Your HRIS RFP can contain hundreds of requirements and still fail to support a strong vendor decision.
An RFP pack can document processes thoroughly, cover the expected functionality and support consistent scoring, yet still allow materially different solutions to receive similar scores.
Take concurrent employment. A worker holds two positions across different entities and pay groups, with separate leave conditions and approval lines. A retrospective change to one position affects time, payroll and reporting for the other.
Several products can support it. One handles most of the scenario within the core product. Another relies on configuration, interfaces or additional business controls. A third meets the requirement on paper but leaves a manual process that was not obvious during evaluation.
A compliance rating alone will not expose that difference. A properly designed scenario usually will.
Before the RFP goes out:
- Which requirements could genuinely change the vendor decision? Where could two vendors both answer “compliant” but leave the organisation with materially different manual work, cost or risk?
- Do the demonstration scenarios make the vendors show those differences?
If the evaluation cannot answer those questions, the pack may be detailed, but it is not ready.
We use this test when reviewing requirements and demonstration scenarios before an HRIS, payroll or WFM RFP goes to market.