Forbes Advisor runs a complete analysis of the leading solutions in the market using a wide range of criteria to determine the best HCM software providers for small businesses.

We studied the industry and researched 26 different HR management companies and plans, then scored these contenders across several categories using metrics that included pricing, essential and additional features and third-party reviews, which were weighted to favour features that small business owners find valuable in a provider.

Here are some of the categories that we used to come up with the providers that made the top of our rankings.

Pricing – 10%

For pricing, we considered whether a service offers a free version, the cost of the software per month or per year and the value for the price. We reviewed which providers offer transparent pricing as well as free trials and money-back guarantees. This accounted for 10% of our weighted scoring.

Key features – 30%

We reviewed the key HCM features for each of the providers to determine which offer the best feature set. Some of the essential features we looked for included access to a reporting dashboard, alerts and reminders, an ATS, benefits administration and peer reviews.

Other key features we gave weight to included having access to a mobile app, time and attendance tracking and learning management tools. Key features accounted for 30% of the total score.

Unique features – 20%

In addition to the key features, we also looked at the additional features that each provider offers and what value that is to businesses seeking HCM software. Some of these unique features include engagement tools, software integrations, shift scheduling and PTO tracking.

It was also in this section where we considered each provider’s support capabilities, such as live support. To determine support quality, we looked at the channels in which support is available, if it’s available with all plans, the hours of operation and how helpful real users find support. Unique features counted for 20% of the final score.

Third-party reviews – 10%

To get a better understanding of how a wide range of users and businesses find a provider, we look at reviews, giving preference to providers that are highly rated among its user base.

This entailed ranking both the overall score from customers and the number of reviews for these scores to deliver the fullest picture of reality and reduce bias. These accounted for 10% of the total score.

Expert score – 30%

In addition to the criteria above, we also used our own expert insights to determine which of the providers are the best in the business. This included considering each software’s ease of use, any stand-out features, popularity and value for the price. Altogether, these criteria make up 30% of the final score.

In the ever-evolving landscape of business technology, adapting to change is no longer a choice — it’s a necessity. And when it comes to managing those changes seamlessly, Salesforce stands tall as a powerhouse. However, navigating the intricate realm of Salesforce Change Management can often leave even the most seasoned professionals scratching their heads.

We unveil six invaluable tips that promise to unravel the complexities, making the process not just manageable, but downright straightforward. Whether you’re a salesforce novice or a seasoned pro, these insights will empower you to wield change as a tool for growth, without breaking a sweat.

Clear Change Identification and Prioritization

Before embarking on any salesforce changes, it’s essential to meticulously define the scope and objectives of the proposed modifications. This involves a detailed analysis of the current system, identifying pain points, and recognizing opportunities for enhancement. Once potential changes are identified, a rigorous prioritization process should be employed.

This prioritization should be based on factors such as the anticipated business impact, alignment with strategic goals, and feasibility of implementation. The impacts of any change should be thoroughly evaluated, considering both short-term and long-term consequences. This includes assessing potential disruptions to existing processes, workflows, and user experiences, as well as estimating the financial, resource, and time investments required for successful implementation.

ALSO READ: HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF YOUR SALESFORCE INVESTMENT

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Successful salesforce change management thrives on collaborative efforts across diverse departments. Forming a dedicated change management team comprising representatives from different functional areas fosters a holistic approach. Involving stakeholders early in the process ensures that all perspectives are considered, mitigating resistance and enhancing buy-in.

Open communication channels must be established to facilitate idea sharing, status updates, and issue resolution. This collaborative synergy not only promotes comprehensive change planning but also empowers a sense of ownership among stakeholders. By uniting expertise and insights from various disciplines, organizations can navigate change with collective strength and drive more successful implementations.

Comprehensive Change Documentation

Thorough documentation is the backbone of effective salesforce change management. Detailed records of change requests, requirements, and implementation plans ensure a clear roadmap for all involved. A well-maintained repository of version-controlled documentation facilitates transparency, aiding in tracing the evolution of changes and reducing confusion. This meticulous documentation also supports knowledge transfer, enabling seamless onboarding and continuity.

By meticulously capturing every step and decision, organizations establish a reliable foundation for change, ensuring that stakeholders remain informed and aligned throughout the process. Robust documentation safeguards against uncertainties and serves as a valuable resource for future enhancements.

