5 Simple ways to pick the WRONG software for your business

The software you use to run your?recruitment or labour hire business (or any business really) makes all the difference. Sure, you can grind away with repetitive work and tedious, outdated processes, but?that’s?no way to do business if you want to scale your customer service or increase the business profitability. The better way?as most of us know?is to streamline your processes and functions with technology.?There are a lot of options out there that say they?do just that, only to let you down in the?long-run?(Entire OnHire is not one of them obviously). With this dilemma in mind,?we’ve?created a list of 5 things you should do if you want to pick the WRONG software for your business?So?you can?spot them and avoid them!

Let’s?get started.?

1. COPY WHAT?EVERYONE ELSE?IS?DOING?

Normally the first thing people look at is "what does my industry normally use?".

Choosing a software just because?that’s?what your competitors are using is a bad idea. We?can’t?stress that enough (Unless your competitor is using?Entire OnHire… then it’s actually a good idea to follow suit, but we digress).?

Your?competitors?are not you! And it's very unlikely you want to be exactly like your competitors. Every time?you’re?talking to a client, do you say, “We’re just like our biggest competitor”??

No. Of course you?don’t.?You tell them you are different in ways x, y and z.

So why would you pick?the same?system that your competitors use??

In all seriousness though, the big reason most business decision makers copy the competition is because then they know it works for their industry in a general sense.?It’s?a fear factor, they’re trying?to pick something that “they know is industry proven”, because the devil you know is better than the one you don’t.?It’s?an attempt to mitigate risk.??

Unfortunately, it exposes you to a?much bigger risk.?

Your competitor already got suckered in by the same speech and flashy demo you had and when they got their software, it?wasn’t?as good as they’d hoped?- and they won’t admit otherwise though (not many people will).?Now if you buy it too,?you’re?both in a heap of trouble,?but you’re stuck on the same contract longer than they are.?

I've fall into this same trap myself, assuming that what the other, more successful companies were doing in my industry must be the best, so I followed them right into a software quagmire. Let's call it a learning experience, but it can be a really expensive one that will set you back years if you get it wrong! Instead of copying, the solution is to do the research yourself and find a software that is already a great fit or customizable to your business and your way of doing things(I'll show you how shortly). Which brings us to our next point.??

2.?GO SHOPPING?WITHOUT A CRITERIA LIST?

Have a set decision making criteria list, and?don’t?waver from it. Make the list before you start searching.?Break the list into the?4?key departments of your recruitment business, normally: Sales, Recruitment, Placement & Finance.?Don’t?get distracted unless you find something that’s absolutely out of the box you had no idea existed. (An example of an acceptable distraction is learning that?Entire OnHire offers a mobile app that can?allow your clients and workers to easily fill out digital time sheets from their phone. Maybe you?didn’t?realize this was even possible. Now you do, and?it’s?OK to add to your criteria list.)?

Beware the dazzling?little bells and whistles on the interface or dashboard, or the pretty colours and formats of the reports. Because odds are that when you actually launch the systems later on after getting hooked in by some “nice to have” bonuses, you’ll quickly find that your core list of needs are suddenly is being ignored, and now business critical functions aren’t running.??

We’re not saying you shouldn’t have a great looking software with bells and whistles, we’re just saying don’t get so caught up in that, that you miss the real meat of what you needed in the first place.?Salespeople know what looks great usually?sells, and?will happily avoid discussing core requirements if you seem to be enjoying the pretty graphs.??

We suggest making a “Must?list” and a “Major list”?and “Bonus list”. Assign a number value to each of the 3 categories and go from there. This gives you a simple way?to use basic data to make the right decision and remove our human emotions from the equation (we all have them!).??

Decide what you absolutely MUST Have and?don’t?budge from that no matter what the salesman tells you.?To enforce this list, use an excel sheet to?create a scorecard that you can use to grade each software you evaluate. Make sure the same person does?all?grading, otherwise you could be prone to?different ways of evaluation.?However, if you can afford it,?it’s?even?better is if you have 2 people do the?entire?grading independently (this lets you triangulate better and removes bias).??

This makes it easy to eliminate the software that?don’t?have what you need right off the bad, and then quickly choose between the remaining options based on the grades you’ve assigned. If you need a template for looking through and evaluating Recruitment and?labour hire software, let us know. We have one we can give you, free of charge just ask.??

3. SIGN A LONG LOCK-IN CONTRACT?WITHOUT ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS.

Our honest opinion is that in today’s world of subscription-based software,?there’s?rarely a need to have a contract. Many companies only offer long term contracts with no option for monthly subscriptions. To be honest, we think?that’s?unethical.?We totally get it gives some security to a company, and?there’s?an argument to be made for those that ask for a short-term contract and provide a discount to do so. But?there’s?still too many providers that run with contracts as the only in our opinion, especially dangerous for small business that can't afford the massive payouts.???

The question is WHY are they requiring a contract??

The business software needs to work, correct??

If it?doesn’t?work, you’re not going to use it, correct??

And if it does work,?you’re?going to keep using it, correct??

So, why do you need the contract? If it’s not working for you, you shouldn’t have to pay for it,?you should be able to leave for something that does work?and if it is working for you, you’ll gladly keep paying. We?don’t?believe in making people pay for something they don’t want or aren’t actually using.?Whilst we do offer contracts as standard ourselves, our team also perform extensive business fits prior to doing so, because it's important it's a win win for both parties.

Call us crazy.?

4. FORGET TO ASK ABOUT SUPPORT TERMS?

Software without good support is like a Racear with with flat tires and no brakes. Sure it'll still work, but it'll feel awful most of the time and out of control the rest of the time.

