ERP Area: HR/Human Capital Management
Software:  SAP SuccessFactors
Products Implemented:  HCM (HR Core),Payroll
Company Size:  10 – 20k Employees  /  Industry:  Food Service
Regions in Scope:  North America
Reviewer Role:  Project Leader

Project(s) in Scope:  Initial deployment (Phase 1),Add-on deployment (Phase 2, and not in the original SOW)

Systems Expertise  4 out of 5
Implementation Process  4 out of 5
Responsiveness  4 out of 5
Quality of Consultants 4 out of 5
Flexibility / Adaptability 4 out of 5

SPEED & COST
Speed vs. Expectations:  Right on schedule!
Cost vs. Expectations: Exactly what we budgeted

SCOPING ACCURACY:
How well did your implementation partner scope the work and understand your needs during the pre-sales process?
Partner scoped and quoted the work precisely

Was the implementation team who actually performed the work the same team that was proposed?
No change

What “Lessons Learned” would you provide to others implementing with this partner / software? What else would you tell us about your project experience?
Identify potential gaps in the plan early on: The biggest challenge we faced was with login issues. Just three weeks before launch, we realized that our retail associates did not have company email addresses, which caused issues with logging in to the new system. This was a gap in our initial plan that was not identified until the eleventh hour. It’s a reminder of how important it is to identify potential gaps in the plan early on in the process.

Provide comprehensive training: Our managers, who were responsible for training their teams on the new system, did not attend the live training sessions. As a result, there were some challenges with adoption and understanding of the new system. To avoid this, we recommend providing recorded training with live Q&A sessions, in addition to live training.

Understand the specific needs of the organization: Alight, our account consulting firm, had a tendency to want to implement a template without fully understanding our specific needs as a company. To avoid this, it’s important to have open communication with your consulting firm and ensure they are taking your unique needs into account.

Maintain responsiveness: We found that the responsiveness of Alight tapered off after the go-live date. To ensure a smooth transition, it’s important to maintain open communication and keep the lines of support open.

ERP Area: HR/Human Capital Management
Software:  SAP SuccessFactors
Products Implemented:  HCM (HR Core),Recruiting / Onboarding,openText
Company Size:  10 – 20k Employees  /  Industry:  Mining
Regions in Scope:  North America,Europe, Middle East & Africa,Asia Pacific & Japan,Latin America,South Asia
Reviewer Role:  Project Leader

Consultant Recognized:  Olga Gothon
Project(s) in Scope:  Initial deployment (Phase 1)

Systems Expertise  5 out of 5
Implementation Process  5 out of 5
Responsiveness  5 out of 5
Quality of Consultants 5 out of 5
Flexibility / Adaptability 5 out of 5

SPEED & COST
Speed vs. Expectations:  Right on schedule!
Cost vs. Expectations: Less than we budgeted!

SCOPING ACCURACY:
How well did your implementation partner scope the work and understand your needs during the pre-sales process?
Partner scoped and quoted the work precisely

Was the implementation team who actually performed the work the same team that was proposed?
No change

What “Lessons Learned” would you provide to others implementing with this partner / software? What else would you tell us about your project experience?
Know your global/local processes (if not get ready before starting the implementation project), setup the best team with highly engaged & skilled persons you like to work with for the entire project and beyond (internal + external), don’t lose focus on the initial goals during that challenging journey.

Software: Workday
Modules Implemented:  Payroll
Company Size:  20 – 50k Employees  /  Industry:  Internet
Regions in Scope:  North America
Reviewer Role: Project Leader
Project(s) in Scope: Phase 2: Add-On Project (e.g. new module and/or something not originally in the SOW)

Did you get the business value that you thought you would achieve from this project?  Yes
Were there any integrations that were particularly important or problematic? 
Yes. Particularly the ones for stock.

Systems Expertise 4 (out of 5)
Implementation Process 4 (out of 5)
Responsiveness 5 (out of 5)
Quality of Consultants 3 (out of 5)
Flexibility / Adaptability 4 (out of 5)

SPEED & COST
Speed vs. Expectations: Right on schedule!
Cost vs. Expectations: Exactly what we budgeted

SCOPING ACCURACY:
How well did your implementation partner scope the work and understand your needs during the pre-sales process? 
Partner scoped and quoted the work well, but our needs changed during implementation
Was the implementation team who actually performed the work the same team that was proposed? 
Slight change in team
What “Lessons Learned” would you provide to others implementing with this partner / software?
Know your business (what you want) and get educated on the platform. Interview the prospective consultants and drive accountability. Well-defined roles and responsibilities are key.

