This article takes an in-depth look at the benefits — expected and unexpected — of a paperless, self-service HR environment. It documents the recent upsurge in adoption of a concept that has in fact been around for a long time. Topics include: Unexpected benefits — especially for end users The importance of executive support, as well as a commitment to user adoption Successful, real-world implementation of Oracle's HR self-service applications.

As Published In August 2004

Getting <Everybody> On Board
By David Baum

Making it easy and making it mandatory

The verdict is in. Managing information in a paperless environment has proven to streamline transactions, reduce waste, and improve service levels. Yet as organizations adopt self-service processes for everything from finance to human resources (HR), they're learning some interesting lessons about how to ensure a successful adoption—and the unforeseen benefits that can occur along the way.

"Self-service applications give employees the knowledge they need to do their jobs better," points out David Link, vice president of HR Transformation at the Baltimore, Maryland-based Cedar Group, a professional services firm that focuses on human capital technology systems. "It's no longer just an interesting idea; it's a business imperative."

Check the Numbers

According to the conclusions of Cedar's most recent research, self-service processes have been around for a long time, but their popularity has risen markedly in the last year. In the firm's annual Workforce Technologies Survey, Cedar observed a 162 percent surge in spending on change management in 2003, as well as a 55 percent increase in the use of self-service applications by managers who are performing strategic functions. "We are rapidly moving beyond things like online name and address changes to compensation planning and skills management, which is helping companies drive more performance out of their organizations," Link says.

Raising the Bar

The benefits of adopting self-service business processes are widely acknowledged. But how do you ensure a successful rollout when employees are reluctant to give up tried-and-true manual processes and unconvinced that the new systems are offering them any benefit? For HR managers at the Arlington, Virginia-based National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), the answer was simple: Exceed user expectations.

"From the outset, we envisioned how our employees could add value to the organization in ways they never had before," recalls Rosanna Stankavage, manager of Compensation and HR Systems at NRECA, a service organization that represents the interests of cooperative electric utilities and the consumers they serve. "By demonstrating HR's impact on business processes like payroll and general ledger, we make HR more important to the organization. Everyone has a stake in keeping information up to date, and employees obtain more timely and accurate data as a result."

Soon after NRECA implemented Oracle Human Resources Management System, Oracle Payroll, Oracle Projects, and Oracle Financial applications, Stankavage and her team deployed self-service functions for timecards, personal information changes, and benefits. To ensure a successful adoption of these new information systems, they put together a change-management process and established a formal training and system orientation program. "These self-service initiatives were new to the organization, and in some cases they had to be coordinated between Human Resources, Payroll, and other areas of the company to ensure that all rules and requirements were being met," she says.

Executive Support Is Critical

John Van Decker, a vice president at the Stamford, Connecticut-based META Group, believes that executive sponsorship is the best way to communicate the value of self-service applications and improve adoption rates. "You need to develop a business case with targets for the expected numbers of users, required ROI, and the value that a new application will bring to the workforce," he says. Then, point out hidden benefits. For example, in addition to streamlining an ad hoc expense reimbursement process, a self-service financial application can help a company improve its asset utilization and cash flow. "This is an overarching principle that extends beyond self-service applications," adds Van Decker. "Users should know that it is a strategic initiative that influences the cost structure of the organization."

A Bit of Hand-Holding

While widespread adoption is the goal of most self-service applications, organizations differ widely in their approach. NRECA set up mandatory training for all employees. In the case of its new online timecard process, about 70 percent of the workforce was able to fill out the new browser-based form without any questions after the first round of training, and about 30 percent needed a refresher course. For employee expenses, NRECA's acceptance rate is hovering at about 90 percent. Apparently, the promise of reimbursement is a powerful motivator.

"We had lots of phone calls and questions from employees," admits Stankavage. "Even today, we have employees who know only enough to essentially copy last week's timecard. However, given that the vast majority of our employees are using these new business processes without too many grumbles, I think we've done a good job of rolling them out."

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, an aerospace and aviation university with residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, and educational centers throughout the U.S. and Europe, eased the transition to its Oracle self-service applications by allowing a six-month trial period, during which both new and old processes were available. Then they phased out the paper-based methods, allowing users to access only the self-service applications. "The majority of our faculty and staff are accustomed to doing things on-line," says Martin Smith, chief information officer at Embry-Riddle. "Having a history of portal access made the transition easier."

Rather than enforcing a mandatory training regimen, Embry-Riddle's implementation team focused on users who lacked technical skills, such as the groundskeepers and janitorial staff. They also spent extra time with managers who needed to learn how to perform complex functions associated with job requisitions and recruiting. But for many of their users, training would have been regarded as as waste of time.

