Thursday, June 28, 2007

Smoke and Mirrors

Trying to make an intelligent choice when selecting a new financial package can be a very exasperating experience!  Trade magazines of the past were useful, but today they’re more interested in covering the latest PC gadgets.  Now everyone uses the Internet for research, and that can lead to real frustration.

I like to do my research without outside interference.  This means I don’t want a salesperson breathing down my neck and calling me everyday.  Almost all web sites require you to provide complete information about yourself and your company before you can even peek at their product information.  I don’t mind sharing that information if it looks like they have a good product that might do what I need, but how would I know that without some preliminary information? I resent these demographic data collections and know at least one site that even requires a deposit (via credit card) before releasing product information!

Then, after you give them everything but the names of your first-born, they usually will do one of two things: send you a CD with a Power Point presentation (accompanied by annoying phone calls from a staff salesperson), or turn you over to one of their Certified Resellers.  Again, you’ll have a salesperson calling.  The Power Point presentation won’t answer your questions and neither can the salesperson, whose prior experience was selling used cars.

They don’t even know your company’s needs. So, now you have these idiots calling you everyday with such statements as, “We have a 83% fit for your company;” and, within the same breath ask, “What is it that your company does?” And you still have no idea if their software even begins to meet your needs!

Too bad they don’t have the “you know what” to provide REAL information without obligation.  What are they hiding?

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Ridiculous Redundancy

I bet there isn’t a company out there that hasn’t had this problem.  You have a Customer that is also a Vendor.  Or how about an Employee that is both a Customer and a Vendor?  If employees purchase products or equipment they are customers, and if employees are reimbursed for expenses they are vendors.  This means you will have redundant information in the different applications.

The problem arises in trying to maintain consistent and timely information about these Companies/Employees throughout the various applications.  I wish I had a dollar for every time I found a name, an address, or phone number in one application that was not exactly the same as in another application.  There is a tremendous amount duplication of effort, and it is nearly impossible to maintain. 

With a little effort from developers, common related data could be shared among the different applications.  Linking this data is not impossible.  Accuracy of information would improve, and hours of maintenance would be saved.

In this day and age it’s just plain ridiculous that this hasn’t already been done.  There is no reason for it, EXCEPT for the fact that most developers are just plain LAZY!  They just repackage the same useless, antiquated software under a new name, increase the price, and give it a new name.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

FLUSH PAYROLL!

I must sound like a broken record, but I know of no other way than to keep harping on how inadequate current Payroll & Human Resource packages are.  These packages should be flushed, and let’s just start over from scratch!

Of all of the financial applications that we run today Payroll requires more work-arounds than all the rest.  Current payroll packages FAIL in the following primary areas:

1. Unable to RECORD and MAINTAIN HISTORY of ad hoc payroll EARNINGS.

2. Unable to RECORD and MAINTAIN HISTORY of ad hoc payroll DEDUCTIONS.

3. LIMITED REPORTING capabilities.

4. DIFFICULT for payroll clerk to use.

Pertaining to the first 2 items, if developers didn’t provide for a specific pay type or deduction, you can’t add your own, especially if complicated calculations are involved.  This results in payroll departments maintaining spreadsheets outside of the payroll application.  These are dangerous as they are usually undocumented, usually not audited, and can lead to serious errors. 

The third item is somewhat self-explanatory and usually requires hours of IT time to develop outside applications that provide the needed reports.  Again, these can be dangerous, as they must be maintained whenever payroll packages change. 

The fourth item is hard to quantify.  But if any clerk has to activate more than one program to perform a simple function there is a loss of performance.  Stepping through several screens the operator can make mistakes.  Only an intuitive and experienced operator will remember the multiple application screens needed to perform a specific function.

As a manager I spent more time bailing out the payroll department than anything else.  Do you think anything will EVER be done?

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Immigration: The Challenge for Employers!

With all the flap about immigration, our government will eventually enforce the laws for employers who hire undocumented workers.  Employers that I have worked for have required documented proof in the form of a “valid” state ID and Social Security card.  The trouble is that these documents are easily counterfeited and available to those who want them.  If a job applicant presents these documents you cannot deny work.

Knowing this, how do you protect your company?  One way is to verify Social Security numbers with the Social Security Administration.  It can be done on-line for a few employees, or you can upload your entire payroll to the Social Security Administration. Social Security will then notify you of all those employees with phony SS numbers.  Wouldn’t it be nice if your H/R package would electronically do that for all new hires?  You bet it would!

Maintaining employee identification documents in the form of copies of the SS card, state ID, photos, etc., is time consuming, and documents could be misplaced, misfiled, or lost.  We desperately need an automated system that would have the ability to digitally record and assign these electronic documents to the employee’s H/R file in an easy to use, intuitive manner!

We need on-line verification and digital documents now, in time to meet regulatory standards.  Eventually, government will mandate we do it, and you can be sure they will want every piece of information gathered for the past 10 years!