Depending on the size, setup, and HR headcount of your organisation, the person who has identified the initial need for new software might not be the senior HR lead. If that’s the case for you, you’ll also need to get your CHRO (or chief people officer, or HR director, and so on) on-side before they’ll consider approaching other executives. Let’s talk about how to prove value to your CHRO, so they’ll go to bat for you at the top table.
In this article:
- Show the pain
- Evidence your thinking with data
- Understand the CHRO’s commercial responsibilities
- Show how you’ll make the CHRO’s life easier
- Navigating CHRO alignment: keys to securing approval for new HR software
“Our HR director is a key decision-maker in the business. If I thought we’d benefit from new software, I’d have a conversation with her before I ever put anything in writing.”
Darren Vann, head of HR, Paultons
1. Show the pain
What’s the trigger for wanting to invest in new HR software? Contract renewal is a common reason to go to market to research options, but alone it’s rarely enough to secure buy-in.
Change always feels more painful than the status quo, and organisational inertia can weigh heavy. Unless you can prove that inaction is more costly than the pain of change, many organisations get stuck renewing contracts that don’t serve them.
Show the CHRO why the status quo is hurting, using data, anecdotes, and best practices to support. Make a note of all the daily friction points you might forget later but add up – they’re the colour and context to your request for investment.
Don’t just focus on your pain points today. Extrapolate, to show why and how these problems will grow if you continue doing nothing. Claire Williams, Ciphr’s chief people and operations officer points out: “the CHRO is much more likely to take your proposal forwards if you show why this decision can’t be deferred for another three-to-five-year cycle.”
2. Evidence your thinking with data
Data is so important, to show your request for investment isn’t a whim but a well-evidenced, insightful proposal that’ll benefit the business long term.
HR professionals should be closely connected to data, so you have continuous visibility over emerging issues. That means you’ll have been having the right conversations already, so you’re not asking for investment from nowhere. Your CHRO shouldn’t be surprised about the issues you’re flagging.
Williams expands: “one of the most important things for HR is to ensure you’ve got strong data, data integrity, and data processing procedures, and that you personally are confident interpreting and telling stories with data. The data underpins everything. You should be collecting data now that you might need in two years’ time.”
That said, one of the major drivers to invest into new HR software is often to improve people data — so it’s fine not to have all the answers yet.
If you’re struggling to build a thorough, evidence-based case using your internal data, use what you can and back it up with external statistics, best practices and benchmarks. Williams says: “flag where your own data is limited because that’s its own piece of evidence that you’d benefit from new software.”
“The business will always want the cheapest option, unless you can educate them about why better technology is so important. Better data is critical, so you can show the impact of the new software across the business. The more access to data you can give people across the business, the more they’ll understand how this technology supports them.”
Katie Thompson, head of HR operations, Insight Investment
3. Understand the CHRO’s commercial responsibilities
When you approach your senior HR lead to propose new software, they’re usually thinking ahead to how they’ll present that (or not) to other leaders.
Yes, they’ll want to understand how this benefits the HR team, your people, and people outcomes. But they’ll be thinking commercially too. Show you’re on the same page, considering the broader perspectives across the organisation. (Reading this eBook is a great start).
Your CHRO will want to understand that there’s a genuine need for HR software. Not just the ambition for a big-splash project to boost your career, or a desire to implement a preferred vendor from the past because they’re familiar.
As Williams points out: “If HR professionals want a seat at the board and have a voice within the executive leadership team, they have to develop a commercial mindset that can answer probing questions and make compelling arguments, to create confidence and trust with other board members, shareholders, and investors.”
“HR are looking at the software from our big picture, and the leadership team are looking from their big picture. Everyone has slightly different perspectives. Securing investment successfully happens when those pictures slot together.”
Darren Vann, head of HR, Paultons
4. Show how you’ll make the CHRO’s life easier
Implementing new technology is no mean feat. It’s usually as large as any other central business technology project, but often without the same internal buy-in, resources, or support. In other words, your CHRO is probably extremely aware of the heavy weight this decision would land on their shoulders.
The more you can take off their plate, the better. The more they trust you to share the load, the more likely they’ll adopt your cause and champion it at C-suite level. Take as much ownership as possible. For example, if the CHRO is your line manager, you could commit to delivering this project in your objectives.
