Human Resources

Tech-hack guide to accelerate BambooHR implementation for small businesses

Nov 29, 2018

This article provides 3 accelerators that will help small businesses that have purchased BambooHR software and want to gain the maximum value from their purchase.

Ankit SharmaContent Analyst

In today’s tech-driven business world, before investing in any software tool, small-business owners do intensive research, including evaluating service level agreements (SLAs), cloud computing capabilities, integrations, and the price of the software.

But, the challenges don’t end once you’ve selected a tool; IT professionals face specific challenges when implementing new software. Some common challenges faced while implementing new HR software include:

  • Inadequate training on how to use the software most efficiently.

  • Migrating data from old systems to the new software without losing or compromising important employee data or sensitive information.

  • Carrying out the implementation as quickly and with as little disruption as possible.

Without overcoming these challenges, IT managers at small businesses will struggle to gain the maximum return on investment (ROI) for their HR software purchase.

In this article, we’ll look at some tech hacks designed specifically for businesses implementing BambooHR.

BambooHR is a cloud-based HR software solution that offers essential features such as reporting and statistics, personnel management, payroll management, performance management, and employee onboarding.

Small businesses that take a systematic approach to implementing BambooHR, leverage APIs, and regularly run the built-in vulnerability scans will see a higher ROI on their HR software purchase.

We're breaking down these 3 accelerators to help you improve your implementation of BambooHR:


 

  • Take a systematic approach to implement new software

  • Leverage API integration to enhance product capability

  • Secure sensitive employee data from the start

Overview of 3 accelerators to enhance the implementation of BambooHR

Take these steps to prepare for implementation

Let’s take a quick look at few key requisites you need to have in place before implementing BambooHR:

  • Prepare a software implementation plan including database transition, configuration, or any kind of buffer delays that could occur during the implementation process.

  • Create an inventory of the different roles and workflows, and define the user permissions necessary for each role.

  • Gather API integration documentation and read it thoroughly to effectively integrate two or more application. Decide what type of functionality (time tracking, payroll, etc.) you want to integrate in your software. Additionally, ensure that adding an API does not breach your website security levels, increase IT budget because of maintenance, or impact site layout and functionality.

  • Back up your data from old software or web servers to avoid the risk of data loss during new software implementation.

  • Assign an SPOC (specific point of contact) who will be monitoring the software implementation process from planning to the go-live stage. The SPOC will be responsible for communicating with the software vendor regarding IT issues or any other problems faced during software implementation.

Accelerator 1: Take a systematic approach to implement new software

Why should I care?

A new HR system is an investment-a financial one, as well as an investment of time and resources. You’ll want to ensure you see a return on that investment as quickly as possible.

 What to do: 

Here, we provide step-by-step instructions on how to implement BambooHR software in your system efficiently:

  • Map out workflows: Identify the functional and technical requirements of the system and how many business units will be using BambooHR. Assign credentials for the total number of users.

  • Assign an IT administrator to train employees: The IT administrator will act as a temporary coach to help employees understand the product's capabilities and lead the charge for adoption of software from the beginning. Consider hosting workshops to ensure alignment and keep everyone informed on updates and changes to the software implement plan.

  • Create a training plan: Estimate the number of training sessions required to acquaint your employees with the purpose of implementing BambooHR software into your business as well as the functionality it offers.

  • Deploy the product in phases and monitor implementation: Deploy BambooHR in phases to check the performance of both the system and the employees using it. Auditing the implementation process at each stage helps IT professionals evaluate if employees are facing any kind of challenges in terms of user friendliness or ease of access and make necessary changes to correct any issues found in the testing phase.

Our advice

Prioritize the software implementation process by the capabilities that your HR managers need the most.For example, HR managers in the recruiting department don't need training on BambooHR's payroll management features. However, they do need to learn how to track candidates, manage candidate pipelines, and schedule interviews.Conduct post-implementation feedback sessions (bimonthly or weekly) with employees to understand if there is any scope of improvement.Stakeholders such as HR managers, subject matter experts (SMEs) and IT professionals should be involved with ongoing feedback throughout the implementation process to understand right away if there are any functions that could be improved or workflows that should be redesigned.

