6 Questions to Ask Your HRMS Vendor About Training

The best new HRMS in the world is only an expensive talking point unless your people can use it. And unless the new system is a carbon copy of the old (so unlikely as to be impossible – after all, why would you buy the same thing twice?) then your people will require some form of training in order for users to get to grips with the new functionality.

HRMS Vendor Training Question #1 – What’s new compared to what we have?

It may be new interfaces, new reporting or analytics, a new management dashboard, new employee self-service possibilities… the list goes on – the point is, the first step in assessing training needs is knowing what’s new. This question also gives an indication of how well the vendor has done their research and/or paid attention to your requirements and specification.

HRMS Vendor Training Question #2 – How do you define “user”?

When it comes to “user training” for HRMS, the simplistic view is that the audience consists of those HR staff who will be utilising it. However, hopefully your vendor has a broader view that includes not only HR input clerks but also managers and supervisors, the C-suite, and potentially every member of staff who might wish to access their own personal record.

HRMS Vendor Training Question #3 – How would you assess user training needs?

Essentially, this is looking for input into your implementation training needs analysis. This exercise should be driven by a combination of the capabilities of the system and also the needs of your business (i.e. give people the skills to use the HRMS so that it contributes to your strategic goals). Also, you should expect clear differentiation between various user groups; ‘sheep dip’ training is almost never the right option.

HRMS Vendor Training Question #4 – What training methods would you recommend?

Depending on user needs and the time available, training may be carried out using a variety of methods: face-to-face ‘classroom’ courses; online elearning; ‘just-in-time’ tutorials via an intranet; downloadable how-to guides; or even one-to-one coaching.

HRMS Vendor Training Question #5 – Who delivers your training?

If you are commissioning the vendor to deliver system training as part of the implementation process, you should ask who will design and deliver that training. Larger vendors may keep everything in-house but smaller outfits are more likely to outsource to a third party supplier. This is fine but part of your due diligence exercise should then include checking out the training provider.

HRMS Vendor Training Question #6 – What security awareness training do you offer?

This is particularly relevant to cloud HRMS, and systems that rely heavily on mobile apps and access (especially in a BYOD context). Users need to be aware of the particular risks when data is off-premises and/or being downloaded to a wide variety of mobile devices.