Thorough Testing and Quality Assurance

Rigorous testing and quality assurance are cornerstones of successful Salesforce change management. Crafting comprehensive test plans and scenarios allows for the meticulous examination of new configurations and functionalities. User Acceptance Testing (UAT) involving end-users validates the changes from a practical standpoint, ensuring they meet user needs and expectations.

Addressing any detected bugs, performance issues, or discrepancies during testing guarantees a smoother transition. A robust testing phase minimizes post-implementation disruptions and fosters user confidence. By prioritizing quality assurance, organizations fortify their change management process, delivering dependable solutions that align seamlessly with business objectives.

User Training and Support

Empowering users through effective training and ongoing support is pivotal in salesforce change management. Developing comprehensive training materials, including guides and tutorials, equips users with the knowledge to navigate new features and processes. Conducting engaging training sessions and workshops enhances user proficiency and fosters a positive transition experience.

Providing accessible avenues for user support, such as help desks or forums, ensures timely issue resolution and knowledge sharing. Prioritizing user training and support cultivates user confidence, reduces frustration, and promotes efficient utilization of the salesforce platform, ultimately contributing to the success of change initiatives.

Effective Change Rollout and Monitoring

A well-executed change rollout and vigilant monitoring are pivotal to salesforce change management success. Careful planning of controlled rollouts or pilot launches ensures gradual adoption and minimizes disruption. Monitoring user adoption, feedback, and system performance provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of implemented changes. Iterative improvements based on real-time data help fine-tune configurations and address evolving needs.

This proactive approach guarantees that the change’s impact aligns with expectations, promoting sustained user satisfaction. By maintaining a watchful eye on the ongoing change process, organizations can swiftly adapt, optimize, and enhance the Salesforce environment, driving long-term success and continuous improvement.

Simplifying Salesforce change management is a multi-faceted endeavor that demands strategic planning, collaboration, documentation, testing, training, and vigilant monitoring. By adhering to these key principles, organizations can navigate transitions with clarity, engage stakeholders effectively, and ensure seamless system enhancements. Embracing change as an iterative process allows for agility and continuous improvement, leading to a Salesforce environment that not only meets current needs but also lays a solid foundation for future innovation and success.

ALSO READ: SALESFORCE GENIE CAN TRANSFORM YOUR SALES STRATEGY

PR Newswire

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 3, 2023

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- First Dollar, a technology company that provides infrastructure for health spending benefits, announced the release of its Benefit Builder today. Benefit Builder unlocks the power of First Dollar's Health Wallet platform by equipping benefit plan designers with an easy-to-use tool for quickly customizing and offering health spending benefits—FSAs, HRAs, HSAs, LSAs, supplementals, rewards, and more.

First Dollar's use of software to design benefit plans highlights the decoupling of card issuance. The legacy attachment of cards to benefits has resulted in benefit plan updates being tied to high costs, environmental waste, member confusion, and unnecessary barriers. With its software-defined benefits, Benefit Builder allows partners to quickly and efficiently make needed updates without reissuing cards.

Benefit Builder offers improved efficiency and agency in part through its industry introduction of benefit templates. With a few clicks, benefit plan designers can:

• Design custom benefit plans by configuring an existing template. This flexibility enables plan designers to quickly expand their benefit offering portfolio as they can offer conceivably infinite designs of a health spending benefit.
• Book and enroll employer groups by assigning organizations to a template. For administrators and sales teams, this agency enables selling and implementing employers faster with less runaround.

Most other platform technology providers rely on partners sending emails or filing service request tickets for a queue to change benefit designs. In contrast, Benefit Builder enables teams to independently design, launch, and offer the benefits their sales team has sold.

"We're introducing benefit templates to help our partners quickly design, issue, and renew their benefit programs," said First Dollar Senior Designer Gabby Staton. "With templates, administrators can create custom plans without re-issuing cards or filing a ticket. That's just one more way we're giving administrators and plan designers the self-service tools they need."

Benefit plan design and implementation have traditionally been painful processes that required filing multiple tickets to a third party. With Benefit Builder, plan designers have the flexibility and agency to design custom benefit plans and assign them to prospective clients, simplifying the process of booking and enrolling new employer groups. Today, a benefit plan designer can log in to the Benefit Builder and design 64 unique health spending benefit programs before lunch:

• A general health FSA program for 25 employers whose commitment to reducing the use of plastics means they only want virtual cards.
• A limited-purpose FSA program for 11 employers who have found that a carryover is more valuable to their employees than a grace period.
• A dependent care FSA for 13 employers with 13 unique plan periods.
• A wellness program (LSA) for 15 employers that allows for member spending at fitness centers with a 30-day grace period.

