Is the quality of your e-HR resources an asset or a barrier to maximizing business results? This simple quiz will help you determine the answer.
Check your responses with the best practices answer, and see the box below to rate your results.
Question 1
We always test new Web applications or major Web site revisions with our customers (employees, managers, etc.) to see if there are issues that need to be addressed before implementation.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Conducting usability testing for new applications and major site revisions is a Customer Impact Best Practice. Fixing problems and addressing issues before the rollout of major e-HR initiatives can reduce the time and expense of making emergency “fixes” at launch time, which is a critical period of building customer trust.
Question 2
Where appropriate, the information on our Web pages is customized for each user, ensuring that all displayed tools and content directly apply to each individual.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: A site that provides personalized content based on a user’s needs and roles has the most likelihood of connecting an employee with what she/he needs in the most efficient way. Technology is a way of accomplishing this, but not the only way. Content can be organized around specific audiences so users can quickly hone in on what they need.
Question 3
Our online HR resources and content are organized exclusively around the structure of our HR department (compensation, benefits, training and development).
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: False
Comment: An organizational structure for an HR hub or portal that requires customers to understand the organizational structure of the HR Department in order to find needed content and applications is not customer-focused. Whenever possible, organize tools and content into categories that make sense to customers who may lack understanding of the functional structure of the HR organization.
Question 4
In addition to offering HR content via categories, such as benefits, compensation or performance management, we offer content based on events, such as “What if I adopt a child, become disabled, etc.”
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Because HR content and applications are inherently personal, and Web users are notoriously selfish, sites meant to generate satisfied customers need to appeal to users’ most important concern: themselves. Making content available through multiple paths makes sure that employees get to the content they need in the ways that make sense to them.
Question 5
Employees can easily link to HR resources from our organization-wide intranet or portal home page.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Customers can’t use — or value — what they can’t find.
Question 6
Employees can just as easily access our intranet sites at home as they can at work.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Making your internal Web sites available to employees anytime/anywhere encourages use and accelerates return on investment. Many employees no longer work 9 to 5 schedules, and the Web allows HR systems to more easily accommodate non-traditional work patterns.
Question 7
Pages on our site load quickly regardless of whether an employee is dialing in from the office or a remote location.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices Answer: True
Comment: According to Useit.com: “Users don’t care why response times are slow. All they know is that the site doesn’t offer good service. Slow response times often translate directly into a reduced level of trust, and they always cause a loss of traffic as users take their business elsewhere.” In an intranet context, this equates to lower productivity for employees.
Question 8
Employees can make self-service transactions on our intranet, such as changing personal information, enrolling in benefits, or changing investment funds.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Many organizations have received feedback from employees that the ability to “do business” online with the company via transactional e-HR applications is a major convenience that improves their overall employment experience. The bottom line: The ability to learn about something online is good; the ability to learn about it and then to actually do something about it is even better.
Question 9
All personalized content and secure transactional tools can be accessed using a single sign-on process; multiple log-ins and passwords are not required.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Managing multiple passwords is a hassle for users, who frequently forget or lose track of them. Moreover, supporting multiple password-resetting processes adds cost without adding real value. Creating a successful internal Web presence is all about breaking down the barriers for doing business with employees. Implementing a single sign-on process increases convenience and adds value.
Question 10
When employees make choices or selections online using transactional applications (e.g., benefits enrolment, salary planning, retirement choice), we integrate reference and decision support tools to help them make the best choices.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Studies show that the greatest ROI for intranet initiatives will come from self-service applications. Providing people with well-integrated decision support content along with interactive tools increases the likelihood that the tools will be used and customers will be satisfied with the tools and the process itself.
Question 11
Our content is always accurate and up to date.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Material that is inaccurate and outdated has no value, is not usable, and erodes organizational credibility. Customers—even captive internal customers such as employees—are far less likely to utilize new content and functionality if they lack confidence in the old content and functionality. Moreover, the risk of exposure to legal action is significantly increased when HR content is not accurate or is not in compliance with employment and tax regulations.
Question 12
Our most frequently used content and applications are easy to find and access.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: The most frequently used content and applications should always be readily available from the most frequently accessed page: the home page.
Question 13
Our content is easy to read online; users don’t have to scroll a lot and materials are divided into easy-to-read segments.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Studies show that users are more likely to scan, rather than read, during online sessions. Content that is written concisely and optimized for visual scanning will yield the greatest impact.
Question 14
People with disabilities can effectively use our online content and tools.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Users are likely to include people with a range of disabilities, including colour-blindness. According to WebAIM, an academic consortium: “An estimated 20 per cent of the people has some kind of disability, and 10 per cent have a severe disability. Those individuals with severe disabilities are limited in the way that they can use the Internet. The technologies to overcome these limitations already exist, but they are greatly under-utilized, mostly because Web developers simply do not know enough about the issue to design pages that are accessible to people with disabilities.” The vast majority of the changes necessary to meet the needs of users with disabilities are simple and inexpensive to execute.
