Congratulations on securing investment for your new HR software! You've found a system that meets your needs, built a relationship with a provider you can work with, and have finally signed on the dotted line. Depending on your procurement process, that journey might already have taken you six months – or longer. Now the hard work really begins: it’s time to configure and implement your new system, and launch it to your organisation.
But don’t worry, we’re here to help you every step of the way. If you’ve chosen us as your new HR software provider, our implementation and project teams will guide you through the process of getting your system live. And, even if you haven’t, this guide will help you successfully communicate and engage with employees – your new system’s users – during your go-live journey and beyond.
In collaboration with researchers from the University of Kent, we’ve identified three essential stages for a successful HR software implementation:
- Prepare and engage: seek buy-in from senior stakeholders and super users, create a comprehensive communications plan, and decide how you’ll help employees get to grips with your new system
- Launch and support: plan your launch day (or week), and map out which tasks you’ll ask employees and managers to complete first, so they can familiarise themselves with the software
- Evaluate and enhance: implementation doesn’t end with launch. You’ll need to regularly review and optimise your system setup, to make sure your HR software is always fit for purpose
HR software implementation stage 1:
prepare and engage
The first stage of any successful HR software implementation is to prepare and engage your organisation. This involves several key activities:
- Establish senior leadership buy-in and support
Share your vision of what your new HR software should be able to do. Be clear on what success looks like. These success measures might include
- Minimum user adoption levels
- The ability to provide metrics and insight into key people measures through analytics tools
- Return on investment (ROI) through improved HR team capacity or a reduction in HR resourcing levels
- Build and initiate communication and engagement campaigns
Focus on the benefits and value that the system will deliver. Clearly define the benefits of this project for each user group (eg employees, managers, and the HR team). Develop a communication plan that covers all relevant audiences, and consider how you will communicate with on-site vs remote or hybrid workers.
Need help writing cracking communications? Take a look at our top 10 AI prompts for HR teams
- Set up a community of super users or champions
Include representatives from all relevant user groups, functions/departments, and, if appropriate, office or geographic locations. Define the super user or champion role, and brief your chosen champions to explain the role and what’s expected.
- Plan your approach to end-user support
Create end-user guides, record short video tutorials, and share materials on your intranet, SharePoint site, or learning management system (LMS). Define support processes for users, including who they should contact if they need help and how (eg email, raise a ticket, phone call or AI chatbot).
HR software implementation stage 2:
launch and support
The second implementation stage is to launch and support your new HR software. Key activities in this stage include:
- Celebrate your launch
Arrange a small event for the on-site launch day, such as cakes, sandwiches, and balloons. Think about how you’ll celebrate the launch for your remote users too. And name your system – you may wish to run an internal competition to choose the name as part of your launch preparations.
- Encourage users to log in
Ask users to check their personal data (such as address and bank information), book holidays and check payslips, and share first wins and immediate benefits. Publish usage and adoption rates, and perhaps even leaderboards based on department or location to encourage a sense of competition.
- Provide formal and informal training
Offer bite-sized user training (such as short guides or walkthrough videos), dedicated training for managers, and drop-in sessions to provide hands-on assistance. Clearly signpost support materials and who to contact. need to invest so much time in creating your own training materials.
Our HR system features in-app walkthrough guides and tooltips to help all users – admins, managers, and employees alike – familiarise themselves with functionality. “This means HR teams don’t need to spend time creating their own guides,” says product experience specialist Shirley Bousfield. “The tooltips and walkthroughs help users understand where certain functionality lives in the software, and how to complete common processes such as booking holiday and setting up your personal dashboard.
“We offer a dedicated Learning Academy for HR users, featuring blended eLearning with bitesize classes and interactive content to build confidence in using your HR system. You’ll also have access to our Knowledge Hub, packed with quick-reference ‘how to’ guides and release notes.
“We’re here to support you at every step of your HR system launch – and beyond.”
- Engage with super users and champions
Listen to their feedback and develop plans to address areas for improvement.
- Engage managers and senior leaders
Provide dedicated training for senior leaders and managers to highlight the HR software’s value to them and to the wider organisation. Provide managers with monthly reports and executives with quarterly reports that highlight key data and trends. (Not sure what HR metrics your software can report on? Check out our handy guide.)
HR software implementation stage 3: evaluate and enhance
The third stage in your HR software implementation plan should be to evaluate and enhance your system. Because successful software doesn’t stop at launch! Key activities include:
- Deploy a calendar of regular communications
Remind users of the HR software’s benefits through monthly newsletters, posters in common areas, emails, company-wide meetings, team anchor days, and other channels. Share new feature updates on the intranet or in company forums such as Teams or Slack channels.
- Get feedback from super users and champions
Evaluate challenges, risks, and required actions. Encourage collaboration and share best practices and tips.
- Set up the training process for new starters and new managers
Embed training in your employee onboarding programme and eLearning courses for new managers. Provide informal refresher sessions and specialist topic refreshers, such as approving absence, running reports, and carrying out appraisals and performance reviews.
- Run data-led manager insight sessions
Share top-level people metrics with your team of managers and educate them about using data proactively to manage their team.
- Create and share executive-level reporting
Regularly create and share executive-level reporting to keep leaders informed about key data and trends.
- Keep in regular contact with your system provider
Stay up to date with new functionality and improvements. Arrange system optimisation sessions with your provider.
“Our customer experience team is here to help our customers make the most of their investment in their HR system,” says director of customer experience (CX) Zeeshan Ullah. “All our CX team have technical backgrounds, so they really understand how to help you get the most of your system and its setup.
“Depending on your service level, you’ll be entitled to up to six CX account reviews per year. In these, we’ll look at what functionality you’re using most, which aspects of the system aren’t being used to their full potential, and how we can help you get more from your software.”
New HR software isn’t just a one-time project. It’s a new way to work
“Build it and they will come” might apply to other projects, but that attitude won’t make a new HR software launch a success. If you consider your HR software launch to be a standalone ‘project’, it simply won’t have the impact you hope it will. Successfully deploying and making the most of any HR software requires an ongoing commitment to engagement and optimisation, both in your HR team and in your wider organisation.
Remember, the key to success is effective communication and engagement with all stakeholders throughout the process.
If you need more detailed guidance, download our HR software adoption guide. It’s packed with practical tips and checklists to help you every step of the way.