- Overall, what did Julia Woodland do right? What could she have done differently?
Julia Woodland got it right when she implemented an HRIS system. Her decision to implement the HRIS system was reached after conducting a need analysis to establish whether indeed her organization needed an HRIS system. Despite this being a good decision, Julia ought to have involved other departments of the organization in the procurement and implementation of the system. The failure to involve other areas of the organization prevented her department from getting the right skills that were necessary for the implementation of the HRIS system. She ought to have formed a committee that will see the successful implementation of the HRIS system.
- Were the correct people involved in the process? Whom would you have included and why?
No other right person was involved in the implementation of the HRIS system other than the vendor. Julia Woodland viewed that it was unnecessary to involve the members from her department and the organization in general. A few of the people that ought to have been involved include employees from the IT departments and members from her own department. The reason as to why it was necessary to involve employees from the IT department is that these are the individuals tasked with the responsibility of repairing and servicing computers and servers. Involving members from her department was necessary to promote accountability.
- What errors did Woodland make with her own staff? What impact might these errors have had on the success of the implementation? What should have been done?
Julia made a mistake when she failed to involve members of her own department. The impact of this mistake is that it demoralized the members from offering their support in the implementation of the HRIS system. Members of her department developed a negative attitude towards the HRIS system and this demoralized them from taking the responsibility of monitoring the HRIS system. The other impact of Julia’s failure to involve members from her department is that it prevented the members from being proud of the department that they had built for many years. What Julia should have done is involve all members of her department in the implementation of the HRIS system.
- Discuss the cultural issues involved in this case. Are there things Julia Woodland should have taken into consideration prior to starting the implementation? Why are they important?
The key cultural issues involved in the presented case study include behavior and beliefs. Behavior refers to the manner in which individuals conduct themselves while belief refers to the acceptance of something perceived to be true. Some of the things that Julia ought to have taken into consideration include the company’s corporate culture and the impact of not involving employees. These factors are important because they would have enabled her to make the right decision. When considering the company’s corporate culture, for instance, Julia should have inquired whether employees in the company love to work as a team. If she found out that teamwork is part and parcel of the company’s culture, she should have decided to involve employees from her department and those from other departments.
- If you were in Julia Woodland’s position, what would you include in your communication plan for the implementation?
Personally, I would have prepared a communication plan that clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities of the people that are involved in the implementation of the HRIS system. The importance of clearly defining roles is that it would have helped prevent confusion among the members who were being involved in the implementation. The other advantage is that a clear definition of roles would have encouraged accountability. Members would have been ready to own their mistakes if they made one and this would have facilitated the achievement of the desired results.
- How can training be used in this case to make the implementation more successful?
As I see it, training can be used to educate the employees on how the HRIS system works. The employees can for example be shown how to store and retrieve data. The significance of training, in this case, is that it will help reduce such risks as loss of the stored data. Employees who for instance don’t know how to use the HRIS system may store new data in the wrong files making it difficult for the data to be retrieved when it is needed. Training can also be used to give the opportunity to the employees to ask questions about the HRIS system.
- How can the Grant Corporation increase user acceptance of the system?
First and foremost, the Grant Corporation should the end-users of the Grant Corporation in such things as planning the acquisition of this system and also its implementation. The significance of involving the end-users, in this case, is that it will help prepare them mentally for the HRIS system. Besides, being involved in the planning and implementation will prevent the end-users from believing rumors that other employees may spread. The act of involving the end-users will give them an opportunity to ask questions and hence understand the HRIS system well.
- Discuss the potential benefits of process reengineering in this implementation. What impact might it have?
One of the potential benefits of process reengineering, in this case, is that it will help improve the security of the HRIS system. The security, in this case, could be improved through such ways as updating the operating systems and also creating firewalls. The significance of improving security is that it will help seal the loopholes that cybercriminals may use to gain access to the stored data. The other potential benefit of process reengineering is the creation of a user-friendly interface. A user-friendly interface in this case refers to an interface with features that any person that wants to access the HRIS system can easily see and use.
- After the implementation, what steps should the HR department take to ensure proper maintenance and support of the system?
After implementation, the HR and the IT department should start monitoring the system. The significance of monitoring, in this case, is that it will enable these departments to pinpoint issues that they did not predict at the time when they were planning for the HRIS system. An example of an issue that may be identified is difficulty in sharing files between incompatible computer systems. The monitoring exercise, in this case, should be continuous. What this means is that the two departments should resume the monitoring exercise after addressing the issues identified in the previous monitoring exercise.
- What can Julia Woodland do now to “get everyone on board” and increase the likelihood that this implementation will be successful?
Julia should create a suggestion box and ask employees to submit their opinions regarding how the implemented HRIS system can be successfully implemented. Besides, Julia can conduct an employee survey. Again, the purpose of this survey will be to collect opinions on things that can be done to improve the performance of the HRIS system. All the opinions should be considered important and should be used as the basis for making critical decisions.
Reference
Kavanagh, M. J., & Johnson, R. D. (Eds.). (2017). Human resource information systems: Basics, applications, and future directions. Sage Publications.