Question 15
Our content is fully searchable via an integrated search tool.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Usability experts agree that search capability is the user’s lifeline for mastering complex Web sites. It not only allows them to quickly find desired content, but it also provides an “escape hatch” when they are lost. But a search function alone will not produce satisfied customers. High-quality search results that effectively target the best matches are also required.
Question 16
We avoid using acronyms or HR jargon when labelling HR content and applications pages.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Using acronyms and “HR-speak” can confuse new users, especially new hires.
If they can’t easily associate available links with the content or tools they’re looking for, you’ve already begun to alienate them. Web applications shouldn’t require training or documentation. Labeling for all links, content, and tools should be descriptive and self-evident.
Question 17
Our Web-based content and applications have a professional, consistent and clean look and feel.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: The bottom line is that everything communicates. Sites and tools that are disorganized, poorly designed, and inconsistent with the employment brand communicate a clear message: “We don’t care.” Creating, building, and maintaining a professional and consistent look and feel is a high-impact effort that employees expect from their employers.
Question 18
Our Web-based content and applications convey positive and consistent messages about working at our company.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Intranet and portal content that is positive and consistent with the organization’s goals can help create positive employee perceptions and promote organizational unity. Well-aligned, positive content is an important element in building and reinforcing the organization’s internal brand.
Question 19
Our HR content and applications consistently follow our internal branding and intranet design guidelines.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices Answer: True
Comment: Sites that consistently follow the same rules are more credible, easier to use and help create or reinforce a positive employment brand image. Moreover, because common design and navigational features are fully leveraged throughout the company, the design, development, and testing cycles can be reduced along with related expenses.
Question 20
We solicit feedback from our customers on ideas for improvements, and we act quickly on those that will result in immediate improvements.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: To be truly customer focused, you need mechanisms for gathering and acting on customer input. The Web makes it easy to have an ongoing conversation with your employees about their needs and concerns. But it is not enough to just gather feedback. It’s equally important to act on the feedback received and continuously improve available services so employees keep coming back.
Interpreting your results
Your score: _______ out of 20 (check your responses against the best practices answers.)
0-10 Poor to fair. There is a good chance your organization’s e-HR customer experience is having a negative impact on business results. Consider a major overhaul.
11-15 Fair to acceptable. Your e-HR customer experience could use some fine-tuning, but you’re on the right track.
16-20 Good to excellent. The quality of your e-HR customer experience is helping you strengthen the employment relationship while maximizing the financial impact of your investment in e-HR. Take steps to keep it that way.
This quiz is reproduced courtesy of Hewitt Associates. For more information about improving the online customer experience at your organization, contact Roger Duguay at Hewitt’s Montreal office, (514) 878-3300 or by e-mail at [email protected].
Question 1
We always test new Web applications or major Web site revisions with our customers (employees, managers, etc.) to see if there are issues that need to be addressed before implementation.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Conducting usability testing for new applications and major site revisions is a Customer Impact Best Practice. Fixing problems and addressing issues before the rollout of major e-HR initiatives can reduce the time and expense of making emergency “fixes” at launch time, which is a critical period of building customer trust.
Question 2
Where appropriate, the information on our Web pages is customized for each user, ensuring that all displayed tools and content directly apply to each individual.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: A site that provides personalized content based on a user’s needs and roles has the most likelihood of connecting an employee with what she/he needs in the most efficient way. Technology is a way of accomplishing this, but not the only way. Content can be organized around specific audiences so users can quickly hone in on what they need.
Question 3
Our online HR resources and content are organized exclusively around the structure of our HR department (compensation, benefits, training and development).
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: False
Comment: An organizational structure for an HR hub or portal that requires customers to understand the organizational structure of the HR Department in order to find needed content and applications is not customer-focused. Whenever possible, organize tools and content into categories that make sense to customers who may lack understanding of the functional structure of the HR organization.
Question 4
In addition to offering HR content via categories, such as benefits, compensation or performance management, we offer content based on events, such as “What if I adopt a child, become disabled, etc.”
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Because HR content and applications are inherently personal, and Web users are notoriously selfish, sites meant to generate satisfied customers need to appeal to users’ most important concern: themselves. Making content available through multiple paths makes sure that employees get to the content they need in the ways that make sense to them.
Question 5
Employees can easily link to HR resources from our organization-wide intranet or portal home page.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Customers can’t use — or value — what they can’t find.
Question 6
Employees can just as easily access our intranet sites at home as they can at work.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Making your internal Web sites available to employees anytime/anywhere encourages use and accelerates return on investment. Many employees no longer work 9 to 5 schedules, and the Web allows HR systems to more easily accommodate non-traditional work patterns.
Question 7
Pages on our site load quickly regardless of whether an employee is dialing in from the office or a remote location.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices Answer: True
Comment: According to Useit.com: “Users don’t care why response times are slow. All they know is that the site doesn’t offer good service. Slow response times often translate directly into a reduced level of trust, and they always cause a loss of traffic as users take their business elsewhere.” In an intranet context, this equates to lower productivity for employees.
