| | JUNE 20169CIOReviewTo ensure a successful transition to a core HRIS, each phase is being executed through a four step process:1. DiscoveryAudit which special features we like about our current solutions to determine if and how they will be supported in the new global system. Change management is critical in this step, as poor communication and documentation can cause significant rework in future stages. In our case, we decided that--with the exception of country-specific rules--common global processes will be adhered to by all Cypress locations. By doing so, we are able to simplify the process, while disposing of all the features that required significant time and energy.2. Define / TestDefining and testing the system changes is the most technical challenge of the entire process. A significant amount of time is required to get it right. Although it may seem like an easy task on the surface, this step can become an involved project requiring many weeks of extra work. For example, what we considered a simple change of cloning (copying) from one system to another eventually turned into a multi-month effort that almost required a complete redeployment of our systems and a retest of everything. Taking an iterative development approach of breaking the project into smaller chunks, however, makes this less challenging than processes in the past when all requirements had to be defined upfront.3. Data MigrationSingle system is effective only if it has all the historic data from the previous systems. Migrating the data from the old systems into the new one requires the conversion of all of the existing data into the new format, fixing inconsistencies, uploading it and verifying the new data. They say that a system is only as good as the data in it, namely the data accuracy (or lack thereof). In this third step, having inaccurate data can ruin the success of the entire project.4. System Roll OutOnce the first three steps have been completed, the larger team needs to be trained through a formal roll out of the new system. Again, while this step sounds deceptively simple, if special attention is not paid to providing training and allotting bandwidth to support the initial on-boarding of the team, all the hard work from prior steps may be lost.Conceptually, the use of a single system will lead a manager to utilize it to manage requisitions and their candidate pipeline. Additionally, the integrated recruiting, onboarding and core HR system allow all candidate information to electronically transfer to the downstream systems (or core HRIS) where it can be managed throughout the employee's tenure with the company. This architecture ensures data accuracy, as the owner of the information provides the data, eliminates data duplication and, when globally deployed, ensures that the data is managed consistently for all locations.To date, Cypress has started the "Discovery" step of merging the Cypress Japan HR and integrating recruiting systems into the core HRIS. The team in Japan is identifying the special features to decide if and how they will be supported in the new global system. We are also well into the "Define / Test" step for merging legacy PeopleSoft system employees into the global system.Though refining our HRIS will be a continual process, we are excited about the progress Cypress has made thus far in the transition toward our single-system vision. Once the transition is complete, we expect to be able to cut HRIS costs by 40 percent, which amounts to a savings of $325,000 per year. Soon, our team will be able to take advantage of the key benefits of using a single system: global visibility into our workforce, consistent and accurate data, employee and manager self-service options, elimination of duplicate data and a reduction in the total cost of ownership. While analysts and investors worry most about how the public views finances and product portfolio compatibility, human resources is the organizational department that is most affected internally
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