Overview Page

CEB Ignition™ Guide to

HRIT Vendor Selection
CEB Corporate Leadership Council™

This five-step guide includes 12 documents that will help you: Time1: 8–12 Weeks
■■ Identify key talent processes that can be automated through HRIT, Effort : 6–8 FTEs
2

■■ Select an HRIT vendor whose features align with business needs, and Costs3: $0
■■ Establish a service-level agreement with the selected vendor. Input: ■■ Annual
objectives for
the organization
and individual
business units
and functions
■■ HR budget for
current and
upcoming fiscal
years

Plan Step 1: Outline the HRIT vendor selection process.

1 Task, 1 Document
Build Step 2: Streamline current HR processes and document system
requirements.
2 Tasks, 2 Documents
Step 3: Evaluate the vendors.
5 Tasks, 5 Documents
Step 4: Finalize vendor selection.
2 Tasks, 3 Documents
Monitor Step 5: Monitor the vendor agreement.
1 Task, 1 Document

1 Time refers to the total duration for completing the activity end to end.
2 Effort refers to the total number of FTEs required to execute the activity. Get Help
3 Cost refers to the incremental expenses required for the activity and excludes internal resources. from Peers

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Step 1

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5

Step 1 of 5: Outline the HRIT Vendor

Selection Process
Lay the groundwork for the HRIT vendor selection process and ensure all internal
stakeholders understand their responsibilities, the process timeline, and expected
outcomes.

Business Case
for Change
Project Outcomes Problems Addressed
■■ Key organizational talent ■■ Failure to create efficient talent
processes are successfully management processes
managed and automated. ■■ Failure to select most appropriate
■■ Company selects an HR HRIT vendor(s)
technology vendor whose ■■ Lack of accountability for vendors
solution aligns with HR and
the business strategy. ■■ Missed opportunities to decrease
time spent on transactional
■■ Time spent on transactional activities
HR activities decreases.

Roles and
Responsibilities
Head of HR/IT
CEB Ignition™ Give final approval for vendor selection.
Project Manager
Head of Relevant HR Function (Recruiting, L&D, Compensation, etc.)
Consult on activities and processes related to applicable sub-function(s).
IT Representative
Consult on compliance, data security, and integration with existing systems.
Finance/Procurement
Consult on budget and valuation of services over time.
Legal Representative
Consult on compliance.
Other Current HRIT Vendors (If Applicable)
Consult on integration with existing systems.

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from Peers

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 STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5

Before
You Start ■■ Partner with IT to develop your HR Technology Strategy and roadmap
future needs.
■■ Build the business case for HR technology and secure buy-in from relevant
stakeholders.

Common
Pitfalls & Keys
to Success
Unclear or Vendor- Define Process
Driven System Requirements
Requirements with Vendors
Implementation and ongoing Ensure vendors can adapt to
project management becomes your organizational requirements
complicated and cumbersome. during the selection phase.

Misalignment Between Outline Current

Business and Vendor
Technology
System capabilities don’t align
with current and/or future
business needs, such as growth
in head count, expansion in new
markets, and employee needs.
and Future Needs
Outline key business needs
for the next three to five
years and ensure that vendors
offer solutions for all possible
outcomes (e.g., global expansion,
high growth in staffing,
performance management
changes).

Misalignment with Plan for Future IT Needs

Business’s IT Roadmap
Although vendor technology
seems to meet basic
requirements, it lacks the ability
to integrate with internal systems
or other vendor systems.
Partner with internal partners
in IT to identify ongoing and
potentially disruptive changes in
IT; ensure that vendor technology
aligns with future internal IT plans.

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from Peers

© 2016 CEB. All rights reserved. CLC5109116PRO 3 cebglobal.com

Step 2

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5

Step 2 of 5: Streamline Current HR

Processes and Document System
Requirements
Clearly document the desired state of HRIT processes.

Your Tasks
2.1 Develop and streamline HR process maps.
HR Process Partner with HR team members to outline current HR processes that can be
Mapping Template supplemented by HR technology, and remove nonessential steps to decrease
future inefficiencies.

