The role of your IT manager during HRMS implementation

An IT manager is an essential role in an HRMS implementation, one that you cannot afford to do without. If you are implementing a new HRMS how should an IT manager fit into your project team? Here are key points to consider for IT ownership as you outline responsibilities and assign tasks.

1. Overview of the technology landscape

An HRMS is one of many systems that will be used by your organization. An IT team will usually have a strategy for how technology will be managed and will allocate budget for hardware, software, licenses and ongoing support. An IT manager will have the overview of how the HRMS fits into the big picture of IT systems and can provide insight as to how the pieces all connect.

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2. Integrations

Managing integrations between an HRMS and other systems is one of the most complex tasks of any HRMS implementation, regardless of the application or vendor that you choose. Integrations involve a variety of resources such as business and technical owners of other systems, functional analysts to create specifications, developers to build and configure programs and users to test the output. There is an additional layer of complexity due to other systems existing on different platforms and data can have different meanings in a number of systems. An IT manager is the one who can make sense of all of these moving parts and provide the knowledge and ownership to steer your HRMS project to success in this area.

3. Programming, coding and customizations

Another key role for your IT manager is the technical nitty gritty, or coding and configuration aspects. IT is needed to automate functionality, and poorly implemented technical features can cause havoc. Your IT manager will own the software development lifecycle and will ensure that coding follows the path of development, testing and then production

4. Data migration and conversion

Moving your employee and setup data is a crucial part of your HRMS implementation. HR and functional experts will define data definition and standards but someone needs the skills to oversee the migration of thousands of rows of data. Usually this skillset falls under IT so it’s an appropriate area for an IT manager to control.

5. Database management

During implementation you’ll have multiple versions of your HRMS. These may include a vanilla demonstration version, a test configuration system, an instance for developers, another one for training, a secured one for payroll parallel testing, and a final production version. Someone has to either create all of these instances or place the order with a vendor along with understanding when programs are moving between them or when large amounts of data are being loaded. An IT manager is in the best position to manage the various database versions to ensure that everything is happening in this area according to plan.