Software selection made easier - for human resource management

Here are sources and tips to guide your search for an integrated HR system or specialty program tailored to meet your needs.

First, the bad news: There are nearly 3,000 HR software products on the market. They range from integrated HR systems to specialty software for specific tasks, such as employment, training, organizational development, labor relations, benefits, compensation, payroll, scheduling, safety, health and other applications.

Integrated systems alone number about 150, says Dick Frantzreb, owner of Advanced Personnel Systems Inc., Roseville, Calif., which publishes HR software guides. "In any single category, there might only be a few vendors who dominate the market, but there could be dozens of systems in all," he says.

Now, for the good news: No matter what your company size or software needs, there are ways to gather information that will help narrow your options long before you have to call in the vendors. And whether your company has 150 employees or 15,000, if you're responsible for choosing software or systems, you have an obligation to explore your options.

HR managers "either educate themselves about the products or take the consequences," says Naomi Bloom, managing partner of Bloom & Wallace, an HR delivery-system consulting firm to large companies and HR software vendors.

Now for more good news. During the early phase of the selection process there are various sources and many ways to gather information about HR software - whether it's a niche tool or a fully integrated HR information system. Some of these sources are not widely known; others seem obvious but usually are not fully tapped. For example, everyone knows you can get information from a software vendor, but what questions would best supply the information you need?

In addition, some of these sources cost money, some require only time and energy, and some involve a little money and clever persistence. Here's an example of clever persistence:

A company retained a consultant to help its HR Information Systems staff with the move of HR systems from mainframe to client/server. The consultant stayed a short time and charged a modest amount. But the value lingered - at no extra charge - for months because the consultant had a massive product database. Whenever the company needed to know anything about any HR software product, the HR information systems specialist would call the consultant, strike up a friendly conversation and pry out the information.

GUIDEBOOKS MAKE A GOOD START

Compendiums offer the advantage of providing rudimentary information about many HR systems in one place. They can help you to quickly narrow the options to a manageable handful. "Frankly, compendiums can be useful," says Bloom. "They are a starting point for finding out what is going on." Following are a few she believes are worth exploring:

Personnel Software Census, which covers all HR software except compensation and benefits products, and its companion Compensation & Benefits Software Census are published annually by Frantzreb's company. The two cover nearly 2,500 products from more than 1,300 vendors, who provide the information for the directories. Each volume-available on CD-ROM or in print - costs $79.95 plus handling charges, or $119.95 for both. Frantzreb acknowledges the value is in the breadth, not the depth, of the information. The census also covers many HR software consulting firms. The company's web site (http://www.hrcensus.com) offers sample listings, ordering information and monthly product updates for customers.

HR_Matrix is a semiannual, feature-by-feature comparison of HR technologies derived from information provided by vendors. The current edition covers 130 products and includes 2,800 features. Tony Paton, president of HRMS Directions Inc., the Toronto-based firm that compiles the matrix, believes a self-policing aspect monitors the vendor-supplied material. "The vendor's customers see it and will blow the whistle," says Paton. "Each vendor's competitors know the competition's products almost better than their own. And they call me if they see something misstated."

The compiled information isn't the matrix's only value, he adds. "The questions themselves give people a view of what the scope of their project could be."

Bloom acknowledges that HR_Matrix is a useful and standard source - but mainly for someone who knows absolutely nothing about the software being considered. "Once you know something about a product set, then the matrix is pretty simplistic," she says. "If you only have a few discriminating criteria, like what's your technology platform and does it include payroll, then it's pretty useful."

HR_Matrix is available in print, but a version on an Excel spreadsheet allows the user to assign weights to each feature to help evaluate the product against the company's requirements. The print version costs $185 but is free to members of The International Association for Human Resource Information Management (IHRIM). The electronic version is available for $795, or $625 to IHRIM members; web site: http://www.ihrim.org.

Bloom says there are several other compendiums. For example, DGM Associates, a provider of information and support services for HR managers based in Marina del Rey, Calif., publishes the HR/PC Quarterly and an annual buyer's guide called HR Computing. An annual subscription for journal and guide is $125; web site: http://www.hrworld.com.

Interactive Information Services Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif., which puts on a trade show called SoftEx in Human Resources and Payroll, publishes a comprehensive buyer's guide as part of its show catalogue.

Trade publications also can provide information in the form of reviews and buyers' guides. HRMagazine, for example, reviews two software products each month, accompanied by summaries of several related products. In addition, the magazine publishes an HR Systems Buyers' Guide and a Benefits/Benefits Software Buyers' Guide each year, with information supplied by vendors.

