Questions to Ask When Evaluating HR Software

Entering the SHRM14 expo hall last week was a bit overwhelming and exciting—so many HR vendors to visit and so little time. I spoke with many vendors, and was also interested in hearing the game plans of attendees and their goals for visiting the expo. Yes, the swag and giveaways are always fun, but many attendees were on a mission, as if they were at a pre-holiday sale looking for the best deals. Attendees planned ahead and mapped out booth visits. After all, understanding how to evaluate the best system for your organization is critical. We all know we need the technology, but where do we start?

At the SHRM expo hall the HR Cloud booth had a steady stream of traffic, strong interest from attendees, and good questions about HR Cloud solutions. Known for providing technology that can reduce your time to hire, decrease costs, and improve your quality of hires, HR Cloud offers solutions that work for you. So naturally, their team was on hand to share knowledge and answer questions. I captured a few of the most often asked questions, in case you missed the demo:

Q. Is the HR Cloud system easy to use? A few of my team members are not as technically savvy and I’m concerned about the ramp-up time.

A. Yes. The system is definitely easy to use! It’s our strongest selling point. The user interface is simple and allows the users (HR, managers, and employees) the ability to navigate throughout the system without difficulty. Implementation and training play an integral part in a successful deployment. We assign an implementation consultant, rather than an automated implementation, to work with the customer to ensure the system is being successfully used.

Q. What makes HR Cloud different from the rest?

A. Configurability and scalability. HR Cloud is simple, clean, easy to use, and streamlined.

Q. Tell me more about securing data in the cloud? This is hard for my team to comprehend. Do we need to spend more money because it’s cloud-based?

A. There is no IT resource allocation. HR Cloud hosts the data for you and is completely secure. You’ll also save money on data storage because you won’t be buying and storing servers on location.

Q. How does the system engage new hires? We don’t understand how technology can really improve the candidate and new hire experience.

A. With the HR Cloud onboarding system, new hires are able to access a portal that can be department or location specific to complete all of their new hire tasks (forms, acknowledgements, videos, etc). In addition to an organizational chart, there is also a company directory giving the new hire access to public profiles where they can find commonality such as likes, interests, and pictures within their network of colleagues. New hires are able to experience the culture of the organization prior to entering the office doors. They are more engaged on their first day and feel connected.

Theers-your-technolre are lots of choices in HR technology. The best solution for you is the one that resolves your toughest challenges, and streamlines your efforts all while enhancing the onboarding experience. Find the right fit by asking the right questions. Again, if you missed the HR Cloud demo at SHRM14, use the above questions from your fellow colleagues as the perfect starting point.