Services

	Software Vendor Selection
	Software Contract Consulting
	Software Configuration
	System Rollout Change Management

Using Software to Drive Talent Strategy

Purchasing enterprise software of any type will have strong and sometimes unintended impacts on your organization if it goes wrong. A poorly run software vendor selection and rollout can ruin your reputation and waste months of hard work.

With talent management software, the risks are magnified because this software is designed to create and reinforce your corporate culture. If it crashes and burns — you, your budget, and sometimes your reputation can crash and burn with it. Believe us, we’ve had to rescue failed efforts and it is seldom a pretty sight. But it is avoidable.

Talent System Pro is with you every step of the way, wherever you need us, from the formation of your talent strategy to system selection, testing and rollout. You can count on us to help you create a success with our comprehensive processes.

We have worked with many vendors including the top names in the industry, SuccessFactors, Authoria, Plateau, Softscape, and PeopleSoft to name a few. Whether you want to compare two or twenty vendors, we will help you make it happen.

What We Offer

Talent program strategy consulting (link) Choosing software begins with creating your talent strategy. Because TSP was founded by organizational development professionals, we are as concerned with how the software will advance your business and cultural goals just as much as you are. And because we have created talent software ourselves, we understand how to translate your strategy into a viable software implementation.

We specialize in performance management and succession planning strategy that drives a powerful culture of transparent working relationships and “pay for performance.” In fact, you may want to draw on our heritage of strategic HR consulting to help you create your talent strategy by itself, before you even begin thinking about software. You can often save a lot of money by first reengineering your talent processes before you turn them into software. Reengineer before you automate.

Software Vendor Selection

Selecting the right vendor for the right price at the right time in their own product life cycle is critical to the success of your talent software rollout. Do you really want to be the guinea pig for a vendor that is rolling out a brand new talent module that’s never been tested, or would you rather find a vendor with a track record of proven success? Do you know if what your vendor is telling you is true? We do.

We’re here to help you sort through this most important decision with a world-class and rigorous vendor selection process. The vendors might not like all the hoops that you make them jump through, but you will like the results when you select the software that passes all of your tests with flying colors. We will also make sure that you get everything the vendor agreed to. We will also advise you on how to create the best organizational oversight structures to ensure full buy in when it comes time to write a check to the vendor. We will help you decide if you need your own test environment and a thousand other things that you need to consider before you sign a contract.

Software Contract Consulting

Some companies need to supplement their own legal team’s knowledge of contracts with some expertise on the structure and nature of talent management software licenses. Because the entire field of talent software is barely a decade old, a whole new type of software as a service contract has arisen to replace standard software licenses. Make certain that you know what to ask for and what to watch out for in your contract.

Software Configuration

Once you have signed your contract, the real work begins as you begin turning your requirements into software functionality. Every requirement must be translated into text on screens, labels on buttons, and links within the software. Make sure that your hours of configuration work are not wasted by adhering to a rigorous and consistent process.

Very often, your vendor will have their own process, but it is incumbent on you to take ownership of your side of the equation from the beginning to make certain that your needs are being addressed throughout the process. The vendor’s processes are designed to take care of their needs. We will make sure that you have the right people involved on your side to ensure that you get what you paid for and that everything is kept on track and on time.

Software user acceptance and pilot testing (link) Testing the software beforehand is critical to ensuring a smooth rollout to the entire organization. Relying solely on the vendor’s own internal technical testing is a recipe for disaster later on. We will help you to create a world class testing process utilizing the right internal stakeholders who will give you the insight you need before you sign off on the product prior to launch to the entire organization.

Whether you choose to construct comprehensive user acceptance focus groups to test the system or if you also want to conduct broad pilot test of various key stakeholder groups, we will be with you every step of the way to make certain that any remaining issues are tested and resolved.

System Rollout Change Management

Because the company has a foundation in organizational development techniques, we are particularly suited to working with you on the change management aspects of your software and process rollout. Whether you want an audit of your current plans, or a complete change management project plan, we are there to help you make sure that your stakeholders embrace your new system even before it rolls out. Our expertise in instructional design and change communication means that we can work with you on creating training materials, webinars, E-learning, powerpoint presentations etc.

If your organization wants to measure ROI, we can also help you create a comprehensive measurement and evaluation strategy which will help you to demonstrate the software’s value to your organization. Whatever level of satisfaction you want to gauge, Talent System Pro will help you create the process that delivers.