Once the problem has been identified, stakeholders established, and that ink is drying on the agreement, how do you properly kick-off your new, shiny HR technology system to ensure all relevant parties adopt it?
The key is the onboarding process. While adding any new workflow can be tricky, and getting the right people involved and aligned on the project timeline may seem like just another thing to add to your already full plate, it is essential. Even better, it doesn't need to be hard.
The whole "work smarter, not harder" mindset comes into play here, and this will continue to benefit your entire company in the long run. How do you ask? From years of working with customers in HR tech, I've found there are four critical stages to onboarding that lead to better adoption. Let's dive in.
Host an informational meeting with just the key stakeholders to help them understand the full onboarding process. This is one of those times that a meeting really is better than an email. By now the value is understood and it's time to get the team excited about what is to come.
During this call, it's important to:
Speak to not only the short term goals (about 1 year out) but also medium (3 years) and long term (5 years) as well, discussing why each goal is important and how to prioritize throughout the partnership.
It's important to have a clear understanding of not only who will be a necessary advocate for building adoption but also what. Will there be integrations involved? Product updates? Checking all the boxes during this first conversation sets everyone up for a successful and timely go-live.
To ensure there is no delay in getting the onboarding process started, it's also useful to utilize this call to dive into who the key contacts will be for future deliverables.
When introducing new technology to key contacts, you want to provide value from day one. Normally, we cover a quick overview of who we are and what we do, then dive into how we're going to do it with this specific customer. If you have everyone you need readily available on the meeting, you're able to cover the full timeline and discuss all deliverables leading up to launch in one sitting, rather than having multiple meetings going over the same details.
For example, we cover everything from exactly what we need to get our initial Ideal Candidate Profiles stood up to how we will test the integration once we're preparing for Hiring Manager training. We have found that having the full picture from the start helps us to ensure a successful onboarding and keeps as many aspects moving in parallel as possible.
Remember when I said HR tech onboarding doesn't need to be hard? Here this is most clear, as the heavy lifting is on our side. Any HR tech SaaS vendor should handle things like planning for implementation, working with related teams to customize the product as needed, and building integrations. And since you've already met Kenneth from IT, for example, on the first meeting, when you need to change an endpoint or test in staging, you know you can reach out to him directly.
Onboarding processes don't need to take months to prep, start, and begin — and in this case they shouldn't. With everyone excited after a successful kick-off meeting, moving right into follow-up meetings (or emails!) is key. Since you can't ensure there are no distractions when not meeting, I suggest sending specific follow-ups to the right people with quick and easy action items. Then celebrate each item checked off with a quick "Yay! We made it this far, just a few more items to hit, and then we will be ready to go-live!"
By keeping the key contacts involved, all the details organized, and each piece of the process moving forward it's easy to close in on adoption, avoiding lulls and leaving anyone wondering what is next.
Everyone's favorite step in the onboarding process still may be when it's over — but now it doesn't have to be as draining as expected! To prepare for go-live, it's nice to bring everyone back together for a congratulatory call and show off their hard work by demoing the platform or product in full force.
I also suggest covering success metrics, short and long-term goals, and action items for the next phase. For example, we spend a few minutes discussing how we will go through our Data Services process, additional Ideal Candidate Profile options, and the fun things we have coming once candidates are completing their assessments.
When the HR team knows they have a hand in getting a new HR Technology tool setup through onboarding, they are invested in the adoption process. Everyone is working together to drive success and achieve goals together.
Want to find out more about adopting our HR Tech platform to attract, hire, and engage top talent? Contact us.
