Hi... my company is currently looking for an HRIS solution.  Many of
the HRIS consultants are independent, one-person firms.  We'd like to
get advice from a large, established organization.  Any
recommendations?

TIA,
Scary

---

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 09 Feb 2005 17:06 PST

scaryberry-ga,

I'd be happy to look into this for you, but I wanted to get a sense of
the territory you've covered already.  Can you have a look at the
firms listed here:


http://www.hr-guide.com/data/021.htm


and let me know if they seem like the right (or wrong!) sorts of companies for you.

Thanks,

pafalafa-ga

---

Clarification of Question by scaryberry-ga on 10 Feb 2005 11:18 PST

Hi.  First, I'd eliminate those that are tied to a specific product
(or small list of products).  That leaves about 3-4 listings. They all
appear to be very small shops.  I.e... "Butterknoppler Consulting"...
primary contact... "Fred Butterknoppler".

A big firm, multiple offices, etc. would be best.  I'm not sure if any
of the former Big 6 (Deloitte, Accenture, etc) would engage us, as
we're a rather small company.

Thanks,

Scary

---

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 10 Feb 2005 12:19 PST

PeopleSoft is the most well-established HRIS company in the business,
and they provide products and services to small and medium sized
businesses, as well as to the big boys:


http://www.peoplesoft.com/corp/en/products/mid/ent_one.jsp


Is this the type of company you're seeking?


pafalafa-ga

---

Clarification of Question by scaryberry-ga on 10 Feb 2005 13:05 PST

No.  We don't want the end product directly - we want someone to help
tell us which product to buy.  Selection consultant.

---

Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 14 Feb 2005 14:22 PST

Hello scaryberry-ga,

I'd like to know what criteria I should apply for choosing an HRIS
vendor selection consultant for you aside from a preference for
"bigger instead of smaller" consulting firm.

Have you already checked out the resources offered by SHRM, IHRIM,
Workindex and Workforce?

http://www.shrm.org
http://www.ihrim.org/
http://www.workforce.com
http://www.workindex.com

Have you eliminated the big guys -- Mercer, Towers Perrin, Hewitt, etc.?

The more you can tell me about what you're looking for and what you've
already tried, the more likely I will be able to find the information 
you need.

~ czh ~

---

Clarification of Question by scaryberry-ga on 15 Feb 2005 10:13 PST

Hi CZH.  I've reviewed those sites - but I'm unable to conclusively
distinguish between the small players and the big players.  If I could
get a list of 5-6 of the "big guys", whose portfolio includes
assistance with HRIS selection, I'd be happy.  So you're halfway
there. :)

I really have zero clue about who populates that market segment; I'm
trying to separate the wheat from the chaff.

I'm looking for a large firm with HR/HRIS consultative experience to
help us choose a solution.  I.e., someone to do a needs assesment,
filter the available solutions, and recommend a product based on our
needs/environment.

I'd come across Hewitt but I didnt see HRIS consulting on their site,
so I was unsure.  Again, I think if you can add three more firms to
the three you've listed, I can close the question happily.

Thanks,

Scary

Hello again scaryberry-ga,

Thank you for the clarification of your situation and expectations.
I?ve collected a variety of resources to help you with selecting an
appropriate consultant to assist in the selection of your new HRIS.
I?ve identified some large consulting firms that are highly rated for
their HR consulting. I?ve also provided you with additional resources
to help you develop criteria for making the decision about which
consultant you should choose. In addition, I?ve also included some HR
portals and publications to help you with your research. You didn?t
specify which HR functions you want to include in your HRIS. This may
be highly relevant in evaluating the consultants you might want to
consider. I trust that the variety of links I?ve provided will help
you with continuing your explorations.

Best wishes for you new technology initiatives.

~ czh ~


=========================================
HR CONSULTANTS ? 6 LARGE AND SOME SMALLER
=========================================

http://www.vault.com/nr/consulting_rankings/consulting_rankings.jsp?consulting2005=1
Top 50 Consulting Firms

In spring and summer 2004, Vault surveyed more than 2,500 consultants
to generate our 2005 consulting firm rankings.

***** If you want to access practice area rankings (including HR) you
have to subscribe.

-------------------------------------------------

http://www.vault.com/nr/consulting_rankings/consulting_rankings.jsp?consulting2005=2&ch_id=252
The Top 50 Most Prestigious Firms (Rank and Name)

10	Mercer Human Resource Consulting
        http://www.mercerhr.com/

14	Towers Perrin
        http://www.towersperrin.com/

22	Hewitt Associates
        http://was4.hewitt.com/hewitt/

24	Watson Wyatt Worldwide
        http://www.watsonwyatt.com/

29	Hay Group
        http://www.haygroup.com/

46	Aon Consulting
        http://www.aon.com/


***** Click on the Vault links to get the profile for each company
plus additional information that would be of interest for potential
employees. Click on the company website to get full information about
areas of interest, competencies, products and services offered.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.segalco.com/services/eHR/our_approach_HR.cfm
Corporate Consulting - eHR
Human Resources Software and Services Selection

***** This is an example of a smaller consulting company that has an
active HR practice that might be more suitable for you than one of the
very large consulting companies.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.workindex.com/extrefs.asp?SUBCATID=1765
HR Consulting -- Technology Consulting

***** This is a listing of smaller HR consulting companies that might
be of interest to you, at least for a basis for comparison with the
huge, world-class consulting organizations. The brief descriptions
give you the areas of specialty or expertise. You can click through to
the companies? websites to get more detailed information.


