Day 1-5: Audit & Planning
1. Assess Current Pain Points
- Conduct stakeholder interviews with:
- HR team (Top 3 daily frustrations?)
- Employees (What takes too long?)
- Managers (What reporting is missing?)
- Tool: SurveyMonkey/Google Forms
2. Map Must-Have vs. Nice-to-Have
| Category | Essential | Ideal |
|---|---|---|
| ATS | ✅ | AI screening |
| HRIS | ✅ | Payroll integration |
| Engagement | ❌ | Pulse surveys |
3. Budget Allocation
- Small biz (<100 employees): $5,000-$15,000/year
- Mid-market: $20,000-$50,000
- Pro Tip: 58% of companies overspend on unused features (Gartner)
Day 6-10: Core HRIS Selection
4. Rapid Vendor Shortlisting
- For <500 employees: BambooHR, Gusto
- Global teams: Remote, Deel
- Enterprise: Workday, SAP SuccessFactors
5. 3-Day Evaluation Sprint
- Day 1: Demo key workflows
- Day 2: Security review (SOC 2? GDPR?)
- Day 3: Reference calls (Ask: “What broke during implementation?”)
Red Flag: Vendors who won’t provide a sandbox environment
Day 11-15: Recruitment Tech
6. Implement Foundational ATS
- Budget pick: Zoho Recruit ($25/user/month)
- AI-powered: Lever, Greenhouse
- High-volume: Jobvite
7. Automate Screening
- Chatbot: MyInterview (30% faster screening)
- Assessments: Vervoe (role-specific tests)
- Calendar sync: GoodTime (auto-schedules interviews)
Case Study: Tech startup reduced time-to-hire from 42 to 19 days using this stack
Day 16-20: Employee Experience Layer
8. Launch Engagement Tools
- Pulse surveys: Culture Amp ($4/employee/month)
- Recognition: Bonusly (peer-to-peer rewards)
- Learning: 360Learning (social LMS)
9. Set Up Manager Enablement
- 1:1s: Lattice (talking point suggestions)
- Feedback: 15Five (weekly check-ins)
- Org charts: Pingboard (real-time team mapping)
Pro Tip: Integrate with Slack/MS Teams for adoption
Day 21-25: Payroll & Compliance
10. Connect Money Movement
- US-focused: Gusto (auto-tax filings)
- Global: Rippling (unified payroll)
- Enterprise: ADP (compliance heavy)
11. Automate Documentation
- E-signatures: DocuSign (HR templates)
- Policy tracking: Sapling (expiration alerts)
- Audit trails: Workday (version histories)
Compliance Must: Ensure FLSA/EEOC reporting capabilities
Day 26-30: Go Live & Optimize
12. Phased Rollout Plan
- Week 1: HR team training
- Week 2: Manager onboarding
- Week 3: Employee access
13. Adoption Boosters
- “Amazing Race” contest (reward feature exploration)
- Office hours (live Q&A sessions)
- Cheat sheets (one-pagers per tool)
14. Define Success Metrics
| Tool | KPI | Target |
|---|---|---|
| ATS | Time-to-hire | <30 days |
| HRIS | Payroll errors | 0% |
| Engagement | eNPS | +15 points |
Budget Breakdown (100-Person Company)
| Tool | Annual Cost |
|---|---|
| BambooHR | $7,200 |
| Lever ATS | $12,000 |
| Lattice | $9,600 |
| Gusto | $8,640 |
| Total | $37,440 |
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Over-customization (80% of needs are standard)
- Siloed tools (Prioritize integrations)
- Neglecting change management (70% of failures stem from poor adoption)
“The best HR tech stack is invisible—it just works while people focus on meaningful work.”
