Managing a global workforce means navigating multiple currencies, languages and cultures whilst enhancing labour efficiency, productivity and employee engagement.
Once you invest in a scalable and compliant workforce management solution, define requirements and pick your vendor, then it’s time to implement. No small task, your implementation strategy is critical and is the key piece of guidance that helps your organisation fully adopt its new workforce management solution.
The right approach will put you in the best position to create an adaptable organisation you can count on to power your operations. Let’s get started.
A better implementation strategy starts here.
Prepare and execute a plan that meets both the global standards and local needs of your organisation.
“It’s your ability to align people, process and technology. When you implement a system like the ADP WorkForce Suite, you’re implementing an enabler. Your true value lies in your ability to have strong adoption and strong business processes need to be enabled by the technology.”
Taryn Emerson Director | IT Strategy and Portfolio, Smurfit Westrock
Your implementation strategy matters
Without a solid strategy in place, even the most trusted workforce management solutions could fall short of achieving your goals and lead to delays, internal resistance and compliance headaches.
1. Build a comprehensive implementation roadmap
- Align your implementation strategy with larger business priorities and regional regulations.
- Clearly define milestones, ownership and accountability for each phase.
- Consider how to mitigate risk for data migration and compliance alignment.
5. Drive change management and user adoption
- Establish a global change management team with regional representation.
- Develop localised training programs tailored to end users in different markets.
- Implement a feedback loop for continuous improvement based on early rollouts.
2. Form your project team
- Look for individuals experienced in HR, payroll and time and attendance.
- Involve operations leaders who understand frontline labour and operational practices.
- Engage people with strong project management, decision-making and problem-solving skills.
6. Perform testing to identify potential issues
- Provide solution training so testers can distinguish between errors and a lack of user knowledge.
- Enlist frontline managers to test how the solution will work in day-to-day operations and evangelise the benefits to other users.
- Build a pay comparison test to see how system changes impact payroll — greater payroll accuracy is achieved when relevant rules are applied.
3. Define systems integration approach
- Work closely with HR, payroll and IT to integrate systems with minimal disruption.
- Validate data accuracy and system interoperability before full deployment.
- Use sandbox environments to thoroughly test configurations in different countries.
7. Adopt an iterative rollout strategy
- Pilot in less challenging regions before scaling globally.
- Use phased rollouts to capture learnings and refine configurations.
- Continuously refine system performance based on early-user feedback and KPI tracking.
4. Address compliance localisation early
- Validate that your new solution can accommodate local payroll, labour laws and tax codes.
- Save time and energy by leaning on pre-built compliance templates.
- Work with regional legal teams to configure compliance needs before launch.
8. Leverage lessons from implementations
- Study real-world examples to see what strategy and launch look like in the context and pressure of real constraints, across real teams, in real time and at scale.
- Whilst implementations vary from business to business, you can learn a lot from those who have done it before and done it well.
Discover How to Build a Resilient, Future-Ready Global Workforce
From the leading solution expert on enterprise workforce management, we share best practices for organisations who are implementing a workforce strategy to scale globally and operate locally in The Global Workforce Management Rollout Playbook.
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