IIII

Elizabeth Powell

Karen Golaub

August 29, 2016

Project management process

Creating an effective organization depends on attracting, retaining and developing quality and diverse employees and motivating them in order to perform at high levels (Martin & Whiting, 2013). The implementation plan for UltiPro Enterprise provides a description of the actions needed by Gladwell Grocery Stores for achieving its objectives or implementing the strategies. The plan describes the activities of tasks to be carried out by the system, the individual responsible, the required resources and the timeframes. The system will be implemented based on respect for resource constraints, busy timelines and competing priorities, building partnerships as well as flexibility for catering to specific requirements stipulated by Gladwell Grocery Stores. The following steps will be followed in implementing the Human Capital Management system, UltiPro, into the organization:

i. Introduction. This will involve gathering and agreeing on organizational information which will be continues until full configuration of the organization’s database.

ii. Kick-off call. The HCM project team and Gladwell Grocery Stores will hold a conference call geared towards discussing the implementation, possible constraints, high-level requirements or unique circumstances faced by the organization.

iii. Requirements gathering. Under this phase of the implementation plan, the system implementation team will analyze the organization and collect information from key stakeholders and system users regarding the system requirements and organizational goals in relation to the system thus helping in minimization of possible resource and scheduling challenges that may affect smooth implementation of the system.

iv. Training. This step involves provision of thorough payroll and human resource training of the users to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills for effective management of the system.

v. Database configuration and access. This phase of the implementation plan will entail granting the organization an access to the database configured by the HCM project team with the specified organizational requirements. The database will eventually be replaced with Gladwell Grocery Stores’ tailored database.

vi. Testing. Under this phase, the organization’s database will be thoroughly tested to ensure that it meets the expected standards and outcomes. A payroll run will be simulated and a formal user acceptance testing initiated. During this phase, the organization will also perform formal parallel runs to help in validating its organizational requirements and computations.

vii. Go live. This will be the final phase of the implementation plan and it will define the successful pay-rum of the organization. once a satisfactory completion of the parallel run is done, the organization will confirm the data for going live.

HR cost justification

Each license cost for UltiPro amounts to around $600 per five users per year (Simon, 2011). Considering that my client has an average of 420 employees, it will cost the company approximately $50,400 per year. Salary, time and attendance, recruiting, budgeting and onboarding are add-on modules under the system. However, only time and attendance is licensed, the rest must be bought as a hosted solution and the software license pricing for these hosted add-on modules are approximately $1ee monthly fee for performance, recruiting and onboarding and $5 as a one-time set-up fee (Simon, 2011). These costs tend to be relatively cheaper compared to other solutions such as the Kronos Workforce Central (Simon, 2011).

UltiPro has several benefits which justify the significant implementation costs associated with the adoption of the solution. It is a human capital management solution that is designed with a central focus on people. The system enables creation of memorable first impressions through simplified job applications, transformation of dreaded yearly performance reviews into collaborative, productive and ongoing discussions (Gale Research Inc. & Thomson Gale, 2009). The system also facilitates implementation of powerful payroll administration and management functionalities that simplify complex computations and helps in ensuring tax compliance. It also promotes insightful business intelligence reporting that enables human resources managers to have a 360-degree view of the entire workforce. The system is built to effectively serve employees at all organizational levels and empower them to work more effectively and efficiently each and every day, regardless of where they work (Gale Research Inc. & Thomson Gale, 2009). Another cost saving feature of UltiPro is time and attendance which eliminate manual processes, therefore preventing costly payroll errors and human error. Tracking employees’ time and attendance can help in preventing overpayment as well as help in calculating accurate tax payments (Plunkett, 2009). The software is also offered in the cloud thus eliminating or reducing the cost of IT resources since the web technology enable employees as well as external partners and contractors to use the system from anywhere through a Web browser (Plunkett, 2009).

HR Metrics

My recommended HR metrics that will bring most significant value to human resource planning include analysis of UltiPro based on its usability and functionality which will help in indicating the software’s ability to deliver initial return on investment and ultimately, maximum value over a given period of time. Usability composite scores are based on factors such as intuitiveness of the system. Training requirements, availability of role-based interfaces and productivity impact on end-users (Albadri, 2013). Functionality composite scores are based on repeatability and breadth of functionality in the system, the ease and availability of integration of add-on capability that delivers additional benefits as well as the vendors’ investment in creative and innovative functionality outside the primary or core functions that will deliver additional benefits (Albadri, 2013).

References Albadri, F. A. (2013). Cases on enterprise information systems and implementation stages : learning from the Gulf. Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference. Gale Research Inc. & Thomson Gale. (2009). Information industry directory. Detroit, MI: Gale Research. Martin, M., & Whiting, F. (2013). Human Resource Practice. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Plunkett, J. W. (2009). Plunkett's Infotech Industry Almanac 2009 The Only Comprehensive Guide to InfoTech Companies And Trends. Plunkett Research Ltd. Simon, P. (2011). Why new systems fail : an insider's guide to successful IT projects. Boston, Mass.: Course Technology,.