DIGITALISATION
How to choose HR software: test one workflow, then compare the offers.
Pick a workflow you use every week, ask every provider for the same demo, and compare what you saw rather than what the brochure says.
THE HUMX TEAM
~3 MIN READ
A general demo shows what the software can do. A real workflow shows what happens in your company. Start with the second.
The test workflow
A leave request is a good candidate: everyone uses it, it has an approval, it has exceptions. The full path looks like this: request, approval from the manager or their delegate, a correction after approval, the history of who did what and when, then the export for payroll.
You ask every provider for the same demo, with the same fictional data and the same steps. The differences show up immediately, and the discussion no longer depends on who presents more persuasively.
Seven questions beyond the screens
How are permissions configured: what does a manager see, what does HR see, what does the employee see?
Which integrations exist with the software you already use, and how are they set up?
How do you export the data, in which formats and how completely?
What does support look like: channel, hours, who answers, what happens with a blocking issue?
Who migrates the existing data and who checks the result?
What training is included, for how many people and in what format?
When the contract ends, what do you receive, in what format and within what time?
Criteria with evidence, not with scores
Split the requirements into three groups and ask for concrete evidence for each, seen in the demo.
The total cost, by component
Compare the licence, the configuration, the data migration, the training and the support over the same period. Ask the provider for the costs and conditions of each component. Estimate separately the internal time your team needs for preparation, testing and adoption.
The demo scenario, step by step
The data is fictional. Send the scenario in advance, so every provider arrives prepared with the same case.
1. An employee requests three days of leave, from their phone.
2. Their manager is on leave; the approval goes to the delegate.
3. After the approval, one of the days changes; the correction is made.
4. The history is opened: who requested, who approved, who corrected.
5. The month is exported for payroll, in the format you use.
Note where a workaround was needed and who on your team would perform that step daily.
The pilot
Before deciding for the whole company, run the chosen workflow with a small group. Set a responsible user, a written acceptance criterion — for example, requests go through without parallel emails — and a date on which the result is assessed.
A pilot tells you what changes in the daily work. How a whole month closes on one workflow is described in the article on time records that do not close on time.
Let's clarify the workflow.
We choose the test workflow and the demo scenario together. See how we work on HR digitalisation.
Let's clarify the workflow →