HRchitect Welcomes Our Newest Client, Cognizant Technology Solutions!

Cognizant Technology Solutions joins HRchitect’s growing list of top companies worldwide who rely on Frisco-based HRchitect, when they need HR technology and HR strategy consulting assistance.

Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a global IT services and business process outsourcing solutions provider headquartered in Teaneck, N.J.  Cognizant was founded in 1994 as an IT development and maintenance services arm of The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation.  The company was spunoff as an independent organization two years later.  Since 1996, Cognizant has worked closely with large organizations to help them build stronger, more efficient and more agile businesses.

By leveraging highly flexible business processes, a seamless global delivery network and deep domain expertise, Cognizant delivers a better “return on outsourcing.”  Cognizant was one of the first India-centric IT services companies to organize around key industry verticals and horizontals.  This enables Cognizant to establish extremely close partnerships that foster continuous operational improvements and better bottom-line results for clients. 

From its founding, Cognizant was built with a global mindset.  With headquarters in the U.S. and a rapidly expanding delivery footprint which extends from India and China to Europe, North and South America and the Middle East, Cognizant has the geographic presence and mix of onsite and offshore resources to be the preferred global services partner acrossthe industry.  Because clients see globalization as a key element to their success, Cognizant’s “born global” heritage is viewed as a significant market advantage.

Welcome, Cognizant, we look forward to helping you solve The Puzzling World of HRtechnology!

HRchitect Welcomes our Newest Client, Shaw!

Shaw joins HRchitect’s growing list of top companies worldwide who rely on Frisco-based HRchitect, when they need HR technology and HR strategy consulting assistance.

Shaw got its start in 1946 as Star Dye Company, a small business that dyed tufted scatter rugs. The events that transformed the company into the world’s largest carpet manufacturer are too numerous to write…or even fully know. But the philosophy guiding those events meeting customers, determine their needs, and supplying those needs hasn’t changed much through the years.

In 1958, with $300,000 in sales, the company expanded dramatically and soon started finishing carpet as Star Finishing Company.

In 1967, a holding company was formed to acquire Philadelphia Carpet Company, founded in 1846. The holding company added Star Finishing to the fold one year later, marking the company’s first move into carpet manufacturing. The holding company went public as Shaw Industries, Inc. in 1971 with approximately $43 million in sales and 900 employees. In 1985, Shaw made its first appearance on the list of America’s largest corporations–the Fortune 500–with more than $500 million in sales and close to 5,000 employees.

Continually differentiating its service and adding value for customers motivated every major move in the company’s development, among them:

•  Generating its own yarn supply with the 1972 purchase of its first yarn plant
•  Seeing the potential of newly developed continuous dyeing processes and acquiring its first continuous dye plant in 1973
• Creating its own trucking subsidiary, dramatically improving shipments nationwide
• Significantly expanding direct sales to retailers beginning in 1982
• Establishing regional distribution centers across the United States
• Modernizing plants and equipment in the early 1980s, allowing it to respond quickly to such breakthroughs as stain resistant carpet
• Decreasing the consumption of fuel, water, and electricity in the manufacturing process and finding innovative recycling solutions for manufacturing waste
• Acquiring Amoco’s polypropylene fiber production facilities in 1992 and providing consumers popular Berber styles
• Starting the rug division in 1993 and the hard surfaces division in 1998 with the launch of Shaw Ceramics

The desire to be the industry’s low-cost provider was also a determining factor in Shaw’s decisions, namely the acquisitions that brought such respected names as Cabin Crafts and Sutton under the Shaw umbrella. It also played a role in one of the largest and most significant moves in the company’s history: the merger of Shaw and Queen Carpets.

On January 4, 2001, Shaw began a new chapter in its long and varied history with the completion of its sale to Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the holding company of renowned investor Warren E. Buffett. Berkshire Hathaway is known for buying and holding businesses that have a dominant market share, have strong management teams, and are considered undervalued in the stock market. With the move, Shaw ended its tenure as a public company.

