You're trying to get executive support for new HR technologies. How do you secure their buy-in?
Convincing executives to invest in new HR technologies can be challenging, but with the right approach, you can highlight the benefits and secure their support. To make your case effectively:
What strategies have you found effective for securing executive buy-in for new technologies?
You're trying to get executive support for new HR technologies. How do you secure their buy-in?
Convincing executives to invest in new HR technologies can be challenging, but with the right approach, you can highlight the benefits and secure their support. To make your case effectively:
What strategies have you found effective for securing executive buy-in for new technologies?
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Leaders don't invest in technology, they invest in results. As HR leaders, we must demonstrate how that solution drives growth, reduces risk and improves decision making. Executives support what they understand and can measure. Align your technology project with key KPIs: time to hire, turnover, work climate. Make HR a strategic partner that proposes solutions with real business impact.
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Start engaging end users at the selection stage. Involving end users early helps gather valuable feedback and confirm the software aligns with broader needs, strengthening buy-in. The best time to do this is during the selection and planning stages, particularly in vendor discovery, to enhance requests for proposal and vendor responses. While not all employees can be involved, organizations can use focus groups, surveys or volunteers to capture diverse perspectives. Build a user community that promotes learning. Foster a collaborative environment where employees share their HR technology knowledge and experiences, such as creating and circulating videos of key discoveries. This builds a culture of peer learning and boosts adoption.
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To secure executive buy-in for new HR technologies, it's essential to align the technology's benefits with the organization's strategic goals. Present clear data on how the technology can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance employee experience. Highlight the potential for increased productivity, better decision-making through analytics, and how the solution supports long-term growth. Provide case studies or examples of successful implementations in similar organizations to build credibility. Also, address any concerns about implementation by outlining a clear plan with measurable outcomes and a timeline, ensuring the technology’s ROI is easily understood.
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To secure executive buy-in for new HR technologies, clearly align the tool with key business goals such as boosting productivity, reducing costs, or improving talent retention. Support your case with data, highlight current challenges, expected ROI, and success stories from similar companies. Finally, involve influential stakeholders early on to show cross-functional support and reinforce that the initiative benefits the entire organization, not just HR.
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I’ve found the key is to connect the technology to outcomes that matter to the executive team—whether that’s enabling growth, improving decision-making, or unlocking capacity. It’s not about a HRIS; my experience is that most non-HR people are interested! It’s about showing how it solves a business problem. And often, securing buy-in is as much about influence as it is about insight—which is where coaching can be a real asset, helping HR leaders build the confidence and strategic muscle to engage at that level.
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