Just prior to the whole situation exploding that would ultimately result in the resignation of multiple leaders at the University of Missouri, I had the honor to lead an amazing project to determine what our next move on our HR Technology would be. We moved fast, I mean ridiculously, undeniably, un-university-like fast! We built and executed an entire Request for Proposal (RFP), full of 1,700 requirements, 75 open ended questions, and around 100 pages of language, in 12 weeks. Vendors took 6 weeks to respond and their responses gave us great insight into our future! We realized almost instantly that we are not ready to move to the cloud.
At first, that realization seemed like a bad thing, I had been making the case for over a year that this was the right move for the university. However, upon further reflection, I came to truly understand that this is absolutely the right thing for the university.
We like to blame the technology for our issues. PeopleSoft has had a “four letter word” connotation since its inception at the university over a decade ago. However, thousands of other organizations have implemented PeopleSoft with excellent results, so why are we different?
As I watched the university respond to the crisis that gripped the campus last week, the issue was clear. We don’t communicate well. We have amazing initiatives occurring around diversity, we have great thought leaders moving forward on talent management, we have amazing people doing amazing things all over the place – but no one knows it. Even in the midst of the crisis I was baffled by the lack of communication. The silence was deafening.
Herein lies the opportunity to take the HR system from something that is full of issues to something that fundamentally improves employee experience. The key to making that happen is to truly engage, and engage with everyone. Every employee touches the HR system at some point in their career, we need to ensure that that experience is not only as easy as possible, but also that they are engaged themselves. We need to mindfully communicate in all directions, constantly.
If we could move that fast building an RFP, imagine what we can do to revamp our PeopleSoft HCM system with an upgrade to version 9.2. Communicating the right message, and getting the right people in the right place will be key to our success. We can do this, and we can do it well, but it will be all for naught unless we communicate well.
I look toward the future with great hope for the University of Missouri System – our strength will be found in our resolve to communicate and understand one another.