How to get the most out of HRMS testimonials

HRMS testimonials are a helpful step as part of your HRMS selection process. When your decision is almost made, HRMS testimonials can be the final checkpoint that confirms your findings. Or when you are uncertain about a potential HRMS, testimonials can highlight where you require further questions and research. Are you getting the most out of your HRMS testimonials? Review these top tips to ensure that you are maximizing the opportunity.

1) Testimonials should be from similar companies

HRMS vendors will often showcase their best clients as a source for testimonials. While it can be helpful to get their perspective, you need to be aligned with similar companies to get the most from the experience. While your closest competitor will not want to provide any insight into their business processes, you can still achieve a goldmine of intelligence through driving toward similar size and similar industry companies. Similar size companies even when in an entirely different industry will still allow you to learn about performance, support and required long-term maintenance and staffing needs. Similar industry companies will have similar business requirements regardless of size so these are useful too.

2) Testimonials should be from different employee levels

An HR Executive will provide a certain opinion that is interesting to C-level counterparts such as ideas on overall costing and how the HRMS impacts their bottom line budget. An operational position such as an HRMS manager can provide the daily operational insight on factors such as usability and performance. Both are useful and having a combination of levels from various testimonials will allow you to form your own well-rounded opinion on an HRMS.

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3) Ask the vendor if and how HRMS testimonials are rewarded

A trend in recent years among HRMS vendors has been to compensate customers for providing references by awarding them with training credits, tickets to a vendor conference or other vendor materials. Most customers would provide these references regardless of rewards, but as many companies have reduced training budgets, it’s helpful to clearly know if any incentives are involved.

4) Cross-check your references

The HRMS world is small and people who have been in the industry for years are only a few clicks away from knowing someone at a company. Once you receive a reference from a company it’s a good idea to investigate it a little further. Did the person who provided the reference participate in the HRMS selection and implementation or did they only come on board recently? As well, do you know anyone informally who works at the company or who was a part of the implementation? If an informal reference provides the same feedback as the vendor’s appointed contact, it strongly reinforces the message.