TRADE SHOWS PROVIDE CONTACTS

The next time your boss nixes your request to attend an HR technology conference, use Chuck McCoy's argument. McCoy, a senior HRIS consultant for Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc., Indianapolis, believes conferences and trade shows are among the best sources of HR software information.

"A lot of people think of a conference as a junket," he says. "But if you go with the idea that you've got to get some questions answered and pin something down about a software category, you can make a lot of use of a conference because it's a concentration of vendors and the users of their software."

McCoy's favorite conference and show is the annual IHRIM conference, where more than 400 vendors, of both integrated HR systems and specialty products, typically show off their wares. Along with HR_Matrix and a more general technology database called Computer Select, McCoy used the IHRIM trade show a few years ago when he was narrowing his company's options for an ad hoc query tool for Anthem's HR database. He repeated his steps when he helped to select an integrated client/server HR system. "Over the past few years I've had exposure to hundreds of software vendors" at the IHRIM show, he says.

In addition to IHRIM's annual conference and trade show, McCoy makes a broader pitch for membership in the organization itself as a way to guarantee access to information about HR software products. McCoy's membership costs him $175 annually and allows him to get the HR Matrix free in print and at a discount for the electronic version. He says regional IHRIM meetings often spotlight specific software-related issues, including vendor demonstrations.

What is IHRIM's best attribute? McCoy cites the contacts he has made with other members. "HR systems people are usually willing to share information," McCoy explains. "You can usually find someone in IHRIM who knows something" about the software category that interests you. IHRIM's web site can help, too, with its own product compendium, bulletin boards where members can post questions and protected member chat rooms. For more information about the conference and membership, check out IHRIM's web site.

Marcie Flournoy, CEO of Simoneaux Flournoy & Associates Inc. in Burke, Va., agrees with McCoy about the usefulness of trade shows. She says SoftEx is noteworthy because of the format. In addition to standard exhibits, vendors bring their wares into separate rooms for 45-minute demonstrations. Vendors of similar products often are grouped together to maximize the show attendees' ability to gather and compare information. Classes also are offered in how to select HR software. Web site: http://www.softinfo.com.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) also sponsors a general HR trade show worth noting because software developers make up about 25 percent of some 500 exhibitors each year.

Flournoy, who specializes in evaluating and selecting HR systems for corporate clients, points out that you needn't go to a trade show to meet vendors and see their products. Most major vendors conduct periodic road shows to bring the demonstrations to a city or region. "Get on their mailing lists and ask them to invite you to their next road show demo," she advises.

QUERY THE SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS

The vendors themselves, of course, are an obvious starting point to gather information - once you know the players. McCoy suggests drawing up an exhaustive list of questions, then calling the marketing arm of the software developer.

He asks the following kinds of questions: "What's your installed base? Is it Year 2000 compliant? What hardware and operating system does it run best on? Cost? Are the licensing fees per-seat or unlimited? What type of database does it run on? What about customer support?" He adds: "We usually go through enough make-or-break type questions to be able to eliminate two or three vendors right off so we don't have to do any more research on them."

When asking about installed base, Flournoy advises going beyond the simple number. She wants to know how many licensing agreements the vendor has, to indicate number of sales; how many of those are actually installed, to indicate that the customer has actually implemented and is using the product; and how many are on what's called a maintenance fee, which means they've actually started using it and are continuing to use it. "A large deviation between licensees and the number on maintenance would tell me it has been replaced by something else, and you'd want to ask why," she explains.

McCoy, Flournoy, Bloom and others stressed the importance of expanding one's information-gathering quest to customers - and not just the customers the vendor is willing to provide.

Start by asking the vendor for a list of three to five reference customers, and expect that the developer will give you happy campers. When you call those customers, the first question to ask is whether they know of three to five other customers. Then mine those additional contacts until you find people who aren't happy with the system.

This is where McCoy finds his IHRIM contacts to be particularly useful. "I can get on the phone and contact the people I've networked with over the years," he says.

DON'T FORGET THE WEB

Last but not least, there's always the Web, which is why several URLs are included in this article. IHRIM and SHRM (http://www.shrm.org) are both good sites for a hunt for product information and provide ample links to other sites. The IHRIM site offers dozens of links to product information, by niche. And the web sites of most product vendors can be useful starting points after you've identified the players - if you cut through their marketing hype.

Or at least they should be. Some software companies may lack web sites, but today, that fact could be a kick-out criterion. "I'd be concerned about any vendor that didn't have a good web page," says Flournoy.

Bill Roberts, a freelance writer based in Los Altos, Calif., covers technology, business and management issues.

COPYRIGHT 1998 Society for Human Resource Management
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