The Benefits of Migrating to ServiceNow HR Service Delivery

In recent years, many organizations have outgrown their existing work management solutions for Human Resources (HR) operations. Many of these companies had been using ServiceNow's Incident Management or Service Catalog solutions to support HR functions but soon encountered challenges as their needs evolved. In this blog post, we'll explore the benefits of migrating to ServiceNow's dedicated HR Service Delivery (HRSD) solution and how it can address common pain points.

Expansion and Scalability Challenges

Companies using IT Service Management (ITSM) tools like Incident Management or Service Catalog to support HR operations often face limitations in expanding their capabilities to meet growing employee demands across multiple locations or regions. One global medical device company, for instance, wanted to provide the same level of HR service to all employees worldwide - across 75 countries - but their existing ITSM solution couldn't scale efficiently to support that global expansion. By migrating to HRSD, they were able to provide self-service capabilities to all employees in just 7 months. The implementation involved building over 200 services in 7 languages, while also enabling the company's HR IT team to take control of the governance process within the HRSD application.

Security Concerns

When organizations use custom applications or repurpose ITSM tools for HR operations, there is an inherent risk of exposing sensitive employee data to non-HR teams. This is because employees expect a high degree of confidentiality when contacting HR, which is not always possible when managing HR inquiries through general-purpose tools like Incident Management. Additionally, managing custom security rules for these improvised solutions can be cumbersome, hindering rapid expansion and requiring extensive regression testing for any security changes.

The need for robust data security was evident in one organization that had to manage leave and accommodation requests via emails and spreadsheets, despite other HR teams using Incident Management. This workaround was necessary to maintain isolated access due to the sensitive nature of these requests. By implementing HRSD, the company could leverage out-of-the-box security policies to limit access to these cases to a small, authorized group.

Another company faced a similar challenge, needing to restrict the visibility of HR cases based on the employee's department, routing HR-specific cases to a specialized group. This level of granular access control would have required extensive customizations in their existing Service Catalog implementation but was readily achievable with HRSD’s built-in security features.

Data Migration

When moving from a custom or ITSM-based solution to HR Service Delivery, a common question is: "What do we do with the existing tickets?" The recommended approach is to leave legacy tickets in their original location and have a transition period where old tickets are closed out, and new cases are created in HRSD. If using Employee Center, employees will experience minimal disruption when accessing their requests via the portal. To minimize the impact on HR teams, configure the HR Agent Workspace to access legacy tickets, eliminating the need to navigate multiple locations within ServiceNow.

Upgrade and Improvement

Since 2013, ServiceNow has continuously invested in enhancing its HR Service Delivery product. Customers using Incident or Service Catalog for HR operations haven't been able to take advantage of these improvements. From major features like the HR profile record for storing sensitive employee data and automating processes like providing employee verification letters with salary information, to smaller enhancements like the recent Personal Notes feature in the Washington, D.C. release.

Continually using custom or legacy solutions means missing out on these new features, as they're not always available outside the HR product. To leverage these improvements, customers would have to build and maintain them independently, increasing technical debt. Once the debt becomes too high to unwind, many customers find themselves in a position where they must undertake a "back to box" migration to HRSD.

Empower your employees with self-service

If you're feeling restricted by your current work management solution for HR, whether due to limitations or an inability to take advantage of new features, it's time to evaluate implementing ServiceNow HRSD. By doing so, you can address expansion challenges, enhance security, streamline data migration, and benefit from continuous product improvements – ultimately providing a better experience for your employees and HR teams.