Building a value case for HR technology implementation

When organisations embark on the journey of implementing new HR technology, they often focus on constructing a traditional business case to justify the investment. While this is important, forward-thinking companies are increasingly recognising the need for a more comprehensive approach: the value case.

Unlike the business case, which is typically cost-centric, a value case encompasses a broader range of benefits - from financial outcomes to the ‘value of’ employee engagement and productivity. By adopting this holistic framework, leaders ensure that their HR technology investments yield both immediate and long-term advantages.

Traditional business case vs. value case

It’s important to understand the difference between the two. A traditional business case primarily focuses on justifying investments based on quantifiable financial metrics. It details costs, projected savings, and return on investment (ROI), often to satisfy financial stakeholders like CFOs. While these elements are essential, they are often insufficient to drive comprehensive and sustainable organisational change, especially in areas like HR.

In contrast, a value case offers a more expansive view of the potential benefits of an HR technology investment. It goes beyond cost savings and efficiency gains to include people-centric outcomes and value, such as enhancing employee experience, improving productivity, and aligning technology with the organisation’s culture and broader strategic goals. It’s important to consider employees as a source of organisational capital, where investments not only bring financial returns but also improve employee engagement and satisfaction.

By framing the investment around both financial and non-financial benefits, a value case helps build stronger buy-in from a broader set of stakeholders, including HR, IT, Business Leadership and line managers. It demonstrates that the technology change will deliver value across the organisation, impacting productivity, culture, and employee experience—key components of any successful transformation.

The discovery process

Before embarking on HR technology implementation, leaders must engage in a thorough discovery process. The questions they ask during this phase will shape the success of the initiative. Leaders must clearly understand the business imperatives driving the need for a new HR system. Is the goal to improve employee engagement, simplify, harmonise, reduce costs, or all of the above?

At the same time, identifying who will be impacted and understanding their expectations is essential. This will help align the technology to stakeholder needs across departments, ensuring support from all critical business functions. The selected HR technology should not operate in a vacuum but must integrate into the company’s broader strategic goals, whether it’s enhancing the employee experience, supporting a culture change, or improving operational efficiency.

It’s not just about the initial investment. Leaders must consider the longer-term maintenance, approach, and potential new and scalability requirements that might inflate the cost over time. Therefore, it’s important to establish clear key performance indicator (KPI) measures early on, ensuring there’s a framework for assessing whether the implementation meets its objectives.

The five pit stops of HR tech implementation

Five crucial steps, or “pit stops,” are involved in developing and implementing HR technology into the business. These set out a roadmap that helps organisations avoid common pitfalls and deliver a balanced approach.

Building the value case

Before any implementation begins, there should be a clear case for change. This means defining why the change is needed, what the business stands to gain from the technology and how it will add value, not just financially but also by improving productivity, operational efficiency, and employee engagement. This initial stage sets the tone for the entire project, ensuring the technology aligns with strategic goals and stakeholder expectations and providing the elevator pitch version of the change narrative.

Planning and design foundations

The next step is to build a realistic and well-thought-out project plan. Critical functionalities and a “Minimum Viable Solution” (MVS) mindset should be prioritised and maintained, enabling the organisation to launch and prove the most essential parts of the system first while allowing for gradual improvements over time. Additionally, the plan should align with broader business challenges, ensuring that each phase of the project delivers on the value case's promises.

Selecting the right tech partner A successful HR technology implementation depends on choosing the right partner. It should always be about long-term collaboration over short-term gains. Rather than focusing solely on the software itself, leaders should look for partners who understand the organisation's unique challenges and can evolve with it over time. The right partner will not only ensure a smooth implementation but also contribute to realising the long-term goals laid out in the value case, including the longer-term continuous improvement needs post-go-live.

Mobilising the team and ways of working A well-mobilised team is key to success. Ideally, organisations should have four core parties involved: the internal business team, the technology provider, the system implementation (SI) partner, and a strategic advisory partner. Each brings its expertise, ensuring the project remains aligned with its goals and that any challenges can be managed in collaboration.

Ensuring change sticks One of the most overlooked aspects of technology implementation is change management. For new systems to be adopted successfully, organisations must ensure that people embrace the new processes and technologies. This starts with the case for change in the value case and then requires a focus on properly planning communication, training,

adoption, and behavioural change. By creating a culture that supports adoption, companies can ensure that the benefits of the new technology are realised long after the implementation phase.

Sustaining the benefits of the new HR technology requires ongoing effort. Organisations must be prepared for continuous updates and improvements, with a system in place for tracking performance and adjusting the solution as needed. Organisations can no longer afford to build a business case solely based on financial metrics. A value case offers a comprehensive approach that encompasses the financial, operational, and cultural impacts of HR technology.

By taking a structured approach, asking the right questions, and following a clear roadmap, organisations can ensure that their HR technology investments deliver lasting value across the board. Whether it’s improving employee engagement, enhancing productivity, simplifying or aligning with broader strategic goals, a well-crafted value case ensures that every aspect of the business benefits can be realised from the change.