Accelerator 2: Leverage API integrations to enhance product capability

Why should I care?

Small business HR managers may manage so many aspects of a business that all their needs may not be met by a single software platform. For instance, if the payroll software doesn’t integrate with the time clock software, you may have to enter employee work hours manually to calculate their pay.

With the right API integration in place, you can make the most of two or more different applications. For instance, Workable, a cloud-based recruiting solution integrates with BambooHR by exporting candidate data to BambooHR. When a candidate is hired through Workable, their contact details are automatically entered into BambooHR as a new employee.

 What to do: 

Follow these steps to integrate BambooHR with other HR applications:

  • Design an integration plan: The plan should reflect what types of data you want to share between which types of applications, and how much time will be saved through that particular integration.

  • Understand the IT requirements for integration: Determine whether your team already has the right expertise to integrate the specific applications you need (whether mainframes, REST APIs, or other protocols), or whether you will require external IT help for the integration and ongoing maintenance.

  • Monitor data sharing: It is essential to avoid over sharing of data between two applications. For example, if you are integrating a payroll application with time-off management tool, ensure that time-off application is not pulling employee's personal or financial details such as bank details, tax withholding, etc.

Examples of useful integrations that are possible with BambooHR

Our advice

Work with your HR team to decide which features or applications you want to integrate with BambooHR and research the top vendors for those applications in the HR market.You can use this

handy checklist

; share it with shortlisted vendors and ask them to note whether they offer a specific feature or integration with BambooHR.Furthermore, you can read "

The Essential HR Features Your Small Business Needs

" to select and choose features can benefit you based on your business type.

Accelerator 3: Secure sensitive employee data from the start

Why should I care?

Small business HR managers handle sensitive employee information such as payroll data, bank details, contact information, etc. It’s crucial that businesses actively take measures to protect this data from security breaches; taking security into consideration at the time of implementation means they’ll create a culture of security right from the start.

 What to do: 

While BambooHR offers security features such as vulnerability scans, firewall protection, and data monitoring, users should also take these steps to secure data against breaches that can be caused by human error or unauthorized data access:

  • Manage access permissions: Assign users with different permissions to restrict access to highly sensitive data to only the necessary users.

  • Monitor employee activity: Even though BambooHR provides SOC II security auditing, you should monitor and log all user activities, checking for any kind of anomalies or unexpected behavior. (The majority of security breaches are caused by insiders or employees)

  • Perform regular updates: Update your software regularly to fix bug issues, security patches, and add anysecurity feature to the existing version of the software.

  • Build a strong password policy: Having a strong password policy in place is the key to safeguard data threats on website logins, email accounts, etc. Train your HR managers on how to create strong password s and how to respond immediately in case of data intrusion.

Our advice

In line with

new GDPR developments

, small businesses that have employees (including contractors) in the EU will have to obtain the employee's consent to process personal data with full transparency into the purpose for which it is used.In addition, businesses should ensure that employee data is encrypted while transmitting it across different geographical locations.Finally, risk assessment is helpful for determining whether further employee training is required for how to manage personal data. HR managers can work closely with the IT department to forecast security risks. Many businesses are using

gamification

techniques to engage employees in the

security assessment process.

Next steps and additional resources

Here are some immediate steps that small business IT professional should consider:

  • Identify user support communities where BambooHR users discuss the product features, the latest developments in the software, and any other issues related to customer support. This will helps you see key trends in product development and customer support for BambooHR.

  • Appoint one IT professional for every 10 people on the team to administer the process of software implementation-planning, deploying, and identifying the security features of BambooHR thoroughly.

  • Get feedback from the HR department regarding the challenges faced by them post implementing BambooHR. Contact BambooHR's support team to address your concerns and monitor how effectively issues are resolved.

To learn more about HR tools, check out some of these additional resources:

  • 5 top-rated HR apps for 360-degree performance evaluation

  • 3 HR Software Selection Tips to Help Your Business Go The Distance

  • Diversity, chatbot recruiters, and the dominance of cloud software: HR trends for 2018

About the author

Ankit Sharma

Content Analyst