Question 8
Employees can make self-service transactions on our intranet, such as changing personal information, enrolling in benefits, or changing investment funds.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Many organizations have received feedback from employees that the ability to “do business” online with the company via transactional e-HR applications is a major convenience that improves their overall employment experience. The bottom line: The ability to learn about something online is good; the ability to learn about it and then to actually do something about it is even better.
Question 9
All personalized content and secure transactional tools can be accessed using a single sign-on process; multiple log-ins and passwords are not required.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Managing multiple passwords is a hassle for users, who frequently forget or lose track of them. Moreover, supporting multiple password-resetting processes adds cost without adding real value. Creating a successful internal Web presence is all about breaking down the barriers for doing business with employees. Implementing a single sign-on process increases convenience and adds value.
Question 10
When employees make choices or selections online using transactional applications (e.g., benefits enrolment, salary planning, retirement choice), we integrate reference and decision support tools to help them make the best choices.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Studies show that the greatest ROI for intranet initiatives will come from self-service applications. Providing people with well-integrated decision support content along with interactive tools increases the likelihood that the tools will be used and customers will be satisfied with the tools and the process itself.
Question 11
Our content is always accurate and up to date.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Material that is inaccurate and outdated has no value, is not usable, and erodes organizational credibility. Customers—even captive internal customers such as employees—are far less likely to utilize new content and functionality if they lack confidence in the old content and functionality. Moreover, the risk of exposure to legal action is significantly increased when HR content is not accurate or is not in compliance with employment and tax regulations.
Question 12
Our most frequently used content and applications are easy to find and access.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: The most frequently used content and applications should always be readily available from the most frequently accessed page: the home page.
Question 13
Our content is easy to read online; users don’t have to scroll a lot and materials are divided into easy-to-read segments.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Studies show that users are more likely to scan, rather than read, during online sessions. Content that is written concisely and optimized for visual scanning will yield the greatest impact.
Question 14
People with disabilities can effectively use our online content and tools.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Users are likely to include people with a range of disabilities, including colour-blindness. According to WebAIM, an academic consortium: “An estimated 20 per cent of the people has some kind of disability, and 10 per cent have a severe disability. Those individuals with severe disabilities are limited in the way that they can use the Internet. The technologies to overcome these limitations already exist, but they are greatly under-utilized, mostly because Web developers simply do not know enough about the issue to design pages that are accessible to people with disabilities.” The vast majority of the changes necessary to meet the needs of users with disabilities are simple and inexpensive to execute.
Question 15
Our content is fully searchable via an integrated search tool.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Usability experts agree that search capability is the user’s lifeline for mastering complex Web sites. It not only allows them to quickly find desired content, but it also provides an “escape hatch” when they are lost. But a search function alone will not produce satisfied customers. High-quality search results that effectively target the best matches are also required.
Question 16
We avoid using acronyms or HR jargon when labelling HR content and applications pages.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Using acronyms and “HR-speak” can confuse new users, especially new hires.
If they can’t easily associate available links with the content or tools they’re looking for, you’ve already begun to alienate them. Web applications shouldn’t require training or documentation. Labeling for all links, content, and tools should be descriptive and self-evident.
Question 17
Our Web-based content and applications have a professional, consistent and clean look and feel.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: The bottom line is that everything communicates. Sites and tools that are disorganized, poorly designed, and inconsistent with the employment brand communicate a clear message: “We don’t care.” Creating, building, and maintaining a professional and consistent look and feel is a high-impact effort that employees expect from their employers.
Question 18
Our Web-based content and applications convey positive and consistent messages about working at our company.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: Intranet and portal content that is positive and consistent with the organization’s goals can help create positive employee perceptions and promote organizational unity. Well-aligned, positive content is an important element in building and reinforcing the organization’s internal brand.
Question 19
Our HR content and applications consistently follow our internal branding and intranet design guidelines.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices Answer: True
Comment: Sites that consistently follow the same rules are more credible, easier to use and help create or reinforce a positive employment brand image. Moreover, because common design and navigational features are fully leveraged throughout the company, the design, development, and testing cycles can be reduced along with related expenses.
Question 20
We solicit feedback from our customers on ideas for improvements, and we act quickly on those that will result in immediate improvements.
o True o False o Don’t know
Best practices answer: True
Comment: To be truly customer focused, you need mechanisms for gathering and acting on customer input. The Web makes it easy to have an ongoing conversation with your employees about their needs and concerns. But it is not enough to just gather feedback. It’s equally important to act on the feedback received and continuously improve available services so employees keep coming back.
Interpreting your results
Your score: _______ out of 20 (check your responses against the best practices answers.)
0-10 Poor to fair. There is a good chance your organization’s e-HR customer experience is having a negative impact on business results. Consider a major overhaul.
11-15 Fair to acceptable. Your e-HR customer experience could use some fine-tuning, but you’re on the right track.
16-20 Good to excellent. The quality of your e-HR customer experience is helping you strengthen the employment relationship while maximizing the financial impact of your investment in e-HR. Take steps to keep it that way.
This quiz is reproduced courtesy of Hewitt Associates. For more information about improving the online customer experience at your organization, contact Roger Duguay at Hewitt’s Montreal office, (514) 878-3300 or by e-mail at [email protected].
