By Renee Gross
Before you purchase your next HCM technology solution, understanding what type of support model is required, once you have implemented, is essential to continued success. When HR technology was exclusively on premise, having a dedicated support individual or team was the standard. These resources were critical to a company’s ability to make changes to their software when necessary.
Evolution of Support Models
Today, cloud-based software dominates the HCM software industry. Administrators have a greater ability to configure their software to meet their business needs directly. As HRIS and IT teams gained direct access to system configurability, vendors scaled back their support resources and adopted new approaches to supporting their customers. Some vendors still have a dedicated point-of-contact for their customers. Other vendors have modified this approach with a pod-based support structure of experts. This team represents each aspect of the business (e.g., benefits, payroll processing, taxes, etc.). Some vendors developed a ticketing system for their customers to request support with standard service level agreements (SLAs) for resolution. Customers can request escalation of critical needs.
Some vendors have also developed support websites where all customers can access forums, articles, videos, and other resources to learn best practices, make recommendations for future system enhancements, and ask questions that peers or moderators (typically a vendor or vendor partner resources) can answer.
These shifts in how vendors support their customers reflect our self-service world. In a time when Millennials make up over a third of the workforce, having access to on-demand answers has become a necessity. When in need of solutions, this workforce looks to the internet: they Google search for an answer and look on YouTube for a tutorial. Administering HR technology doesn’t need to be any different.
Assess your Organizational Support capabilities.
When considering a support model, consider what support level is appopriate for a new vendor. Assessing your internal resources is critical to determine whether you’ll need support above and beyond the standard vendor contract. HRchitect supports a variety of clients with varying levels of comfort and independence in configuring their instance of their HR system. Some of our clients still want a direct line to a dedicated support resource. They can develop a relationship with someone who knows their business and how they’ve configured their system. In contrast, others are satisfied with online forums, articles, and videos in lieu of a traditional support model. The variations may result from team structures (e.g., lean teams without dedicated system administrators or with few internal resources may be more inclined to have a direct line of support) and the intuitiveness of a system’s configurability.
Be prepared for continued success.
Have you determined you require a support model above-and-beyond what your vendor offers or vendor-of-choice offers? HRchitect can help. We provides concierge-level managed support services to bridge that gap. Check out the 5 Principles Behind HRchitect’s Concierge-level Managed Support Services.
About the Author
Renee Gross (Schapiro) is a Senior Strategic Solutions Consultant within our Strategic Services practice. Renee joined HRchitect in 2021 and brings over 5 years of Human Resources practitioner experience to the team. Renee is a Certified Professional with the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM).
To learn more about Renee’s background, please visit her profile on LinkedIn.