2.2 Document HRIT system requirements.

HRIT Consult with IT to create and prioritize current and future system requirements.
Requirements
Questionnaire Case Study

Simplified Business Process

Mapping (PETCO)

Review Your
Progress
Success Red Flags Team
Criteria Conversation
■■ List of HR processes HR processes contain ■■ Have we established
that can be inefficiencies that efficient processes for
improved through will remain with the business?
the use of HR automation. ■■ Will automation of
technology these processes
■■ Prioritized list of lead to decreased
system requirements time spent on
administrative tasks?

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from Peers

© 2016 CEB. All rights reserved. CLC5109116PRO 4 cebglobal.com

 STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5

Step 3 of 5: Evaluate the Vendors

Identify HRIT vendors and ensure vendors can meet the needs of the organization.

Your Tasks
3.1 Review benchmark reports.
Understand current HRIT vendor landscape through HR vendor benchmarking
reports to establish a list of top vendors.

3.2 Create and review RFPs (request for proposal).

RFP Process Identify four to six vendors that meet your business needs criteria, and submit
Checklist an RFP to each vendor. Ensure that current and future needs are addressed
and existing internal HR processes are outlined clearly.
RFP Template
Vendor Selection
Scorecard

3.3 Conduct demos of vendor products.

Vendor Demo Identify four to five key processes you would like the vendor to demonstrate.
Scorecard Select two to three vendors and request that they demonstrate the interface
and functionality to your selection team.

3.4 Outline total vendor costs.

Total Cost of Outline initial and ongoing vendor costs for the next three to five years.
Ownership
Calculator

3.5 Conduct due diligence.

Prior to selecting a vendor, review benchmarking data, collect peer feedback,
and contact references to ensure experiences align with expectations of
products, implementation support, and ongoing support. Vendors may provide
you with contact information for other current users of their product.

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from Peers

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 STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5

Review Your
Progress
Success
Criteria
Selected a vendor that
offers the necessary
features to support
the business and
talent processes
Red Flags Team
Conversation
The demonstration ■■ Are the features that
stage includes five or this vendor offers the
more vendors. right ones for now as
well as two to three
years from now?
■■ How will you use the
information available
to strategically
influence the business?

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from Peers

© 2016 CEB. All rights reserved. CLC5109116PRO 6 cebglobal.com

Step 4

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5

Step 4 of 5: Finalize Vendor Selection

Establish agreement with the vendor regarding service expectations and criteria
supported by specific metrics to outline success.

Your Tasks
4.1 Select the vendor(s).
Vendor Selection Utilize the information collected in RFPs and vendor demonstrations to select
Scorecard an HRIT vendor.
Vendor Demo
Scorecard

4.2 Finalize the contract and SLA with the vendor.

SLA Template Establish an SLA with the vendor to manage and evaluate the vendor’s
performance on an ongoing basis.

Review Your
Progress
Success Red Flags Team
Criteria Conversation
Established a contract ■■ There is a lack of What does the
with a vendor that SLA metrics. vendor offer that
clearly defines ■■ Final contract value we can leverage to
ownership of tasks is over budget. ensure a smooth
and the ongoing implementation?
relationship between
the organization and
the vendor

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from Peers

© 2016 CEB. All rights reserved. CLC5109116PRO 7 cebglobal.com

Step 5

STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5

Step 5 of 5: Monitor the Vendor Agreement

Ensure expectations laid out in the vendor agreement are met as your organization
transitions to the implementation phase of the HRIT process.

Review Your
Performance
Closing the Project
CEB Ignition™ ■■ Transition focus to implementation and rollout.
Project Reviewer
■■ Assess the process’s effectiveness.
■■ Document lessons learned (postmortem).
■■ Gather feedback from key stakeholders.
Review and Track Performance
■■ Track vendor progress against key metrics established during the SLA
and contract phase.
■■ Establish success metrics for the internal HR team during the implementation
phase.

Keys to
Continued
Success
Evaluate Vendor Opportunities
Revisit vendor offerings annually and maintain awareness of the HRIT
market.

Vendor Partnership
Partner with the vendor on an ongoing basis to ensure business needs
are met.

Related
Resource ■■ Manage Vendor Selection and Relationships
■■ HR Budget and Efficiency Benchmarking Suite

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from Peers

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