"Our philosophy is, why bother with training for basic stuff that people are going to take up naturally," says Brandon Young, an HR professional at Embry-Riddle and the Oracle self-service team lead. "The bulk of our user base has a high familiarity with browser-based business processes."

Training Versus Orientation

David Link of the Cedar Group makes a distinction between training and orientation. Most of today's workforce understands how to use browser-based information systems, he reasons. Self-service applications that echo familiar Web applications, such as a favorite online store or search engine, require little or no training. Users simply need an orientation to explain why a new process is being performed. "The change management philosophy is no different today than it was five or ten years ago, but it is tailored to help users understand why a change is important," he says.

It's also important to emphasize that a new online channel is being implemented not just to streamline routine transactions but to improve the business process. Often, everybody benefits. For example, instead of a basic pay stub, Embry-Riddle's workers are now able to access total compensation statements that include charts and graphs for reviewing salary histories, benefits, sick time, and a host of other items. The same goes for NRECA. "We're giving them back more information than they had previously, such as instant access to PTO and sick-time balances," says Stankavage.

Executive Perspective

Irene McReynolds, director of Human Resources at Embry-Riddle, stresses the importance of communicating a high-level plan that clearly explains the benefits of self-service applications to the organization as a whole. "Articulate your vision and make sure people understand where you're going," she says. "In our case, Oracle self-service is consistent with what the university is trying to do from a strategic planning perspective. We find that users like being brought in at that level."

Oracle team leaders at the City of Chicago are quick to second that notion. Since installing Oracle Financials, HR, and soon-to-be-implemented Payroll applications, this fast-moving government agency has been rolling out self-service business processes, beginning with Oracle Self-Service Human Resources. The organization currently has self-service processes in place for managing new hires, suspensions, reinstatements, terminations, leaves of absence, salary changes, and many other functions.

"We're eliminating some of the paper flow," says Rose Folgers, deputy chief information officer at the City of Chicago. "Authorized users throughout the organization can initiate online processes that flow to their department designees and on to the necessary approval from management in the Personnel and Budget departments. We are sold on the integrated approach of the Oracle applications."

The city's new self-service processes affect about 200 users in 43 departments. To ensure a successful adoption of the technology, the city conducted two rounds of training: one to acquaint users with the general capabilities of the self-service applications, followed by a "just in time" training course right before they went live. "It was a huge undertaking, but it really went smoothly," says Folgers.

The City of Chicago held monthly meetings with senior officers to review risks and opportunities, solidify strategy, and ensure that adequate resources and funding were in place. "Having executive sponsorship greatly assisted our change-management effort and helped us overcome resistance," Folgers continues. "Most importantly, we made sure that all our employees knew that their jobs were not in jeopardy as a result of these changes."

Stankavage believes that the more creative you can make your marketing materials, the better your odds of success. For example, NRECA used cartoon characters to represent the transition from the Stone Age to the Space Age. "We had some of our presenters actually role-play to an all-staff meeting, dressed up as Fred Flintstone and Judy Jetson," says Stankavage. "This made the presentation more memorable and demonstrated the advantages of going online."

Setting Expectations

Achieving 100 percent utilization is not necessarily the goal for all self-service information systems, and it's important to establish realistic expectations for each project. "You could achieve your objectives with an e-procurement solution that is rolled out to 10 percent of the organization, if that's all it takes to target the individuals who are primarily responsible for buying indirect goods and services," META Group's Van Decker points out. "Every self-service application will have different targets. You can make incremental steps until you achieve your objectives."

Folgers agrees that eliminating paper-based processes is a gradual undertaking. In the City of Chicago's case, however, training is mandatory, and there is no turning back once a new self-service process is adopted. "Once we're committed to it, every department must get onboard," she says.

Of course, even with firm ultimatums, good intentions, and well-defined plans, the transformation to self-service information systems is rarely an easy one. "Project sponsors should not underestimate the need for training, maintenance, and testing—particularly in the case of critical processes like payroll and benefits," says Stankavage. "These are complex business processes, and they need to be monitored on a regular basis to maintain legislative compliance."

At NRECA, the results speak for themselves: the Payroll department is run by one full-time person, and a second person was redeployed to create greater efficiences between HR and Payroll. Data-entry accuracy has improved, and the productivity gains are raising eyebrows all the way to the CFO's office. "The old paper-based process took 10 minutes per timecard for 650 employees, or about 14 person-days to complete," says Stankavage. "The new process takes only about 1 minute per timecard, or 1.4 days total—a ten-fold gain in productivity."

Folgers is also pleased with the results. "City employees have one place to go to make changes, generate reports, and gather information," she concludes. "Better still, we've eliminated discrepancies between Payroll and HR."

Smith sums up the intangible benefits that have made Embry-Riddle's project a success. "Our users can see that we are giving them the best possible service, and we're getting terrific feedback," he says. "In most cases, this is how they prefer to communicate."