How to switch HR software the right way

Choosing an HR system is one of the most important decisions a People or HR leader will make. The right platform will shape productivity, wellbeing, results, and the future of your organisation.

 

Once a system is in place, it can easily take six months to a year before you can properly judge whether it delivers on the objectives and needs you had in mind when you signed the contract. That’s a long time to discover you’ve backed the wrong horse.

 

And then comes that uncomfortable truth: after a few months, you realise you need to move to another platform. Your current provider no longer feels like a genuine partner, and the tool doesn’t really fit your needs or your processes.

Let’s be honest, you’re the one constantly bending your company to fit around it.

 

Only if you see these trends early enough to act. In many cases, you only realise there’s a problem when the organisation is scaling, the demands on HR are growing, and the system that once “did the job” is suddenly holding you back.

 

We’ve seen enough failed stories over the years to know that’s a fact! But, at that point, the best thing you can do is step back, rethink your people´s needs, and start again with a structured search for a new provider.

 

Drawing on our experience implementing and launching OpenHR, we’ve brought together some practical tips to help you make a better decision when moving from one HR solution to another.

 

As our CEO, José Juan Martin, recently commented on LinkedIn, around 20% of new OpenHR customers come to us because they want to change their existing stack. So we’ve seen this story play out more than a few times.

 

Big question: how to avoid making the same mistakes all over again? Let me walk you through it.

 

Take a hard look at where the previous platform fell short against your real needs. In many cases, HR systems don’t fail because of missing features, but because the implementation and launch weren’t handled correctly. Misaligned expectations, poor onboarding, or unclear ownership can make a perfectly decent tool feel like the wrong choice. 

 

Capture the features that didn’t meet expectations and turn them into a clear set of requirements you can share with potential new providers. This becomes your “never again” list and will help you avoid repeating the same mistakes.

 

Research current trends and how shifts are moving toward. This gives you a clearer view of what the market can offer today, and new features or improvements you hadn’t previously considered, such as deeper analytics, automation, or better integrations. 

 

You may find that this changes your view of what “best” looks like for your organisation and HR, and helps you rethink how your HR processes should work.

 

Changing platforms is not just a simple swap of one system for another; it is usually a redesign process. Even if you have used a similar solution before, or inherited the existing system when you joined, it helps to accept from the outset that a platform change will take time and will involve some disruption. 

 

Communicate honestly with your team about timelines, responsibilities, and what success should look like at each stage of the project, so there are no surprises along the way. A clear roadmap, though, is your best friend in every stage of the process, essentially during the onboarding. 

 

It’s no exaggeration to say budget will always be a key factor, even if it isn’t the only one. Beyond the licence cost, think carefully about cost value. Look at what you are investing today and compare it with new proposals. 

 

Let´s have a look at the full picture: implementation costs, internal time, support, potential integration problems, and the savings you expect from automation and efficiency. Try to find the cheapest option, but one that offers the best price, quality, and makes life easier, not more complicated.

 

World is full of wolfs. We know. Request proposals from different providers and compare not just features, but also usability, scalability, support, and how easily each system can integrate with your own tech stack, such as payroll, time and attendance, or finance. Treat it as a pros-and-cons shortlist, not picking a winner from a single demo.

 

Treat the live product demo as a working session rather than a regular meeting. Prepare yourself properly by sharing your real scenarios, use cases, and requirements way before the meeting. Ask questions about how the platform would work for your organisation specifically. 

 

Also, clarify how the system can be configured, what can be personalised, and what is standard and essentially “locked down”. A good consultant should be able to explain the true scope of the platform and how it would support your particular structure, processes, and workforce. That shouldn´t be a big deal. 

 

Now, both your new software provider and your team should sit down together to agree on objectives, scope, and timelines. A successful implementation should have a clear start date, end date, and a project plan broken into phases or milestones. 

 

Use this moment to agree who’s responsible for what, how other departments like IT or Finance will be involved, and how you’ll control growing businesses need.

 

Getting this right at the start can save you from the dreaded “never-ending implementation” that quietly drags on for months. From day one, it would feel less like a purchase and more like a collaboration.

 

Ask for all relevant info, so you understand your legal position if either side fails to meet their obligations. The contract should spell out service levels, responsibilities, data protection and security commitments, as well as what happens if there is a breach or the relationship winds down. It should also give you a clear view of how both parties could contribute to the project.

 

Modern HR platforms are designed to give HR teams and employees a high level of autonomy (which doesn’t remove the need for responsive, meaningful support when something goes wrong). 

 

Check which support channels are gonna be available, how quickly the provider aims to respond, whether you’ll have a named contact or customer success manager, and how updates and new features are communicated and rolled out. The real test isn’t just whether the system works on day one, but whether you can get help if something urgent appears.

 

Follow these principles and reduce the risk of suffering a long, exhausting, and frustrating process. You will still need patience and a willingness to learn a new tool and adjust some ways of working (including managers, employees, and even freelancers). But once you are comfortable with the platform, you could forget about all that time and effort lost to admin, and redirect it towards what really matters: people, culture, and strategic HR.