The truth is, the CHRO’s reputation is on the line with this project – make yourself a good basket to put their eggs in.
Here’s what the CHRO will typically evaluate:
Will you research rigorously?
If you’re proposing this project, the CHRO will typically expect you to lead on research and selection. Show they can trust your judgement.
- Be impartial. Show you’re ready to approach this project from a blank slate, reviewing what’s truly best for this business. No playing past favourites.
- Compare products. Develop objective scoring criteria based on your realworld needs, to ensure you don’t under- or over-spec what’s needed.
- Build a long-list. Evaluate vendors and create a longlist for your CHRO to review, with notes and analysis to show your thinking.
- Get personalised demos. Your CHRO might or might not want to be involved with this. Ask them. And if not, record demos and time stamp them.
- Shortlist vendors. The CHRO is likely to step-up involvement from now – show how you got here.
- Book second demos. Your CHRO might want to attend second demos to interrogate shortlisted vendors personally. Make that process easy.
- Conduct checks. Help with due diligence by checking vendors’ references. You could even approach past customers for an unvarnished take.
“If a vendor’s website mentions someone is a client, I like to approach people on LinkedIn to ask their take, and I also talk to people in my local HR networks. It’s about getting an honest perspective.”
Darren Vann, head of HR, Paultons
Have you considered practicalities?
It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of new software and overlook the practicalities that will ensure the project is a success. Show your CHRO you’re on-message here.
- Global requirements. How will you accommodate international requirements, like local laws and language needs, so this works for everyone?
- Implementation. What does roll out look like? What resources are needed? What problems might arise?
- Pricing and contracts. How much will this cost over its lifecycle, and what are the terms of any potential contracts?
- Scalability. Is this software suitable not just for today, but for the next 3-5+ years, as the organisation grows?
- Usability. How will the organisation use the software, and how will the project team get them up and running? What training needs are there?
- Internal bandwidth. Why is now a practical time to implement a project like this (or not)? Why can the business accommodate this now?
- Integrations. Does the software integrate out-of-the-box with your critical systems? Will you avoid frustrating process changes and manual work?
- Support. If something goes wrong, what then? Do the vendor’s support processes fit with your organisation’s needs?
- Training. Adoption is key. What training will the vendor provide to get you and your team up and running?
Will this project thrive long-term?
Ideally, the organisation needs some longevity with tech investments like this. Too often, businesses wind up changing technology every contract cycle – either because they chose the wrong software, or because the implementation wasn’t successful and now adoption is low.
The CHRO will need to show other senior leaders that this proposal has longterm potential, to make the change worthwhile. So that’s what you’ll need to show your CHRO.
Your proposal should consider:
- Ongoing maintenance. New software isn’t a one-and-done scenario. It needs ongoing maintenance, training, and optimisation to ensure you’re continually getting the most from the system. What you achieve in year one shouldn’t be the same as what you’ll achieve in year three. Show you’ve considered these factors and have a plan to guide long-term growth.
- Customer relationship. Selecting new tech isn’t only about the tech. It’s also about choosing partners who are a good fit for your business long term. You’ll be working with the vendor’s customer care team regularly: that experience should be positive, not like pulling teeth. Show your CHRO you’ve considered this.
- Potential future challenges. You can’t anticipate everything but have you tried to think through future issues, and how you might mitigate them? What insights could peers share that you could learn from, to anticipate and avoid possible missteps?
The process for approaching your CHRO varies from organisation to organisation, from a casual conversation to a robust business case. But, irrespective of format, your priorities should still be the same: to show that there’s a real need for new software; to show the business can’t afford to wait; and to prove you personally have the skills, rigour, and commitment to own the project as much as possible.
When you show those three things, it makes it easy for the CHRO to champion you to executive colleagues.
Navigating CHRO alignment: keys to securing approval for new HR software
To successfully gain approval for new HR and payroll software, it's crucial to align with your CHRO. Show the real issues, back up your proposal with strong data, understand business needs, and explain how you'll manage the implementation. By covering these points thoroughly, you'll build trust and support from your CHRO to present your case effectively to senior executives.
This article concludes our series on getting the C-suite on board with your HR and payroll software proposal. Download our full e-book now for practical insights and strategies to secure executive buy-in and drive your HR initiatives forward. Alternatively, check out our previous articles: