FINAL GPSJ Summer edition 2024 ONLINE VERSION.2pdf - Flipbook - Page 38
GPSJ
HR & FINANCE
Successfully implementing HR and
finance systems in the public sector
By Lesley Moore, Director, Field Services, Workday
Implementing new HR and
finance systems in the public
sector can be daunting.
Traditionally, these systems have
been riddled with challenges,
including extensive customisation,
long testing phases, poor reliability
and difficulty applying software and
a lack of updates. Not only did that
mean public sector bodies weren’t
getting a good return on their most
valuable resources - their people
and their money - but it acted as a
disincentive to change. Why - the
argument went - expose yourself
to the risks of a new system, when
there’s little reward?
Though this attitude understandably
lingers, the technology, thankfully,
has evolved. Today, cloud-based
SaaS (software as a service) HR
and Finance systems are replacing
the on-premise and legacy systems
of old. In place of cumbersome
interfaces and time-consuming tests,
these systems offer powerful out-ofthe-box features that can be adopted
with ease.
Intuitiveness, however, is just one
part of the picture. Reliability, safety,
security and cost of ownership are
other considerations that must be
taken into account. Here, too, SaaS
solutions can offer new benefits.
If we’re to empower finance and
HR teams with better technology,
challenge the perception of these
system’s potential and offer public
sector bodies a more productive
future, it’s worth examining how the
landscape has changed.
Every cloud is unique
The days of on-premise systems
are increasingly behind us. Like the
private sector, the public sector is
aware that the benefits of the cloud
- from lower maintenance costs to
more powerful features - cannot be
ignored.
Nevertheless, not all cloud-based
options are created equally. After
decades of using on-premise
solutions, there can be a temptation
to simply lift and shift those legacy
platforms to the cloud - sometimes
on behalf of the companies providing
them.. There’s a misconception that
this approach minimises business
impact and commercial risks like
costs or testing phases. In reality, this
couldn’t be further from the truth. If
you’re going to upgrade your system,
this approach only goes half way and
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exposes you to inefficiencies and
poor ROI, and perpetuates vendor
lock-in..
Cloud-native ERP systems like
Workday are the other side of
the coin and offer benefits that
go beyond a change of server
infrastructure. These solutions offer
an ‘adopt, not adapt’ approach
- meaning features are pre-built
and can be configured rather than
customised to meet individual
department bodies’ needs. Whereas,
a legacy cloud system might require
months worth of coding and testing
and coding to adapt a new feature to
a specific organisation, with a cloudnative system the same result can be
achieved in less than a day - often in
just a few minutes.a day.
Likewise, security and feature
updates are automatic rapid in
cloud-native systems, and accessing
new features is simplified. Because
everything is pre-tested and built by
the solution provider, rollouts are fast.
With these solutions, customersHR
and finance teams are no longer
paying to act as their supplier’s own
software testing team beta-testers.
Instead, they get the intended
product from day one. This is why
it’s crucial that buyers looking into
cloud transformation evaluate the
market - and don’t simply opt for a
cloud-port of a legacy system that
carries over inefficiencies that should
be left behind.
Reaping the rewards of SaaS
implementation
Perhaps even more important
than the logistical benefits, like
easier maintenance and short
testing periods, are the results a
SaaS implementation can offer to
the end users in finance and HR
departments.
One of the biggest boons to these
teams is the ability to undertake
sophisticated analytics on their
growing datasets. To date, the public
sector has often struggled to extract
value from data. With reams of it
trapped in legacy systems IT teams
are left struggling to service ad hoc
requests to put it to use.
A shift to cloud-native systems can
keep that data tightly guarded, while
deploying a layer of sophisticated
analytics over the top, which delivers
practical insights. Whether used
for financial forecasting, identifying
skill gaps or annual audits, these
GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL SUMMER 2024
Lesley Moore,
Director, Field Services,
Workday
advanced analytics bring concrete
benefits to HR and finance
productivity.
With a platform like Workday Prism
Analytics, IT teams remain in control
of security, while teams can selfserve insights without any coding or
additional software special licences
required. This is a win-win: IT teams
can focus on priorities like security,
while individual departments can
easily assess and share valuable
insights.
Alongside putting data to work,
cloud-native platforms are also
more easily integrated with other
critical third-party systems, without
additional costs or requiring extra
layers of code to be built. All of this
helps to raise the bar when it comes
to HR and finance productivity. Those
teams become more autonomous,
data-driven and engaged because
they can easily find and deploy the
insights they need, whenever they
need them.
However, this doesn’t mean help
isn’t available when needed. Cloudnative providers like Workday, and its
net implementation partners, maintain
ongoing support and guidance when
needed to ensure organisations
are maximising the return on their
investment and operating with
confidence.
However, it does mean individual
HR or finance teams, as well as
their larger organisations, have the
autonomy to adjust systems to their
changing needs without having to
call out a Systems Integrator for every
new request.
The silver lining: future-proofing
for AI
With the age of AI well underway,
cloud-native SaaS systems
additionally offer a future-proof
solution for the public sector.
These platforms can roll-out new AI
features as they become available,
with minimal disruption to teams.
For organisations that are still
experimenting with where AI fits
within their workflows, they also offer
a safe way to turn such features on
and off, without needing to rework an
entire system.
Beyond limited AI functions, the
drawbacks of legacy systems and
their cloud-based equivalents - long
and costly implementation, lengthy
update periods and limited features can no longer be ignored.
For leaders looking to upgrade
their HR and finance systems, the
process no longer has to be a
painful one. There’s an opportunity
to break the vicious cycle of high
costs and increasingly poor return on
investment for outdated technology,
and to instead embrace a future of
work that’s more productive, simpler
and cost effective for the public
sector and its people.