Three HRMS implementation case studies you can learn from

Implementing an HRMS is not an easy task. There are many areas where mistakes can happen and an implementation can fail. Here are three HRMS implementation case studies where things did not go according to plan. Valuable lessons can be learned from studying these cases to be sure that you do not repeat their failures.

1. Canada’s federal government payroll system

The Canadian government implemented an Oracle PeopleSoft based payroll system on top of their existing PeopleSoft application. It resulted in over 80,000 workers receiving incorrect paychecks. Some employees even received zero pay, an absolute disaster for a payroll system. The auditors identified a number of root causes but staffing has continued to come out on top.

The government had gone through some lean years that resulted in reductions of internal IT and change management staff to support implementations. There was also a lack of functional knowledge as the payroll processing was moved to a lower cost location where the new team was not stable.

Lesson: you may have chosen the best HRMS for your requirements and engaged a strong consulting partner but without appropriate internal staffing your project is at risk.

2. MillerCoors HRMS (and enterprise ERP)

The famous brewery is taking its Indian implementation partner to court for $100 million in damages over a failed $53 million SAP implementation project. MillerCoors terminated the relationship and went in search of a new implementation partner to fix the botched project.

Use this guide to put the lessons from these HRMS implementation studies into practice and install news software successfully

The basis of the lawsuit is the claim that its partner failed to reach project deadlines or staff appropriately. As you consider your RFPs, it is always wise to look at the whole package and not only cost as MillerCoors has discovered.

Lesson: it is crucial that you fully understand and are in alignment with a vendor on what will be delivered and that missed deadlines are handled quickly.

3. Swiss bank USB turns around failed implementation

USB chose Oracle Fusion in the cloud as its HRMS in July 2012, but two years later it still was not live.

Cloud implementations normally move quickly, anywhere from three months to a year is normal. The lack of an HRMS launch after two years raised questions. Fortunately USB was live and operational after another year without further horror stories. Like many HRMS failures they’ve kept out of the limelight about the root cause and details of their delays.

Lesson: when faced with project postponements and problems a progressive team will learn from mistakes and move forward. Keep your team engaged and minimize outside influences to stay focused on the goal.