Best of Breed demystified

Choosing new software can be daunting. How do you choose between one system that ‘does it all’ and multiple, best-of-breed systems?

Here’s the approach recommended by the HR Tech experts.

The Problem

There are all these fires burning in HR and you really need some help. It’s not just drowning in onboarding, or being swamped around performance review time or spreadsheet reporting nightmares; its everything, recruitment all the way through. Everything. With so many HR hurdles to overcome, so many daily battles, you want to solve them all.

You have to find a solution that actually solves these problems. Otherwise, you’re just buying a big, fancy swiss-army knife that’s great at cutting bread but useless at hammering nails.

The right tool for the job. One that makes it easier to do all your work without extra complications. If you don’t, and you choose a system that ‘does it all’ (but really doesn’t), then you might be stuck. Stuck with even bigger problems. Stuck with a huge new system that doesn’t actually help.

Sure, it may be able to tick all the boxes, but can it solve all the problems? What’s the alternative to all-in-one?

Experts Recommend the Best-Of-Breed Approach.
Here is what they have to say:

The Solution

When Josh Bersin, Deloitte and almost all of the HR tech-experts agree on an approach, usually there’s a good reason. That approach? Best of Breed HR. 

All in one HR technology solutions have a secret; they often struggle to deliver on what they promise. The world’s biggest HR tech expert, Josh Bersin, who previously lead Deloitte’s elite HR Division and now operates as his own brand of HR technology and HR consulting, put forth this article about HR Tech’s dirty little secret. It shows why Best of Breed HR Software is the strategy organisations are using today and moving forward. His words, not ours.

We understand, it can be tempting to look at ‘1 system to do it all’; it feels like it should simplify things. In some ways, it probably would. Time and time again, we talk with HR teams who opted for a platform that ‘does everything’, but then found expectations and reality were oceans apart.

Why experts suggest a best of breed approach

Integrations

Most all of one-in-one vendors are made up of different systems acquired over time and hobbled together = systems not made to talk with each other

This means ‘integrated’ often doesn’t work like advertised; their integrations require the same amount of work if not more than best-of-breed HR solutions. = integration process same for both approaches

Made-for-purpose Best-of-Breed integrations must work well – Best-of-breed systems can’t stand-alone and hence must integrate well to survive = better integrations

Best of breed prioritise integrations with the best HR technology in each space, ensuring they can work with diverse ecosystems via API’s = more flexibility of choice

Vendor Support

Doing everything means specialising in nothing; the support you get from all-in-one vendors can’t be as good as specialists = higher level of support

Best-of-breed tools mean best-of-breed support in each domain; like getting free, specialist consulting, rather than just a general consultant = specialty consulting

It’s in the interest of Best-of-breed vendors to empower your success; much easier to switch away from them than an incumbent, all in one solution. = better support

Implementations

All-in-one solutions require long-staged implementations with one vendor =longer, more complex implementations

Best-of-breed implementations are smaller, more focused and can be plugged in when needed =on your timeline, not theirs

Flexibility

Best-of-breed solutions are much easier to swap out if they aren’t working = not locked into a system that is not delivering

Making sense so far? Check out this map below, we put it together so you can understand where intelliHR would fit in your Best of Breed HR Ecosystem.

What does Best of Breed mean for you?

We believe that technology should fit around you and your situation, not the other way around. That you should get solutions to problems, not systems for the system’s sake. Technology that drives tangible business outcomes and helps you perform your role better.

This means choosing tools that are best-of-breed, purpose-built. Tools that work.

intelliHR’s value comes from being a best-of-breed HR platform with long-term, strategic solution. This means you can keep intelliHR and plug in other tools you need as needs arise – knowing intelliHR will stay as your rock, your single source of truth for all people data.

And for the other systems? We’ll share our knowledge and help you find the right tool for the job. To build an ecosystem that works for your organisation.

So how do I choose other systems?

Here are some expert guides to help you find systems that actually solve your unique challenges:

Recruitment – ATS – https://notes.jazzhr.com/2020/02/12/new-research-2020-ats-buyers-guide/

Learning – LMS –https://elearningindustry.com/free-ebooks/user-friendly-lms-choosing-fulfills-business-needs-complete-guide

Payroll – https://www.thesmbguide.com/how-to-choose-a-payroll-software

How intelliHR stacks up