Today, with the leadership of Vance Bell, CEO, and Randy Merritt, President, Shaw is a full-service flooring company with more than $5 billion in annual sales and approximately 26,000 employees. The employees’ daily efforts illustrate their commitment and their determination to stay on top in an ever-changing and highly competitive marketplace.

Welcome, Shaw, we look forward to helping you solve The Puzzling World of HRtechnology!

Don’t know where to begin when selecting an ATS? We can help!

Are you an HR practitioner looking for an applicant tracking system but don’t know where to begin? Join HRchitect’s Dan Katavola, Executive Vice President and Co-Founder, and Matt Lafata, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, as they outline decision drivers that can and should be used when selecting an ATS. Whether you are looking to implement your first or replace your existing system, you will benefit from Dan and Matt’s guidance in this one-hour complimentary webinar. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions is being brought to the HR community free-of-charge through the generosity of our sponsor, nowHIRE.

Join us Wednesday, October 21st at 12PM Central.

Lollipop, Lollipop, Oh Lolly Lollypop…

Want to find out why HRchitect is sweeter than a cherry pie?  Attending the HR Technology Conference next week?  Then we can help you!

Matt Lafata, Karen Cunningham and myself will be manning the HRchitect booth (#505) and are excited to meet all of you, our readers, and find out more about your organizations.  We’ll share great information about HRchitect and our HRtechnology™ consulting services.  And in the spirit of being unique (and because we can’t get the commercial out of our heads), HRchitect will be giving away a Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook.  See if you can pick the winning lollypop color by visiting our booth anytime during expo hours:

Wednesday, September 30
10AM – 12:15PM
1:30PM – 5:30PM

Thursday, October 1
10AM – 4PM

Hope to see you in Chicago!

HRchitect Cares – Hockey and HR Technology?

Two HRchitect employees have recently added to their families. No, they haven’t had children of their own but instead have become host families for the NAHL Junior Hockey team, the Texas Tornado, which is located in the same city as HRchitect’s headquarters, Frisco, Texas.

The Texas Tornado is the best of the best when it comes to exciting junior hockey and 16-20 year olds from all over North America dream of an opportunity to play with them. These amateur players and the organization look to the generosity of host families to take them in as part of their family for the season.

HRchitect’s VP of Sales and Marketing, Matt Lafata, is certainly no stranger to giving back to the community and no stranger to being a host family. His family hosted Ben Bishop back in the 2004-2005 season, and he has gone on to play for the St. Louis Blues in the NHL. Matt’s kids had a great experience with Ben and still stay in touch with him today. This year Matt will be hosting John Kelly #9.

Matt (MW) Wiese, HRchitect’s Business Development Manager is also no stranger to community involvement and will be hosting a player for the first time. MW’s family is hosting James Poston #61.

Tornado hockey is extremely exciting and you can learn more about them and get tickets to upcoming games at www.tornadohockey.com.

Both Matt and MW, who picked up their new family members this past weekend, had similar responses when asked about hosting players. They see it as a way of helping out others – the player, their family, and the Tornado organization – and are looking forward to integrating them into their respective families.

This kind of story epitomizes what HRchitect and its people are all about and is just another small example of HRchitect employees showing the community that HRchitect Cares!

HRchitect ‘Hearts’ Community Involvement

Community involvement is something we hold very dear in our hearts here at HRchitect, although we don’t blog about  or promote it regularly.  Here at the Frisco office, our employees have held City Council positions, sit on various city committees and also hold board positions of community organizations.  One of my favorite organizations is Frisco Women’s League®, which Karen Cunninghamand I are members of.  Frisco Women’s League (FWL) supports numerous charities and organizations in and around Frisco by providing volunteer support for so many organizations and the City.

Karen Cunningham & Tiffany Appleby

Most recently, as part of our work with FWL, Karen and I participated in the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life® event.  Most everyone has been touched by cancer in some form or another, whether it be themselves, family members, friends, coworkers or neighbors.  We were both inspired to participate in the event because of this reason.  The mission of Relay is to Celebrate those who have battled cancer, Remember loved ones lost to the disease and to Fight Back and in support of this message, Relay teams walk all night to fight back against cancer, one step at a time. 

