Define Your Requirements - Focus on the Business Issues

Start with a clear definition of your business issues and strategic objectives rather than coming up with an exhaustive list of feature requirements. This is not to say that depth and breadth of product capability is not important - actually it's critical. Root your requirements firmly in the results that you're looking to achieve and an assessment of a vendor's ability to address them.

Linking Performance & Talent Management to business results is not only possible, it's everything. Establishing the helps organization and local leadership understand why the effort is important and how it will be used to fuel their success.

Get the right people involved - Executive Commitment and IT Approval Executive Sponsor - Many folks learn about Performance & Talent Management in the course of evaluating solutions for automating a paper-based review process. Then it strikes them - they've stumbled upon a huge opportunity to make a major impact on the success and strategic direction of the business. Our customers have found that it is often difficult to build momentum when HR is the driver. An Executive sponsor greases the gears throughout the organization.

Project team members - Choose your project team members carefully. Start with people who have a vested interest in seeing the project succeed. This often includes the leaders in HR, OD, L&D, Compensation... SuccessFactors representatives can point you to a wealth of resources - a 1000+ page archive of ideas, stories, and materials generated by our customers and hosted on our customer Community. As your project moves along, remember to keep department heads appraised of potential roadblocks. They'll be happiest with few surprises and a lot of opportunities to ask questions and voice their concerns.

IT Support - You want the IT team on your side. You REALLY want the IT team on your side. Make them your partner, or your project may fall to the bottom of their long list of priorities. In many organizations, IT can hold up a project for months if they are not on-board. If they are engaged, they can help you identify important data integration questions you may not have considered and get things running smoothly when you have a technical problem.