Cloud based HR software: planning the move off an older system

Moving to cloud-based HR systems: plan the move, not the purchase

1. Decide how much history travels. Current terms and service dates always. Full absence and pay history usually only for the retention period. Everything older can stay in a readable archive, provided somebody writes down where it is.
2. Prove the copy before switching off. Reconcile headcount, service dates and current pay between the two systems and sign the result off. This is the only evidence that the migration worked, and it is the document somebody will ask for.
3. Name the processes that have to change. Every migration changes at least two: usually an approval route and a report somebody depended on. Find them during configuration rather than discovering them in the first month.

Cloud based HR system against what you have

The comparison that matters is not against other products but against the current arrangement including its cost in attention. An old on premises product with a working payroll link and a report everyone trusts is worth more than its feature list suggests.

That is why the incumbent belongs in the shortlist. Where it loses, the reasons are usually specific and stateable, and those reasons become the acceptance criteria for the new product.

Cloud based HRIS and the data protection conversation

Moving a workforce record to a hosted product turns several informal arrangements into documented ones: who the processor is, where the data sits, how long it is kept and how access is reviewed. That is work, and it is work that improves the position rather than merely recording it.

Do it during implementation. Retention rules and access levels are cheap to set at configuration and awkward to impose on a system already in use.

What a cloud HR solution promises and what to test

The common promises are faster implementation, no upgrades and better integration. The first is usually true, the second is true and has a cost in control, and the third depends entirely on the documentation rather than on hosting.

Test the third by reading the developer documentation before signing. It takes an hour, it is public for the vendors worth buying from, and it predicts the next three years of integration effort better than any statement in a proposal.

Common questions

Which cloud-based payroll solutions integrate with HR and talent management systems?

The ones that publish their integration documentation: a public API reference, a list of supported HR and recruiting connectors, and which fields move in each direction. Check three flows in particular: new hires from recruiting into the HRIS, changes to pay and hours from the HRIS into payroll, and payroll results back for reporting. A native two-way connector is better than a nightly file, and an integration that needs a consultant to maintain is a cost to add to the quote.

How long does a migration take?

Configuration in weeks, proof of the data in months where payroll is involved. The software is rarely the constraint; the reconciliation and the sign off are.

Should we run both systems for a while?

Only for as long as it takes to reconcile one full cycle. Longer parallel running means two sources of truth, which causes the errors it was meant to prevent.

Who should sign off the migration?

Whoever is accountable for payroll accuracy, because that is the consequence of an error. The sign off should reference the reconciliation rather than a status report.

What is usually lost in a move?

Free text notes, custom fields nobody documented, and attachments in unusual formats. All three are worth listing before the export so that a decision is made rather than discovered.

Coverage by country

• Employer of record vendors covering Singapore
• Employer of record vendors covering Mexico
• Employer of record vendors covering Spain
• Employer of record vendors covering Colombia
• Employer of record vendors covering United Kingdom
• Employer of record vendors covering France
• Employer of record vendors covering Hungary
• Employer of record vendors covering New Zealand