Our team began the Relay at 7 PM and was on the track, non-stop, until thunderstorms blew in and shut down the event, around 4 AM.  I was truly amazed at the energy of those participating, not only from our team, but from the dozens of others.  It was inspiring to be amongst so many survivors and caregivers of this horrible disease that were there celebrating their win against Cancer and fundraising to help find a cure.

I enjoyed the Relay for Life event immensely and know that Karen did as well.  We’re looking forward to next year’s event and hope that some of our readers will get involved as well.  I definitely encourage it!

If you would like to learn more about the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life Event, or to get involved in a local event, visit their website: RelayforLife.org.

Stay tuned to future blog posts to learn more about other organizations and charities that HRchitect supports.

HRchitect Celebrates Six Months of Success with Groundbreaking HR Technology Happy Hour WebMingle(TM)

 

 

 

 

 

HRchitect, the leader in HR systems strategic consulting and the premier Human Capital Management (HCM) and Talent Management systems consulting firm, has produced twenty-six successful HR Technology Happy Hour WebMingles™ since the live web radio program made its debut in December 2008.

The weekly WebMingle is designed to give HR professionals insight into the puzzling world of HR technology, talk about upcoming events in the HR industry and provide insightful interviews with people of the HR industry – who they are, what they do and why HR professionals should care. The WebMingle has become the most popular live weekly Internet show in the HR technology industry with thousands of listeners worldwide.

“A WebMingle is essentially a meeting over the web where we do some business, socialize and yes, we mingle over the web,” commented Matt Lafata, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for HRchitect and the WebMingle host. “The show has been tremendously successful due to the format and the guests. These aren’t boring, stuff interviews but insightful discussions with the people in our industry who make a difference through their innovative companies, products, and services. It’s also a great opportunity to get to know more about these guests who are making an impact on the lives of HR professionals.”

The HRchitect HR Technology Happy Hour WebMingle takes placed every Friday afternoon at 1pm Central Time. It is live where guests are encouraged to call in with questions or post questions via Twitter at #HRWebMingle. Past shows are archived on the HRchitect website and past guests have included:

• Ron Hanscome, VP of Product Strategy with Kenexa
• Dave Watkins, CEO of Softscape
• Larry Dunivan, SVP, HCM Global Products with Lawson
• Sybll Romley, President & CEO of Spectrum
• Jerome Ternynck, CEO of MrTed
• Tim Clifford, President and CEO of Workscape
• Kimberley Kasper, VP of Marketing and Jon Ciampi, VP of Product Management with SumTotal Systems
• Sean Bisceglia, CEO of TalentDrive
• Mary Poquette, Chief Compliance Officer with Verifications, Inc.
• Ian Alexander, VP of Marketing with SonicRecruit
• Jeff Kristick, Sr. VP of Marketing with Plateau Systems
• Jon Ingham, Strategic HCM Author and Blogger and Executive Consultant with Strategic Dynamics Consultancy Services
• Brian Platz, EVP and COO of SilkRoad
• Mike Carden, Co-Founder and Head of Product with Sonar6
• Doug Coull, Founder, President and CEO and LJ Morris, CTO with SmartSearch/Advanced Personnel Systems
• Jim Ray, VP and Co-Founder with SkillSurvey
• Stacy Chapman and Tess Walton, Co-Founders of Aruspex
• Lewis Hollweg, President & CEO of Batrus Hollweg International (BHI)
• Todd Premo, Director of Solutions, and Chris Lennon, Senior Product Manager, from GeoLearning
• Jim Fowler, CEO and Co-Founder of Jigsaw
• Peter Louch, Founder & CEO of Vemo
• Charles Coy from Cornerstone OnDemand
• Bill Gilmyers, Senior Consultant, Jeff Higgins, Executive VP of Client Services, and Mick Collins with Infohrm
• Adam Feigenbaum, Director of Sales, and Susan Vitale, Director of Marketing from iCIMS
• Mark Willaman, President & Founder of Fisher Vista, LLC, the owners of several companies including HRmarketer.com

Upcoming guests are listed on the website at HRWebMingle.com and include representatives from industry leading companies such as Emerald Software Group, AIRS, OutStart, Indeed, nowHIRE, Saba, Verifications Inc., ExponentHR, Avature, Jobs2Web, HodesIQ, Enwisen, MyStaffingPro, and more.

