4 Tips for HRMS Self-Service Training Success

HRMS self-service is egalitarian, opening up your HR systems to the ‘masses’; i.e. the whole workforce. And apart from any other consideration, that fact flags up a potentially huge training need: if they can’t use the system then they won’t use the system, and then all you have is a very expensive white elephant.

HRMS Self-Service Training Tip #1: Conduct a Needs Analysis

Thanks to your business case for purchasing an HRMS in the first place, you’ll have a clear idea of what you want the system to do. In terms of self-service, the list of necessary functions translates directly into a set of requirements for what you need your people to be able to do in order to fully utilize the system’s capabilities. These requirements will differ between different stakeholder groups (from c-suite to ‘shop floor’) and the necessary training interventions will also vary according to the differing skills and knowledge gaps. In other words, you need to conduct an HRMS self-service training needs analysis that compares required skills with existing skills.

HRMS Self-Service Training Tip #2: Don't 'Sheep-Dip'

The results of the needs analysis then informs a range of HRMS self-service training options and support to help users bridge their individual knowledge and skills gaps. The temptation (because it’s much, much easier to manage) is to devise a training option that focuses only on the self-service features and treats every user as if they had the same level of ignorance. But each user’s starting point will be different and while broad categories of training need can be usefully drawn, the easy option of just providing a single mandatory training option (the dreaded course perhaps) will lead inevitably to teaching grandmother to suck eggs and undermine all your stakeholder engagement work so far.

Recommended Reading: HRMS Self Service - Steps to Success

A variety of training options (maybe even a menu that people can choose from according to their self-identified needs) might include: face-to-face group training, individual coaching, written guidance, an e-learning how-to package, the presence of a team of knowledgeable ‘super-users’, a set of frequently asked questions, modular just-in-time information bites, a help desk to support the system launch, the list is potentially endless – ask your people what would lead to them feeling well-supported.

HRMS Self-Service Training Tip #3: Look for Ad Hoc Training Opportunities

As well as the planned and formal training activities that form a crucial part of your implementation strategy, there are also a myriad of chances for less formal input that – if timely – can boost the credibility of both the self-service project and the system. Create opportunities for feedback: comments and complaints about the early days of the system can offer a valuable steer on where users need extra guidance or training, as well as prompting additional FAQs.

During the transition between accessing HR staff directly and using the HRMS self-service features, HR staff should be on the lookout for opportunities to coach their customers in the use of the system – just a few extra minutes spent instructing someone on how to handle their own inquiry will save time in them future.

HRMS Self-Service Training Tip #4: Evaluate Your Training

As with any other training initiative, evaluation is critical. Hopefully, gathering data against preset success measures will prove that your user groups are now highly skilled and using the self-service functionality of your new HRMS. But equally, the evaluation process will tell you where HRMS self-service training has been insufficient and allow you to rectify the issue. After all, if the strategy hasn’t completely worked you need to know; a skills failure will lead directly to an adoption failure and, ultimately, a system failure.