Software: Workday
Modules Implemented:  Financials
Company Size:  5 – 10k Employees  /  Industry:  Marketing / Market Research / Public Relations
Regions in Scope:  Asia Pacific & Japan,Europe, Middle East & Africa,Latin America,North America,South Asia
Reviewer Role: Training
Project(s) in Scope: Phase 1: Initial Implementation / Go-Live,Training

Did you get the business value that you thought you would achieve from this project?  Yes

Systems Expertise 5 (out of 5)
Implementation Process 5 (out of 5)
Responsiveness 5 (out of 5)
Quality of Consultants 5 (out of 5)
Flexibility / Adaptability 5 (out of 5)

SPEED & COST
Speed vs. Expectations: Right on schedule!
Cost vs. Expectations: Exactly what we budgeted

SCOPING ACCURACY:
How well did your implementation partner scope the work and understand your needs during the pre-sales process? 
Partner scoped and quoted the work precisely
Was the implementation team who actually performed the work the same team that was proposed? 
Slight change in team
What “Lessons Learned” would you provide to others implementing with this partner / software?
Make sure that everything is ready to go on time.

Originating Consulting Firm: Appirio
Software: Cornerstone
Modules Implemented:  Talent Management (Learning, Performance, Succession Planning, Social Collaboration)
Company Size:  0 – 1,000 Employees  /  Industry:  Accounting
Regions in Scope:  Asia Pacific & Japan,North America
Reviewer Role: Project Team Member
Project(s) in Scope: Phase 2: Add-On Project (e.g. new module and/or something not originally in the SOW)

Did you get the business value that you thought you would achieve from this project?
Some of our goals were achieved, but not all

Were there any integrations that were particularly important or problematic? 
Data didn’t flow from our source system as intended. We did a lot of manual data uploading.

Systems Expertise 5 (out of 5)
Implementation Process 3 (out of 5)
Responsiveness 2 (out of 5)
Quality of Consultants 2 (out of 5)
Flexibility / Adaptability 2 (out of 5)

SPEED & COST
Speed vs. Expectations: 2x time expected
Cost vs. Expectations: 1.25x cost budgeted

SCOPING ACCURACY:
How well did your implementation partner scope the work and understand your needs during the pre-sales process?  
Partner did not identify issues that came up during implementation and we had some change orders

Was the implementation team who actually performed the work the same team that was proposed? 
No change

What “Lessons Learned” would you provide to others implementing with this partner / software? 
Be involved in every step of gathering requirements so that clear expectations are outlined and achieved.

Software: Workday
Modules Implemented:  HCM (HR Core)
Company Size:  100k+ Employees  /  Industry:  Healthcare / Medical
Regions in Scope:  Latin America,North America
Reviewer Role: Project Team Member
Project(s) in Scope: Phase 2: Add-On Project (e.g. new module and/or something not originally in the SOW)

Did you get the business value that you thought you would achieve from this project?
Yes

Systems Expertise 5 (out of 5)
Implementation Process 5 (out of 5)
Responsiveness 5 (out of 5)
Quality of Consultants 5 (out of 5)
Flexibility / Adaptability 5 (out of 5)

SPEED & COST
Speed vs. Expectations: Right on schedule!
Cost vs. Expectations: Exactly what we budgeted

SCOPING ACCURACY:
Was the implementation team who actually performed the work the same team that was proposed? 
Slight change in team

HR Software:  Workday
Products Implemented:  HCM (HR Core),Talent Management (Learning, Performance, Succession Planning, Social Collaboration),Recruiting / Onboarding
Company Size:  10 – 20k Employees  /  Industry:  Other
Regions in Scope:  Asia Pacific & Japan,Europe, Middle East & Africa,Latin America,North America,South Asia
Level of Complexity:  9
Reviewer Role:  Decision Maker

Consultant Recognized:  James Gardner
Project(s) in Scope:  Initial deployment (Phase 1)

Systems Expertise  4 out of 5
Implementation Process  5 out of 5
Responsiveness  4 out of 5
Quality of Consultants 3 out of 5
Flexibility / Adaptability 5 out of 5

SPEED & COST
Speed vs. Expectations:  Right on schedule!
Cost vs. Expectations: Exactly what we budgeted

SCOPING ACCURACY:
How well did your implementation partner scope the work and understand your needs during the pre-sales process?
Partner scoped and quoted the work precisely

Was the implementation team who actually performed the work the same team that was proposed?
Slight change in team

What “Lessons Learned” would you provide to others implementing with this partner / software? What else would you tell us about your project experience?
The overall experience was good. Quite a few disappointments regarding Workday – possibly we expected too much. Some issues are still unresolved (goal setting cannot be done within the system), but the implementation partner did a good job and helped us as much as possible.

