Customers planning a successful HCM implementation have a lot to consider–which software to implement, who will be on the internal team, the consulting partner and the timeline. Choosing the right consulting partner to help blueprint your project can help alleviate the stress and frustration typical of any major change, especially if you make your selection early.

Wise Consulting just celebrated 25 years of helping customers achieve business goals and create positive impacts within the HR function, and they’re ready to let us in on a couple of secrets for implementation success.  Raven Intel interviewed Steve Grem, President of Wise Consulting, and Marta Williams, Vice President of Client Services.  Steve has been on the Wise Consulting team for 5 years now and has a collective 30 years of experience running HR payroll for organizations of all sizes as well as successful HCM implementation projects. Previously, he worked at Ultimate Software, and was also a Ultimate Software customer who used Wise Consulting as a partner. Now, he’s using both his consulting and client-side experience to excel in his current role as President of Wise Consulting.  Marta just passed 23 years at Wise Consulting, and remembers being part of the team that supported Steve’s implementation back when he was in a client-side role. Now, she’s using her experience in HCM and Payroll to focus on customer satisfaction in her role as VP of Client Services.

What should first-time HCM implementation teams be thinking about before they start a project? 

As organizations consider an implementation, the amount of planning and decisions to be made is no small feat. The one thing that an organization’s success is going to be dependent on is how they prepare themselves for that journey, said Steve Grem, President of Wise Consulting.

“Setting the goals, setting the objectives, and setting the target of what they want to accomplish, and knowing what that’s going to look like in their organization,” continued Steve, “If there’s one key to success, it’s knowing where you want to go.” 

The challenge for many organizations in a successful HCM implementation is knowing what success looks like for them. During this process, it’s crucial for organizations to reflect back on why they’re pursuing this digital transformation and what the business objectives are.

Wise Consulting works with their clients to show them the different outcomes possible with their selection of HCM software and helps them get prepared for the new system. This means helping them maximize their ROI, setting up reporting, and making sure their new software can support the goals they’ve set for the organization.

“When we talk about clients and getting prepared, one of the things we really focus on is helping the clients think about what they want to accomplish 3-5 years from now, not just rebuilding their existing system,” said Marta, VP of Client Services. “We use our consultative expertise to plan out what they could do and what’s possible with the system to make sure they’re truly prepared.”

What are common mistakes and lessons learned that you hear from customers?

One of the questions that Raven Intel asks customers is what lessons they learned along the way or what they wish they had known ahead of time.

“You don’t know what you don’t know,” Marta said in response to Raven Intel’s question. “They [customers] are looking for support when they reach out to us, and many of them do wish they reached out sooner. It’s much better to prepare upfront and make sure you’re really planning out what you can do with the application, instead of just running through the project and then coming back after go-live to fix problems because you didn’t spend that time upfront.”

Engaging a consulting firm early can help you avoid both costly and timely mistakes.

“It can be hard for organizations to make that decision right away because they think about it from a time perspective,” said Steve. “You’re going from one system to another system in 16 weeks or so. But it’s the 2-3 week period at the beginning where you should really be thinking outside the box and thinking about what you want things to look like when it’s all done.”

What is the most difficult stage of HCM implementation?

We all know that implementations bring challenges. Different industries, team sizes, and even locations can all prompt different challenges.

“The preparation time is the most difficult,” said Marta. “Getting organizations to think about what they truly can and want to achieve. Thinking outside the box is big.”

She continued, “As they go through testing, that’s another big phase. We make sure that we test and cover all scenarios that could possibly come up. That way, there are minimal or no surprises when we go live.”

“The training aspect and the adoption are two other areas that we excel in. That training time is critical for them to get acclimated to the new system and get up to speed on things, like reporting,” said Steve. “Related to that is change management, which goes to the adoption, not just of the users, but of the general population as well. The beauty of HCM cloud is that it extends to the whole organization and adds tremendous value. Not just from an HR payroll perspective, but from a business perspective as well.”

What’s the most integral contribution of an HCM?

“One of the biggest things is having the ability to roll out new functionality for employees and managers, and having information at their fingertips. There’s a lot of capability in the product,” said Marta.

Steve added, “Most of our folks have been in a similar background to me, being client-side before I joined Wise. They can see where technology is not just the answer, but it’s the tool. And they’ve learned how to use it and take advantage of it to better the employee experience.”

How is Wise Consulting keeping customers happy?

It’s no secret that Wise Consulting is outperforming their UKG consulting partner peers and other HCM industry fellows. With a 9.61/10 customer satisfaction score, they’re clearly doing something right.

“We are practitioners. Everyone that we bring into the Wise Consulting organization has worked in HR, Payroll, or IT prior to coming to Wise. We work really hard to select just the right candidates. That really turns into a consultative opportunity for our clients because not only do we know the products, but we know the industry, too,” said Marta.

Steve added, “I would say it’s embedded in our culture. When Jennifer Wise started this organization 25 years ago, she established an organization that thrives on customer satisfaction. There’s also alignment with how UKG talks about people first; we talk about putting the customer first. It’s the customer’s needs and expectations that are the driving motivation for us.”

Wise Consulting evolved into an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP. With all consultants being equal owners of the company, this drives them to focus on the client and the company’s success with unwavering commitment.

“All of our employees really have that ownership of the organization. Not that we didn’t have it before, but the ESOP drives it home and makes every single engagement that we have with clients something that we want to excel in,” added Marta.

What should customers look for in a successful HCM implementation partner?

Steve and Marta recommend that customers should try to understand the culture of the potential partner, and see how that aligns with their own. Some other things to consider are, do they have experience in your industry? Do they have experience with your HCM system?

“If you have one without the other, that could create challenges for clients. We both have the practitioner and system knowledge, so we’re able to better understand the client’s needs,” said Marta.

To find out more about Wise Consulting, visit their Raven Intel profile or website.