We’ve already gone over the difference between an HR provider and an HR partner for life, but let’s dig a bit deeper and move beyond your experience of purchasing, implementing and going live with a new solution. Let’s look at where viability is truly put to the test: your long-term relationship and ongoing customer experience with your chosen team of HCM technology experts.
Support, success and collaboration are all key elements as you begin to build a lasting partnership around your HR technology. While the beginning of your relationship and starting off on the right foot with any technology provider is important, it’s your ongoing customer experience that can make or break the total value your organization receives from your solution. Is help readily available when you need it? As your business needs evolve, is your technology also evolving? How well is feedback received when offered to your current team of HCM technology experts?
When (and How) Your Call for Help Is Answered
Inevitably, there will be a time when you need to reach out for support. At times your needs may be basic, but other times you may be up against a pressing deadline – weekly payroll or open enrollment – and a quick response is immediately necessary. This is one of the areas where there is a stark difference between HR providers and HR partners.
HR providers tend to cut corners when it comes to support. Many take a call center approach to support and may outsource support abroad, reduce support hours or be significantly understaffed. If your organization has extra technical resources in-house (you have the ability to support yourself), the standard support experience from your provider may intentionally be lacking. Some providers may even require you to purchase additional support options for more premium support.
HR partners, on the other hand, invest the time and resources necessary to build a comprehensive support experience. A partner understands that your success is their success and premium options like dedicated account managers, flexible support options (chat, phone, online) and 24×7 fast, reliable support are included with their solution. Strategies are leveraged that enable you to call in to the same group of tech experts and ensure that the right expert is on the job at the right time to solve your issues.
When Your Business Evolves
Every organization encounters new opportunities or different challenges at any given time. During these times of change, growth or other strategic initiatives, it’s more important than ever to understand how your organization’s technology can support your initiatives and evolve with your organization to meet your long-term goals.
HR providers tend to focus heavily on their software. This means that helping your organization navigate change, prepare for growth or react to industry trends is a distant secondary priority; if it’s a priority at all. As your business evolves, a provider may offer additional solutions and services but lack the strategic guidance and insights to help you understand what options may be best for your organization.
HR partners provide more strategic resolutions and dedicate a team of experts to actively helping your organization during times of change or growth. They also offer comprehensive services, make understanding your goals a priority and proactively review your progress to identify opportunities to improve your overall customer experience.
When Feedback Is Given
As you work with a new solution and interact with your technology provider, you may want to give them feedback on their products or your experience. How they work with you to collect feedback and make improvements within your organization is a great indicator of the type of ongoing client relationship you will experience.
HR providers tend to take a more reactive approach to feedback. Their feedback process may lack transparency and offer no follow-up, or they may simply collect data to track customer churn. If their metrics are trending negatively or they receive a high volume of feedback around one particular thing, there’s only the possibility that an investment might be made to change or improve.
HR partners understand that feedback and collaboration are critical to continuously driving innovation into their solutions. They go beyond the traditional process of monitoring data and analyzing metrics. HR partners have proactive programs to engage you directly to gather feedback that improves their HCM solution and your long-term customer experience, using client advisory boards, interviews, surveys, focus groups and more.
When You Have a Partner That’s In It for the Long Run
Searching for and implementing a new technology solution to support your HR, payroll and workforce management goals can be daunting. But how HCM technology experts partner with their customers and the experience they provide can mean the difference between a wasted investment and a significant value-add to your organization.
Ultimately, the difference between an HR provider and an HR partner is the people behind the solution. Providers don’t prioritize their people, which leads to high turnover and low engagement. Ultimately, this results in less continuity, slower response times and less of a return on your investment.
HR partners know that their people are the lifeblood of their organization, and if they take care of their employees, their employees will take care of you. This leads to longer tenure and a more engaged team of experts that helps in establishing a solid, ongoing business relationship and bolsters the customer experience. You can develop a true partnership that delivers incredible value to your organization apart from the type of technology solutions being provided.
More Than Just Your Provider
What’s the real cost of not having the best payroll and HR software partner? A lack of automated HR support may be costing you a great deal. At Quanta, we know that technology matters and your people do, too. Are payroll and HR administration hijacking your day and robbing your productivity? Are you losing the best people? Is the employee experience you offer uninspiring or even irritating?
Count on Quanta to make hiring more organized and efficient for you by automating job postings, applications and screening. Experience seamless onboarding, top-notch workforce management and benefits administration, all with fast, reliable support. We know that your success is our success.
At Quanta, we value the customer experience and provide top-notch service along with our custom-tailored HCM solution. Don’t just take our word for it, contact us for a free demo and to see if we’re a good fit for your business.