“Anyone who has an active interest in the HR technology industry should tune into the WebMingle,” added Tiffany Appleby, Director of Marketing for HRchitect and Production Manager for the WebMingle. “At HRchitect, we pride ourselves in producing innovative educational programs for the HR industry while adding some fun at the same time.  The WebMingles certainly tackle the serious issues facing HR professionals and organizations today while adding that ‘human’ element that is sometimes missing from HR.”

 HR professionals and industry experts who would like to be a guest on the WebMingle should contact Tiffany Appleby at tappleby@HRchitect.com for consideration.

HRchitect Announces Promotion of John Hinojos to Vice President of Consulting Services

HRchitect, the leader in HR systems strategic consulting and the premier Human Capital Management (HCM) and Talent Management systems consulting firm, today announced that John A. Hinojos has been promoted to Vice President of Consulting Services.

John has been with HRchitect for 9 years, successfully serving as Director of Consulting Services, along with providing HR technology consulting services directly to HRchitect clients.  In his new role, John will be responsible for leading, enhancing and expanding HRchitect’s consulting services operation. 

“John has played an important role in the growth of HRchitect,” stated Rick Fletcher, President and Founder of HRchitect. “John’s role at HRchitect has evolved over time and he has proven himself to be a leader. John has worn many hats within HRchitect, as well as within our industry, which has prepared him for this position. His tenure with HRchitect and his involvement in the HR community has ideally suited John for this expanded role and we are very pleased to announce this promotion.” 

John has over 30 years of experience in Human Capital Management (HCM) and HCM Systems.  A frequent speaker at industry events and on webinars on such topics as HCM strategy and HCM technology strategic planning, evaluation, selection and implementation, John has also given presentations on the impact of mergers and acquisitions on HCM Systems, as well as HR technology evaluation, selection and implementation projects.

John is also very involved in the HR community. He co-developed and teaches “Introduction to HR Systems, Successful HR Systems Selection, and Fundamentals of Project Management” certification courses for the International Association for Human Resource Information Management (IHRIM) and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).  

John is also the president of the Pacific Southwest Chapter of IHRIM and the founding editor of The Review, HRSP’s magazine which was the predecessor to the IHRIM.Link. He also chaired the 2001 IHRIM national conference and was awarded the 2001 IHRIM Summit Award. This is an award that is given to members recognizing their significant, long-term contributions to the advancement of IHRIM’s mission and goals.  John continues to assist with the annual IHRIM Conference and was awarded IHRIM Pacific Southwest’s Member of the Year in 2008.  He is a frequent speaker at conferences and webinars on various topics regarding HR and Global systems.

“I’m really excited about the direction in which HRchitect is progressing and I am proud to work with such great people,” stated Hinojos.  “As we continue to grow, one of my goals this year was for HRchitect to have better metrics about our many consulting projects in order to better serve our past, present and future clients. Our customer satisfaction and retention rate is amongst the highest in the consulting industry because of our great people and consulting processes. That is of the utmost important to me and one of my many objectives is to see that continue and only get better. In addition, our business continues to diversify as clients are looking to us for consulting assistance in many different areas than ever before. Fortunately our consulting team is second to none in this industry, making my job that much easier.”

Visit HRchitect.com to learn about the services we provide and how we can help your organization get the most from its current HR systems as well as assist with any new HR technology related projects. Our web site will also show you where HRchitect can be found in 2009 as well as schedules of upcoming Beauty Pageants, WebMingles, and other educational events.

theHRshow 2009 Is Coming to a Computer Screen Near You!