When?you’re?shopping for a new system, make sure the software comes with high-quality and comprehensive support. Or at least support that is customizable to what you need and want. If?you’re?tech savvy, have a lot of internal IT resources or can do a lot yourself, great! But, for the rest of us, we want to make sure?there’s?someone there when we make a phone call, if we really need it.??

Software providers in today's cloud world should offer things like 99% uptime guarantees and 24/7 emergency service. Look into the fine details and ask what is included and what is not included with your support package. Is support included in the overall license? If not, how much is it? When does it kick in??What’s?the guarantees on commitment? What do their current clients say about support (probably the biggest clue).?Will you be charged for?support?when you are merely?emailing in?a bug (believe it or not?I’ve?seen it in contracts before).??If it crashes completely do you wait 3 hours or 3 weeks for it get fixed?

Ask lots of questions, so you know what?you’re?getting. Otherwise,?you’ll?be stuck with that Racecar that drives like a 1970 Datsun.

5.?ASSUME THE?IMPLEMENTATION?WILL BE EASY

The last thing to make sure?you’re?taking into account is the track record and ability your software provider has to get you up and running. You will need their help, and you will also need to put in more effort than you think. Most people greatly over-estimate their ability to get work?done, and this is twice as true when it comes to implementing software.?I repeat, this is an issue every company has (yes even software companies). When you?implement software for your own business?over more than a month, it quickly falls off?the last priority of everyone in the actual business, unless you make an active effort otherwise.?Because everyone is busy, and we have customers to take care of and things to do!?

This is notoriously an area of struggle for?software?suppliers, who are often great at building and selling their software, but not so much at getting it up and running for a new client.?It’s?why a lot of major providers completely "wash their hands" of it, and outsource that function to third parties (looking at you Salesforce!).?This is?has?both pros and cons, and probably a discussion point all on it’s own.??But every implementation of anything pretty much has bumps, you're gonna hit something and the process will be harder than you expect.

Why?is this the case? Well?it’s?important to note, when you are looking at a?software demo, you’re?looking at the finished product. And the finished product looks bloody great! It has data in it, it’s been configured properly,?it’s?users have been trained to perfection?and?the automation options are all running seamlessly in the background.?If the finished product was a?F1 racecar, you’d be looking at it about cross the finish line in first place, after smoking the competition,?champagne already on ice ready to go, who wouldn’t want to be in that car!?

But, for you to get that?F1 racecar?to the podium?first you need?to buy the?chassis, then you need the?tires,?the seats?and of course?the steering wheel. Finally the car is built, but you're not done yet, now you need to have a driver trained to drive the car. That takes a while, and then he?has to?practice, a lot, and keep himself fit as well. At the same time, the racetrack needs to be analysed for the best route given the environment and?take account for multiple weather?conditions.?The?pit crew needs to be trained as a group to do those crazy fast pit stops.?As you can see?there’s?a lot of moving parts!?All this takes a lot of hard work, training, practice,?repetition?and most importantly – time.??

Now imagine?you’re?doing that process by yourself for the first time. Ouch. Or maybe it's your second or third time, but with a different car type, a different race track and different conditions (i.e. different software provider and environment). Compare that with doing it with an F1 team of over?20?years’ experience?guiding you?and provide resources at the right time??That’s?the difference with a great?software?company's on-boarding?process, they'll stick with you to navigate the bumps, and double down when things do get tough.

Now back to software, it’s important to keep in mind that?the more?“complete” a software is, the more complex the process is,?but it doesn’t mean it has to be more difficult?or confusing?for you as the customer. At?Entire OnHire, we guarantee to have you transitioned to the new software and up and running within a specific amount of time, or your license fee is free until?you’re?up.?(Obviously there's some conditions on client side to do the work) but we offer this because we do extensive business fit workshops prior to signing any deal, and only proceed if there's an 80% fit. If it's less than that, we make the client aware and in some cases have even recommended prospects to competitors. Believe it or not!

So, if?you’re?in the market, ask your provider?what they need from you to guarantee you’ll go live on the date you want.?You’ll?get them excited as a dream client with this question! Additionally, since this?will be near the time of signing something (hopefully not one of those massive contracts),?you can ask to?talk with a recently implemented customer, similar to your size and scope.?You can also?ask for a visual chart, rollout roadmap or guide of milestones to expect. Most software companies (in fact all good ones) use some sort of rollout map internally, and with some tweaking will be happy to share.?Finally,?ask them for?their?guarantee.?If they?won’t?guarantee you will go live, what can they guarantee? If?it’s?nothing, then that’s another red flag, even bigger if?you’re signing a contract. As it shows their commitment to you actually being able to?using?the software functionality is very low.??

Some simple questions to ask, but if you skip this?step?you’ll often end up?stuck with a half-way implemented software, an empty checking account and a non-responsive software salesperson at the end of the day.??

And as a final warning, if the salesperson seems super confident about the implementation being “easy”?but?hasn’t?really asked many questions?then that’s always a red flag for me. There’s a?HUGE?difference between being confident in your?teams?ability to implement?by following a proven process and saying “yes, yes, yes”?to a client’s questions to get them to sign the dotted line.?As always, ask for examples if possible.??

IN SUMMARY?

If you want to pick the WRONG software for your labour hire business, make sure you follow the five bullet headings above. However,?If?you want to pick the RIGHT software for your company, learn from the mistakes others have made, remember DMDAG?and follow the below 5 steps:?

1. Don’t?follow your competitors blindly?
2. Make a criteria list and stick to it?
3. Don’t?sign long lock-in contracts?
4. Ask lots of questions about support?
5. Get commitment to a?solid implementation process??

If you have any questions about picking the right recruitment, workforce or labour hire software for your business?(and yes it does really depend upon your business!)?we’re always happy to give unbiased (mostly!) answer to you at?Entire Recruit.?