There has never been a more important time for businesses to embrace digitalisation. Every business looks to grow and to achieve this, they must have the right technology in place to aid processes and make life easier for their employees.
With the amount of time we spend using technology, the modern workforce is much more demanding in terms of the capability and ease of use of all the technology they interact with. If businesses fail to supply systems that enhance employee experience, it will cost them time and money due to inefficiency and make it very difficult to retain employees.
An inefficient system can lead to an inefficient workforce.
But even if you know you have an inefficient system, it can be hard to convince those holding the purse to release funds for a new system to make everyone’s lives easier. This is why you need to build a business case.
A business case is a common way to propose projects to key stakeholders within a business, often attempting to justify the proposal based on its expected commercial benefits. Today, we will be looking to build a business case for a new HR system. So, if you are an HR professional that is in dire need of a system upgrade, you’ve come to the right place.
We have created a guide to help you build the perfect business case for a new HR system, simply follow the four steps below and you are guaranteed not to fail!
Step 1: Selecting an HR system
The first step when looking to build a business case is to find and select a system. There are four main areas that you will need to complete before procuring a new system.
Create and prioritise a wish list
First, you need to make a wish list of everything you want your new system to be able to do. This list should be based on your requirements for the system and what matters most to you. Here are some examples of what could be on your list:
• Capability to record monthly performance reviews
• Functionality to source new job candidates from sites such as LinkedIn
• Ability to record and track absence
Once you have come up with your wish list, it’s time to put your list in order, from most important to least important.
Find and compare providers
Now it’s time to start window shopping. Check out the websites of 3-5 different providers to see if they will be able to help you, then compare them against one another to see which is the best fit.
Demo the system and pick a winner
After narrowing your search down to two favourites, have a demo of each system. Come prepared with questions to ask and following the demos, pick a winner!
For more information on how you can easily compare multiple systems check out our free systems comparison guide.
Step 2: Backing up your business case
So now you’ve decided on which shiny new HR system you want to get in place. Now you have got to get the decision-makers on board.
The best way to back up your case is to provide evidence of how your current system is negatively impacting your business, and how a new system would benefit it. You can do this by collecting qualitative and quantitative data.
Qualitative data
Qualitative data refers to non-numeric data collected through observations and interviews. You can collect this by conducting interviews with your employees and asking them for their opinions on the system in question. It is always best to use open questions to gain qualitative data, some good example questions are:
1) How do you find the current system?
2) How do your administrators find it?
3) Do you think you would benefit from a better system?
By using the opinions of your employees to back up your business case, it should really strike home with the decision-makers the level of impact your current system is having.
Quantitative data
Quantitative data refers to numerical data, often collected through surveys and questionnaires. You can collect this by sending out a questionnaire to your employees asking them about the system in question. It’s always best to use closed questions to gain quantitative data, some good example questions are:
1) Do you think the system is fit for its purpose?
2) Do you think we need a new system?
3) Does the system negatively impact your work processes?
All these are questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no, making the results easier to quantify and convey to the decision-makers within your business. To take this even further you can gather statistics from the vendor you have selected to affirm your business proposal. For example, how much time/money can the new system save you? What are the adoption rates in other businesses?
Step 3: Create and present your HR business case
Okay, so you are fully armed with all the information you need to argue your case and have collected all the statistics to back it up. Now is the time to prepare. You will need to think about which format is best to present your business case. More often than not, a PowerPoint presentation is the most effective format to present your business case.
Keep it concise
When creating your PowerPoint, it is better to keep the slides very text light to not overwhelm your audience. For the text that you do include, highlight the parts of the text that you would like to have the most impact, for example:
• 70% of our HR system users think our current system is not fit for purpose
• The new system would save us 5 hours’ worth of admin time a week
Use complimentary imagery
Along with the text, it’s important you use the right imagery to compliment your points. Failing to do so can often cause confusion in your audience, making your point lack the impact intended.
Take the image below, it’s all about apples, yet the image is a banana! Clearly, there are conflicting messages being sent out by this slide and that’s something you want to avoid.
Practise and be prepared for questions
Finally, practice is a key element when delivering your business case. You want to come across confident and knowledgeable in what you are saying, and practice will help you achieve this. Also, be prepared for any questions you may be asked regarding your proposal, you can be prepared by brainstorming a few of the questions you may be asked and rehearsing answers to them.
Step 4: The final hurdle
So, your business case for a new system got approved, obviously! We told you it would never fail. But what to do next?
Contact your new system supplier
Let your new system supplier know the good news! Confirm pricing, implementation times and start to get the ball rolling.
Chase your decision-makers
Even when verbally approved, new systems can often go through extremely long sign-off procedures. To avoid this happening, you will want to chase up your colleagues in the approval chain to ensure it is dealt with as quickly as possible.
Don’t forget, this process can also be applied when you are looking for an absence management system! Speak to one of our solution consultants today to get their expert help when building your business case.
Interested in Edays and what we have to offer? Click the button below to request a free demo to see just how many benefits Edays has to offer.
Harry is Head of Customer Success here at edays, helping organisations to get the very best out of their edays system. His experience in SaaS and HR brings valuable insight into how organisations can better manage their people, processes and productivity.