HRchitect, the leader in HR systems strategic consulting, and the premier Human Capital Management (HCM) and Talent Management systems consulting firm, announced the panelists and presentations for theHRshow 2009.

theHRshow, the largest regional HR technology event, takes place this year on June 10-12, 2009 as a virtual three-day event. It is being offered completely free to the HR community through the generosity of HRchitect and our sponsors.

“As we continue to be in one of the most challenging business environments in recent memory, we find less and less people going to in-person events and unfortunately expect that to continue for the balance of 2009,” stated Matt Lafata, Conference Chair for theHRshow and the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for HRchitect. “However, we have so much to offer the community through theHRshow and will have a fantastic three day virtual event this June and then the on-site conference on February 4-5, 2010 in Frisco, Texas. If you are interested in HR technology, theHRshow offers something for everyone.”

theHRshow was created by industry experts and senior level practitioners who know what kind of challenges HR and HRIS professionals face on a daily basis. theHRshow will include 18 virtual sessions and five moderated panel discussions of invaluable information on the puzzling world of HR Technology over a three day period. Best of all, this will all be made available FREE of charge to the HR community through the generosity of our sponsors.

Moderated panel discussions on June 10 will feature the following:

• Onboarding Vendor Panel – Join Emerald Software Group, KMS Software, SilkRoad Technology, and Verifications, Inc.
• Talent Management Systems Vendor Panel – Join Authoria, HRsmart, Kenexa, Taleo, Workscape, and other leading vendors
• HR Systems Vendor Panel – Join NuView, Spectrum HR, Workday, and other leading vendors
• Learning Management Systems Vendor Panel – Join GeoLearning, Plateau Systems, Saba and other leading vendors
• Recruiting Systems Vendor Panel – Join HRsmart, iCIMS, Kenexa, Peopleclick and other leading vendors

Multiple tracks of sessions will take place on June 11 and June 12 around:

• Talent Acquisition including Onboarding, Assessments, Background checking, and more
• Talent Management including Compensation, Performance Management, Workforce Planning, and more
• Emerging Trends and Technologies including Social Networking, Web 2.0, HCM portals, and more
• HCM Strategy
• Managing HR Systems
• Professional Development

“HRchitect has attended four industry conference and expos this year.  Each had a fraction of the attendance they had in 2008,” added Tiffany Appleby, Director of Marketing & Corporate Communications for HRchitect and theHRshow. “In looking forward to upcoming shows for the balance of 2009, similar projections are being made.  Attendance is expected to be down by 50%, or more. We want to be sensitive to HR professionals in these trying times while providing a tremendous resource at the same time.”

theHRshow 2009 virtual conference will sessions are innovative, thought-provoking and will appeal to many different groups of people who play any role in the use of talent management and/or HR systems. The world class list of presenters and leading vendors participating in the panels have been carefully selected over the past few months.

 HR professionals can visit www.thehrshow2009.com to see a complete list of sessions and register online for those of interest to them.

HISTORY – Learn more about it during tomorrow’s webinar!

HRchitect’s Senior Implementation Consultant & Project Manager, Brian Kimball, will lead a webinar tomorrow on ‘Using HISTORY to Properly Scope Your HR Software Implementation Project.’ HRchitect has created this unique acronym to guide you through the elements that are needed when implementing an HR system:

HRMS
Integration
Strategic Planning
Timeline
Organizational Structure
Requirements Definition
Your Resource Availability

How do you know that your software project is completely scoped when working with a vendor? There are many factors that need to be considered in an implementation, including resource availability, system integration, training, change management, etc.

To get a full grasp of potential costs requires that you AND the vendor have a complete understanding of the complete project requirement that drive effort and final cost. If you are getting numbers from vendors without proper scoping, all that does is lead you to believe it is a good number…but it may potentially come around to bite you later on.

This webcast is not designed to bash vendors but rather arm you with the information you need to work with vendors to get more accurate implementation numbers the first time and avoid having to find more budget to finish items you thought you were getting in the first place.

Special thanks to Workscape for sponsoring this educational and informative event.

 Register now!