By KELLY GRIFFIN
Contributing Editor, Best Practices in HR

Company executives often find themselves filling the role of pioneer, being the first to introduce new machinery, implement new leadership tactics, and as in the cases below, use new technology in their firms to meet the needs of their managers and employees.

Cedar, an enterprise applications consulting company (http://www. cedar.com), recently released its fifth annual Human Resources Self Service/Portal Survey. The 2002 survey included case studies from five early adopters of the technology: Baxter International, Dell Computer, Hewlett Packard, Southern California Edison, and Pfizer (formerly Warner-Lambert).

It may be dangerous to take the experience of a few corporations and generalize it, assuming that the experiences of a few will translate into the experiences of the majority of firms. It’s just as foolhardy, however, to ignore the five-year history of self-service HR systems’ implementation and deployment experienced by several major corporations. Instead, you can learn from the missteps and setbacks that the pioneers encountered on their way to achieving success with the implementation of their systems for their employees and management.

Regardless of the technology used, there are universal similarities in experience on the part of the firms. Examples and advice from the lessons learned can assist your HR and Information Technology departments as you embark on your own mission to implement and/or upgrade your online HR system.

Online HR System Trends

Here are some of the important trends that Cedar culled from the five case studies included in the survey:

• Custom solutions developed internally are being replaced by standardized software packages. (Four of the five firms highlighted have used and are currently using systems that are structured with PeopleSoft HR system components. One firm uses Link2HR as its system base.)
  
  
• Past self-service initiatives have focused on improving HR’s efficiency, while future programs will focus more on strategic, management-focused functionality. While the survey cites workforce development as an example of management-focused functionality, another example would be an online employee performance assessment tool.
  
  
• With every self-service initiative, change management and communication regarding the purpose, the capabilities, and the expectations for new systems are imperative.
  
  
• For an HR system to be successful, the HR services delivery plan must fit with organizational values and objectives.

Experiences of a Few Early Adopters

Baxter International’s experience with self-service HR began in 1994 when the firm set up its first employee self-service system for some HR functions. By 1997, the system had been implemented in all of its locations in the United States.

Baxter’s present and future plans are to expand what is available through self-service, cutting down on actual costs and creating time efficiencies. Baxter has also outsourced some functions and is concentrating efforts on building better systems for managers.

Baxter’s advice for companies implementing or expanding their HR self-service functions includes:

• Keeping the purchased system as "vanilla" as possible by changing HR processes to fit the technology instead of the other way around.
  
  
• Giving employees control to make new solutions easy to sell. By providing open access and control of their own information to employees, it was easy for Baxter to encourage them to use the system.

Dell Computer’s entry into a self-service HR system environment began in 1997, starting with benefits enrollment. The system has evolved today to include many functions, such as online pay planning and performance management for managers, while Dell outsources payroll and benefits processing. The firm’s HR department focuses on encouraging buy-in and use of its system by staff. Here are some thoughts that Dell shares for other firms to learn from:

• Identify the full vision of what you want a system to accomplish, without focusing on technology, talent, and resource limitations. Then start working toward reaching the vision.
  
  
• The return on investment is higher from implementing manager transactions than employee transactions. A system should do both, ideally focusing on management functioning first.

Hewlett Packard (HP) began its first step in HR self-service in 1994, and by 1997 more than 60 percent of HP employees were using the company intranet for HR transactions. By 1999, the HR department cut direct expenses by one-third.

The Final Analysis

The Cedar Survey’s findings, which had 180 responses from companies representing more than 3 million workers, show a steady flow of firms of all sizes toward outsourcing some HR functions and automating other functions, allowing employees and managers to meet many HR needs through self-service.

"Employee communications, health and benefits management, personal data management, time management, pay-related management and retirement management are in use or planned in over 50 percent of North American companies [responding to the survey]," according to the survey’s executive summary. In addition, staff management self-service functions have doubled over last year’s survey findings.

The result? More time for HR professionals to spend on strategic planning, training issues, and addressing the "human" needs of the corporate environment.

A full report regarding Cedar’s 2002 Human Resources Self Service/Portal Survey, including the case studies, is available at no charge by downloading the PDF file at http://www.cedar.com/ USA/whitepapers.