Dealing With The Unexpected: Challenges and Solutions for an Interim Human Resource(s) Officer

Patricia Hardaway, J.D.
Interim Chief Human Resource Officer
Trinity College (Hartford, Connecticut)
August 2019 – June 2020

[Editor’s note: This “Blindside” series aims to inform readers about the challenges interim administrators are likely to encounter, and strategies on ways to avoid being blindsided in your interim assignment. This is the third article in the Blindside series.]

The following article continues a recent series in Chronicles about how Interim leaders address being blind-sided by new information, new needs, and unforeseen challenges on their campuses.  In my case, it was the surprise decision that I would be planning and implementing the migration from a 99% paper HRIS platform to a 99% paperless electronic platform in only 120 days rather than the anticipated one year.   The solution?   Gather the team, commit to candor, and rip the bandage off, so to speak.

Step 1:  Immediately move beyond a natural tendency to worry or despair

The first major act was to energize the entire Human Resources Team to join forces and commit to getting the job done correctly the first time around.   We created an action plan to go live in four months and to deliver paychecks to staff and faculty with 100% accuracy.  As a reality check, this migration typically requires at least of dedicated effort, but the institution did not have that leeway.

The HR team member with primary oversight for payroll and benefits data bases became the Migration Lead.  Two additional team members who most frequently used those data bases became that individual’s A Team.  The rest of the HR staff became the B Team charged with keeping day to day operations and functions moving straight ahead.  To assume seamless continuation of quality department services delivery, the B Team developed a Master Project Plan for the Department’s functional structure and work allocations.

Each HR team member also planned and executed an individual action plan for specific functional areas and assumed lead interface roles for the related HRIS modules.

Step 2:  Marshall a college-wide participation effort

In short, “Marshall the Troops!”  By this, we meant, incorporate participation across the College by establishing an HRIS Champions Team.  The College maintained two campuses, and the institutional culture was somewhat nuanced at each campus.   Thus, it was immediately necessary to heighten inter-departmental and inter-campus collaborations and communications to new levels of success.

To achieve this, we defined a Super-Users Core Team consisting of the Human Resources staff, the Payroll and Business Affairs staff, and the IT staff.  These subject matter experts interfaced directly with the vendor team concerning their respective use areas and became helpful points of interface with the vendor.

Each College Cabinet member designated two delegates for the HRIS Champions Team whose role was to communicate information back to their division and campus and to bring forward end-user and employee self-service user insights to the Super Users Core Team.  In this way, members of the HRIS Champions Team became a cohort of early adopters and influencers deployed throughout the College.  Their valuable perspective significantly improved the platform’s functionality, and their relationships and support among colleagues promoted buy-in.

Step 3:  Keep things moving forward

It will be necessary to dump data quickly and accurately.  The A Team will need to review and, if possible, triple check perhaps tens of thousands of lines of employee personnel file and benefits information before and after each data dump.  The Super Users Core Team will need to collaborate in designing and constructing necessary modules that assure compatibility between the HRIS platform and the College’s confirmed data security.  As the Champions Team streams information among stakeholders, the B Team will need to keep day to day services operating successfully.

Step 4:  Liberate, then Celebrate

Employees and their supervisors will now need to be introduced to the Employee Self-Service Portal, and everyone will need to access, review, update, and confirm the accuracy of their personal information.  Similarly, supervisors will need to access and learn the Supervisor Self-Service Portal.   As a safety check, members of the Super Users Core Team will review all entries.

Using this model, after 120 days every employee received a paycheck via the new platform.  Only two required minor corrections.   While I cannot speak to other institutions and their migration strategies, these 4 Steps worked effectively in this case and might be considered as a template for other Interim leaders to consider.