In our experience, HR processes are often customised to an organization and standardization is rare. This makes it important to ensure that your project team combines combine not only theoretical knowledge of the HRSD module, but also real-life experience of implementations. The ServiceNow HRSD module has grown significantly over time, and while Certified Implementation Specialists in HRSD should be a key part of the project team, they should be complemented with the experience of implementing HRSD projects.

The ServiceNow HRSD Certified Implementation Specialist qualification gives a broad theoretical knowledge of the Platform and is important for understanding the best-approach or perfect scenario for implementing HRSD, but lived experience allows the organization to view this methodology through the lens of more complex, real-life scenarios.

An example of this is implementing ServiceNow’s HRSD module with a real understanding on how end-users interact with the platform and how organizations HR processes may vary. Understanding how employees currently interact with HR will shape the way HRSD should be implemented, and implementors with experience in HRSD will be able to shape change, training, and communication material in a bespoke way for that implementation.

Organizations are often complex, and challenges or scenarios arise that can’t be covered in ‘classroom’ training. For example, auditing the existing technical estate and organization structure is important to understand how to build a platform that caters for all users and nuances in processes. From this lived experience implementors can begin to ask questions such as:

• Are all our employees frequently, and reliably, connected to the company network?
• Can all our employees access the HR portal we want to implement?
• Should we have bespoke workflows for users that have infrequent access to devices?
• What other ServiceNow modules are already present that we can leverage?
• What is currently deployed on the technical estate, can integrate with any existing software?
• What is the user experience we need to consider when implementing sensitive HR Cases?
• Do these workflows apply to all employees, or just those in a certain grade bracket or location, what variations should we consider to the process and workflow?

These are the questions that we start to consider in the real world. Theoretical knowledge of the platform is important to understand the configuration methods we might apply, but lived experience of deploying a platform lets us shape this theoretical knowledge to ad hoc situations which cannot be covered in training.

ServiceNow HRSD may present an opportunity to increase value realized from other applications that might be deployed on the platform. Theoretical knowledge in HRSD and its supporting modules such as IT Asset Management will highlight the potential cross-value that can be realized, but from lived experience of the platform, implementors can look to leverage existing functionality to increase the return on investment from HRSD or other modules.

Key takeaways

• The adaptability required in HR Service Delivery projects (due to variations in process, policy, existing IT or ServiceNow estate) is a skill developed by implementing the platform over time in different scenarios.
• As implementors in HRSD we need to consider aspects outside of ServiceNow certifications such a UI and UX design, process variation and data management when processing sensitive information, to name a few.
• Certifications provide a great foundation for building the platform, but it is the hands-on experience that helps a project team to overcome challenges and ensure a successful deployment of HRSD for all users.