From Bryan Baldwin and the excellent blog at HR Tests.
Case in point: the state of Washington recently decided to abandon their efforts to implement SAP E-Recruiting after nearly three years and millions of dollars. The state will now go with a hosted solution which is estimated to be $700-800,000 a year cheaper (and hopefully much easier) to maintain.
Having been ringside for some of this, I can tell you the problem was not with motivation or energy, or even IT knowledge. I suspect that a lion’s share of the problem was related to the complexity of the program. This would match reports I’ve read that a significant number of organizations are moving away from single-vendor HR solutions and going with simpler, targeted products. Having heard about this program for a number of years, I have two thoughts:
- As I commented the other day on another site, a problem in HR today is letting technology be the driver rather than scientifically sound HR practices. That is not to say that the State of Washington’s program was not based on sound practices, but a more general observation about issues with technology today in HR.
- Again not specifically aimed at the State of Washington program, but a general observation, it is simply interesting how many times you see programs that receive a great number of accolades and attention, only to quickly slide into oblivion or be quickly replaced with the next hot program.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks Dennis. You’re absolutely right that techno hype seems to trump assessment best practices far too often. In this case, I think it may have just been a case of poor match between technology and users. I really hope public sector agencies in particular move more cautiously when adopting these technologies and don’t let a need for speed and convenience trump sound selection. But I’m afraid that boat may have sailed, particularly where political pressure is strong.
I’d be interested in a link to the comment you mention.
Bryan, The document or report that will contain my comment is not yet out. For all I know they may have simply deleted my comments. When the report comes out I will supply a link and also my comments if they are not included.