Selecting and implementing HR software

By Redaktion techport.ai, HR-Beratung · Last updated on 21 August 2026

Most failed HR system implementations do not fail because of the system itself. They fail because the selection began with a vendor presentation instead of internal processes, because the works council was informed after the contract was signed, because data was migrated unchecked, and because no one was responsible after go-live. Three years later, one-third of the functions are used; the rest are licence costs.

System selection is a process decision with technical consequences. Those who know their processes can compare vendors. Those who do not will buy the best presentation.

How to recognise it

The current system reflects processes that no longer exist and cannot support those that are needed.
Requirements exist as a wish list from the specialist department, without priority and without reference to processes.
The last implementation took twice as long as planned, and data migration was the reason.
No one in-house can administer the system. Every change requires a ticket to the vendor.

Why this happens

HR systems are rarely selected. The decision occurs every eight to twelve years, no one has experience with it, and the market is opaque. Vendors perform better in presentations than in reality, reference customers are hand-picked, and critical questions about interfaces, data model, and administration are not asked because no one knows they are critical.

Our approach

Derive requirements from processes. We record your core processes and derive requirements from them, weighted by must-have, should-have, and nice-to-have. Cross-cutting requirements are also included: interfaces, authorisations, data protection, co-determination, multi-client capability, hosting.
Narrow down and compare the market. From the market, we select four to six systems that fit your size, industry, and requirements. Each vendor receives the same script with your processes and your data. What is shown is evaluated, not what is promised.
Decide and negotiate. Evaluation, five-year costs, reference calls with customers you choose, contract review for term, price increases, data handover, and exit. The works council is involved at this stage at the latest, preferably earlier.
Implement and embed. Data cleansing before migration, test migration, works agreement (Betriebsvereinbarung), role-based training, go-live with hypercare. Afterwards, the system gets an in-house owner and a development plan for functions coming in waves two and three.

What you gain

A system that supports your processes, instead of processes adapting to the system.
An implementation that stays on schedule because data was checked beforehand and the works council does not halt progress in week three.
Usage that grows instead of shrinks because someone is responsible.

From our projects

In selection projects, we observe that vendor presentations without a bespoke script almost always lead to an outcome reflecting the quality of the sales team. With a script and bespoke data, the situation regularly reverses. The most common cause of delays after the decision is data migration, and the second most common is a works council that was involved too late. Both can be planned, and we plan them before vendor selection.

Good to know

An HR system is a technical device objectively suitable for monitoring behaviour and performance, and is therefore subject to co-determination under § 87 Absatz 1 Nummer 6 BetrVG. Whether you intend to monitor is irrelevant. Planning alone must be discussed with the works council under § 90 BetrVG. A data protection impact assessment under Article 35 GDPR is generally required for comprehensive HR systems. Those who include both in their project plan save time. Those who forget both lose months.

Frequently asked questions

Cloud or own data centre?

For most medium-sized companies, cloud is preferable because operation, updates, and legal adjustments are the vendor's responsibility. Critical factors are server location, data processing agreement, data handover upon contract termination, and who has access. We review these contractually, not just in the presentation.

One system for everything or specialist systems?

A core system for master data, organisation and processes, complemented by specialist systems only where the core system is weak, such as applicant management or learning, with clean interfaces. The data set must be leading in one place, otherwise you will be back to five truths.

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