================================
HOW TO CHOOSE AN HRIS CONSULTANT
================================

http://www.ioma.com/pub/HRDM/2002_02/423461-1.html
The Institute of Management and Administration.

HR Technology: Five Tips for Choosing The Best HRIS Consultants 
Many HR managers look to outside help before purchasing a new HRIS
system. The reasons are clear: lack of familiarity, a constantly
changing marketplace and the inability to implement the system
unassisted. Before doing so, however, HR managers should consider two
basic tenets to decide if their organization does indeed need the
outside help.
Pay Per View ($10.00)

http://www.ioma.com/cgi-bin/texis/scripts/ioma-search/search.html?category=&query=hris

***** You might want to subscribe to this newsletter to gain access to
the archives. Alternately, you can search on topics of interest and
pay the $10 for whatever article looks interesting.

-------------------------------------------------


http://static.highbeam.com/m/managinghrinformationsystems/january012002/5factorstoconsiderwhenselectinganhrisconsultanthum/
5 Factors to Consider When Selecting an HRIS Consultant.(Human
Resource Information System)(Brief Article)
Managing HR Information Systems; January 01, 2002; 

Many HR managers don't have the resources needed to pull off a new
HRIS project. They may feel that they are unable to conduct a proper
system evaluation--or their staff may lack the knowledge necessary to
make a selection decision or follow through with implementation. In
such a case, an outside consultant should be considered.

Before You Decide 
Before you get to the selection process, consider these two issues: 
System requirements. An HRIS consultant should be considered if your
company has complex and unique system requirements, is a large
organization with multiple worksites, anticipates converting an
existing system or consolidating multiple systems, or has such limited
internal staff resources that a qualified person cannot be assigned
full-time to the HRIS project.

Anticipated total budget. The services of properly qualified HRIS
consultants can cost over $1,000 per day, plus expenses. If the total
budget allocated for the HRIS
... 

http://www.highbeam.com/library/search.asp?FN=DF&q=hris

***** Browse through the articles available here to get a better feel
of the HRIS landscape.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.hrmsbook.com/webstart/doran1031.pdf
Picking an HRMS Consultant

***** This is a 3-page paper that will help you with developing
criteria for choosing your HRIS consultant.

-------------------------------------------------


http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/page_subscribe_research
Gale Research

***** Search for relevant articles.


================================================
HUMAN RESOURCES PORTALS, RESOURCES, PUBLICATIONS
================================================

http://www.shrm.org
http://www.shrm.org/hrresources/
http://www.shrm.org/consultants/
Society for Human Resource Management

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world's
largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing
more than 190,000 individual members, the Society's mission is to
serve the needs of HR professionals by providing the most essential
and comprehensive resources available.

***** SHRM is the premier organization for HR professionals and their
website offers an enormous wealth of resources for its members. You or
someone on your staff should join to have access to members only
materials.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.ihrim.org/
The International Association for Human Resource Information
Management (IHRIM) is your link to the unique world of HR information
management, systems issues, trends, and technology.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.workforce.com
Workforce Management analyzes the human resources (HR) trends and
provides the tools that drive business results.

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:OgcD1KM6p3QJ:www.workforce.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php%3Ftopic%3D25893%26forum%3D57%2610+how+to+choose+hris+selection+consultant&hl=en
Technology Forum 
Discuss how to choose system that will yield the best results, as well
as how to maintain it, and how to calculate its return on investment.

***** This is another excellent site for HR research. You must
subscribe/join to have access to all areas of the site.

-------------------------------------------------


http://www.workindex.com
http://www.workindex.com/extaboutus.asp
Workindex.com is your link to the world's most comprehensive index of
workplace-related Web sites, HR tools and information. The site is
produced and maintained by the publishers of "Human Resource
Executive", in cooperation with Cornell University's School of
Industrial Labor Relations.



===============
SEARCH STRATEGY
===============

HRIS consultants
HRMS consultants
top HRIS consultants
top HRMS consultants
choosing HRIS vendor
choosing HRIS consulstant
top ranked consultants
top ranked HRIS/HRMS

Excellent.  Exactly what I was looking for and more.  Thank you!
S

This is a complete shot in the dark, because I am not burdened with
knowledge about HR consulting (I had to google "HRIS" to find out what
it is). However, I happen to know from a friend who works for AON
Consulting that they do have small business clients, and it is a
respected firm with many offices around the country.

Here for your browsing pleasure is a link to its website:

AON
http://www.aon.com/default.jsp

Hello scaryberry-ga,

I'm glad the information was helpful. Thank you for the five stars and
the generous tip.

~ czh ~