales.

“As a software technology user, I get tired of having an account person call me every month, and I start to say I have problem — ‘oh, you can open a case, you can call, you can do that’ Then I get a new guy for the tools we’re using every six months and he says ‘oh, do you have twenty minutes to meet?’ and the first thing that he asks is ‘how many more user seats do you need for this month, or this year?’” – Sean Pomeroy, (@Sean_Pomeroy)

Finally, the DTHR crew asked Sean where he thought HR technology would go in the next year. For us, it’s becoming apparent that LMS is up and coming, while ATS are already established. There’s also the historic battle between staffing ATS and ATS, which has now become a battle of auxiliary features. With more auxiliary technology, like posting and social media tools, cropping up everywhere, it’s becoming clear that these technologies don’t have core aspects of the trade like applicant or requisition management. The end result ATS will try to implement the auxiliary features and the auxiliary features will try to build a proper ATS. More mergers, more consolidations, more acquisitions, more startups are a guarantee as well, which, in Sean’s mind, will make for a much more competitive and interesting field.

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