You made a ginormous move when you overhauled your system with Workday or ServiceNow. Good for you. It shows you’re serious about becoming more efficient and saving time and money.

However, deployment is merely the jumping-off point – you now need help over the long haul with updates, bug-fixing, and any other issue that will inevitably come down the pike. That’s why you need an application management service (AMS) to optimize and maintain your new software.

Here’s what you need to know about maximizing human resource management applications.

1. What Are Application Management Services?

Essentially, such services provide enterprises of any size with sturdy, ongoing comprehensive external support for their applications. These consultants specialize in maintenance and monitoring that includes bug repairs, releasing patches, and other enhancements. Such consultancies are a growing business, too: according to Grand View Research, the AMS market could reach $87.6 billion by 2025.

2. Why Can’t I Use My IT Department?

If you have an IT team – and that’s a big “if” because many small and medium-size companies don’t – an AMS will free it to concentrate on enterprise progression instead of having to come back to current or outgoing technology regularly.

Or perhaps you have a small IT team. If that’s the case, you genuinely need a human resources management application to make up for that insufficiency. In any case, depending on a consulting firm to maintain your applications keeps you from employing a full-time IT team and bolsters your return on investment.

And, as apps become more complex, upkeep has become more challenging regarding security and issue-fixing. It’s troublesome even to have a bug, but add to that a burdened IT team that will “get to it” when it can, perhaps putting the whole enterprise at risk or, at the very least, taking up precious IT resources and straining operating budgets.

3. How Can a Consultant Such as Mercer Help?

First off, Mercer has vast experience with both Workday and ServiceNow. The former allows companies to manage and track their workforce – and more. Because Workday offers a comprehensive understanding of your labor force, skills and capabilities, the resulting increased insight can help you make the proper organizational alterations, produce personalized experiences, and promote growth.

ServiceNow, meanwhile, is a cloud-based automation platform that enables companies to become more efficient by automating and streamlining everyday work tasks.

Either way, Mercer has you covered. The company can help you with:

• Product rollout. Mercer can assist with establishing an action plan to help you get your product out on a timely basis.
• Activity management. Throughout the year, you’ll get help with short- and long-term event prep.
• Update help. Whether Workday or ServiceNow, you’ll get guidance with new configuration releases and ERP integration through releases. Mercer will also test your current setup to make sure you have a successful update cycle.
• Whole platform support. Mercer will provide product environment configurations as well as functionality support.
• Training and knowledge transfer. There will be regular opportunities for training and knowledge transfer.

The bottom line is that after going through all the time and expense to implement your new system, the last thing you need is for it to be repeatedly idle because you either have no AMS support or the in-house IT assistance you’re getting lacks expertise or is too overwhelmed. Maximizing human resource management applications by using a consultant such as Mercer is just the smart thing to do.