3 Staffing Issues Set to Cause HRMS Implementation Delays

Implementation delays are unfortunately a risk faced by every project and subsequent costs can add up quickly to make the budget overrun, especially in the area of staffing. Can you afford a project delay? Read on for some top areas where HRMS implementation delays often occur so that you can steer clear of them and save your budget.

1) Waiting for the Right Resource

Many times there is executive sponsorship, a project team is quickly assembled and the project is kicked off with much excitement, even where there are a few gaps covered by open requisitions. However, if you’re missing key staff such as the program lead or project manager, your progress can quickly grind to a halt. In particular, if you have specific requirements such as wanting your project manager to have experience with a particular system or HRMS vendor, you may have the project team idling while you wait for a skilled resource to complete an existing job. Such a delay can prove costly to your timeline and budget. Determine up front your key resource requirements and hold off on starting activities and spending until these staffing needs are met.

2) Overburdened Operational Staff

Often there are a few key internal resources who are the best fit for an implementation team role; these people get allocated to the project... while still doing their existing HR day job as well. These team members get stretched to the limit and deadlines and deliverables start to run late, leading to overall implementation delays which in turn causes your budget to overrun. A proactive solution to minimize risk is to cross-train other existing HR operational team members in order to be able to reallocate some daily tasks or even to hire a backfill into the operational role.

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3) Staff Turnover Mid-Project

Employee retention is a high priority, but especially important during HRMS implementations. When employees leave, knowledge about HR processes and system configuration goes with them. Finding a replacement employee and getting the person up to speed on a rapidly moving project is an uphill battle and can delay your implementation, depending on the person’s role and deliverables. Employees can experience frustration and burnout after constant hard work and overtime, especially on projects that are multi-year efforts. Counter these risks by putting a project bonus plan in place; if you build in some incentives into your budget, you’re more likely to retain staff throughout the project lifecycle and avoid nasty budget overruns as employees leave your organization.