For a lot of core-HR systems, we spend significant effort getting them installed and running well. And then we stabilize them, which is good for many reasons. We can minimize disruption to the end-users, we can redeploy resources to other projects, among others.
So then we go merrily on our way for years at a time, those core HR systems just running and doing their thing. New people come in to use them and to support them. The software ages – it was great once upon a time but now, not so much. But it still gets the job done. Users aren’t always very happy with it though, and they start creating side-car, shadow systems.
Now, more time goes by. The people who put that system together are gone. It might be hard to find people who have the skills to support it now. The software vendor has moved on to other, newer platforms. Sure, they still support you but the pool of customers is getting smaller. Your company has grown and changed, but the software hasn’t.
If you keep going, you find yourself one of the last customers using the software. Finding resources who want to, or even can help you becomes a real problem. The vendor stopped updating the software and their support is thin because their people have also moved on. If something breaks, you’re in real trouble.
Each one of these situations is a status-quo scenario. Let’s just keep the status-quo, let’s keep doing what we do because we just can’t justify the risk and money on a new system. New systems get proposed now and then, but they just never make it above the line to be included in next year’s portfolio.
Software systems don’t last forever. At what point will you decide that the risk of keeping the current system is greater than the cost of replacing it? Are you counting only the risk and cost of not moving? What about the benefits of moving to a new system?
This scenario, this progression isn’t specific to SAP HCM on-premise vs SucessFactors. It has happened ever since we’ve been creating computerized HR systems. Ignoring it won’t make it go away; it has to be dealt with at regular intervals.
My advice is to be honest with yourself about where your company is in this progression and what it takes to justify moving to a new system. For some of my customers it’s easy – if there are significant user experience or functionality benefits, they move. For others, their backs have to be against the wall with no other options but to move to a new system. What will it take for your company to move? And what can you do now to prepare for that move?