HR Software:  Cornerstone
Products Implemented:  Talent Management (Learning, Performance, Succession Planning, Social Collaboration),Recruiting / Onboarding,Compensation
Company Size:  0 – 1,000 Employees  /  Industry:  Accounting
Regions in Scope:  Asia Pacific & Japan,North America
Level of Complexity:  6
Reviewer Role:  Project Team Member

Project(s) in Scope:  Initial deployment (Phase 1)

Systems Expertise  3 out of 5
Implementation Process  3 out of 5
Responsiveness  4 out of 5
Quality of Consultants 3 out of 5
Flexibility / Adaptability 3 out of 5

SPEED & COST
Speed vs. Expectations:  1.25x the time we expected
Cost vs. Expectations: Exactly what we budgeted

SCOPING ACCURACY:
How well did your implementation partner scope the work and understand your needs during the pre-sales process?
Partner did not identify issues that came up during implementation and we had some change orders

Was the implementation team who actually performed the work the same team that was proposed?
Slight change in team

What “Lessons Learned” would you provide to others implementing with this partner / software? What else would you tell us about your project experience?
Seek some additional support from your solution vendor as a resource or go-between. The concern is that the implementation partner is not in the long-term relationship, and has different short-term motivation for the project.

HR Software:  Cornerstone
Products Implemented:  Talent Management (Learning, Performance, Succession Planning, Social Collaboration),Recruiting / Onboarding, Financials
Company Size:  10 – 20k Employees  /  Industry:  Government / Military
Regions in Scope:  North America
Level of Complexity:  5
Reviewer Role:  Project Leader

Consultant Recognized:  Tommy Craft
Project(s) in Scope:  Initial deployment (Phase 1),Add-on deployment (Phase 2, and not in the original SOW)

Systems Expertise  3 out of 5
Implementation Process  2 out of 5
Responsiveness  3 out of 5
Quality of Consultants 2 out of 5
Flexibility / Adaptability 4 out of 5

SPEED & COST
Speed vs. Expectations:  1.25x the time we expected
Cost vs. Expectations: 1.25x cost budgeted

SCOPING ACCURACY:
How well did your implementation partner scope the work and understand your needs during the pre-sales process?
Partner did not identify issues that came up during implementation and we had some change orders

Was the implementation team who actually performed the work the same team that was proposed?
Slight change in team

What “Lessons Learned” would you provide to others implementing with this partner / software? What else would you tell us about your project experience?
Alight had an aggressive schedule and did not provide the “Consulting approach” we needed to understand some functionality of the Cornerstone clouds. Little to no consultation or advice was given on EDGE integrations that are critical to the functionality of an ATS.

HR Software:  Cornerstone
Products Implemented:  Talent Management (Learning, Performance, Succession Planning, Social Collaboration),Recruiting / Onboarding,Compensation
Company Size:  10 – 20k Employees  /  Industry:  Other
Regions in Scope:  North America
Level of Complexity:  8
Reviewer Role:  Project Leader

Project(s) in Scope:  Multiple Cloud deployment, LMS, ATS, PMS, Comp

Systems Expertise  3 out of 5
Implementation Process  2 out of 5
Responsiveness  4 out of 5
Quality of Consultants 3 out of 5
Flexibility / Adaptability 4 out of 5

SPEED & COST
Speed vs. Expectations:  Right on schedule!
Cost vs. Expectations: 1.25x cost budgeted

SCOPING ACCURACY:
How well did your implementation partner scope the work and understand your needs during the pre-sales process?
Partner did not identify issues that came up during implementation and we had some change orders

Was the implementation team who actually performed the work the same team that was proposed?
Slight change in team

What “Lessons Learned” would you provide to others implementing with this partner / software? What else would you tell us about your project experience?
Set very clear expectations of what the partner will do. Spend more time in the discovery phase and have the partner clearly outline using past experience what integrations, processes and steps they believe we need to plan through in the implementation of the software. In partnership set realistic achievable project deliverable dates, keeping firmly in mind that the Company project team have full time jobs. Ensure that the project consultant does not build an aggressive timetable and re-assign key consultants based on time driven milestones.