As is the case for all accounts powered on the Health Wallet platform, all designed benefits can be offered on a single app, single card.

"Delayed timelines frustrate employers, administrators, and the members who depend on these benefits," said Erin Barley, Senior Product Manager at First Dollar. "We want to simplify offering and using health spending benefits, and Benefit Builder helps us meet that mission with a simplified process for creating new benefit offerings."

About First Dollar:
First Dollar is a technology company that provides infrastructure for health spending benefits. We offer a suite of software tools and APIs that enable organizations to launch and manage pre-tax accounts, lifestyle benefits, rewards programs, and supplemental benefits. First Dollar's Benefit Suite includes the Health Wallet for consumers, Health Wallet Manager for administrators, and the Health Wallet Platform for partners. First Dollar is based in Austin, with teammates all over the United States.

View original content to obtain multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-dollar-launches-benefit-builder-to-transform-how-administrators-design-and-offer-benefits-301892425.html

SOURCE First Dollar

As the U.K. health sector struggles to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many patients are experiencing record waiting times and missing vital health screenings. At the same time, patients who have seen the rapid rollout of innovations during the pandemic have rising expectations for faster and more efficient care.

Dr. Geeta Nayyar, Chief Medical Officer at Salesforce, believes that technology can help health institutions here and globally navigate this turbulent period. 

“Technology is not a silver bullet. It’s about finding operational efficiencies and thinking about what can be automated to maximize productivity and bring down costs. Ultimately, it allows doctors to be doctors and ensure patients receive the care they need,” says Dr. Nayyar.

As the world’s population grows and ages, the public health sector continues to face new challenges daily. Technology is vital to ensuring the sector can keep up and respond effectively, says Dr. Nayyar. If public-sector providers fail to innovate and invest in digital, then gaps in the breadth and quality of services provided are likely to widen.

POLITICO Studio sat down with Dr. Nayyar to learn more. 

Read our other interviews in this series, on reimagining the future of public services and putting trust at the heart of public services.

POLITICO Studio: What does your role as Chief Medical Officer at Salesforce look like day-to-day?

Geeta Nayyar: It spans anything from informing our product and market strategy in our health care business, to speaking with customers and ensuring their success. And internally, being an ambassador and a resource for our employees and speaking with them transparently about health issues.  

For example, a key initiative I helped lead during COVID-19 was co-authoring Salesforce’s Health and Safety Playbook with our Chief People Officer and our Chief Marketing Officer, demonstrating how I partnered with the C-suite to provide the most up-to-date guidance on how to put a safe and effective event together. 

Everything comes down to science. It was how we informed our protocols, our testing, our vaccination policies — and being out there as an ambassador to inspire confidence that Salesforce is a tool that can be successfully implemented throughout health care.

Today, every company is now a health care company. Salesforce’s leaders have made significant strides in employee health and wellness programs. This will continue as we navigate through tricky times. The re-prioritization of health is something we’re seeing with our customers as well — regardless of their business.

PS: How have customers in the health care sector used tech to drive resilience and innovation post-pandemic?

GN: COVID-19 has accelerated health care innovations and made digital transformation happen much faster. Now, citizens are voicing a preference for accessible digital services. Technology has facilitated citizen engagement, provision of reliable health information and the opening of new communication channels between doctors and patients. Having better access via virtual care, whether you’re in a rural or an urban environment, has really changed the patient journey. 

As it did to every company, the pandemic forced Salesforce to reimagine the support and services we offer in terms of our health care customers. For example, we introduced Work.com, which helped organizations respond to the pandemic before vaccines were available. Then, when vaccines became available, we launched Vaccine Cloud, which supported equitable vaccine administration around the globe. We subsequently deployed Safety Cloud to help people get together safely at events and in the office. 

For Salesforce, the pandemic has made us more relevant than ever in the health care space. Ultimately, it’s about automating the things we can and should, and driving operational efficiencies so that doctors can practice medicine first and foremost and patients can have human connection at the right points.

PS: What are the current challenges for public health care — and how can technology solutions help to navigate them? 

GN: In the U.K. right now, there are increased waiting times due to limited capacity and workforce. As a result, people are not getting the care they need when they need it most. They’re missing life-saving preventive health screenings. At the same time, patient expectations have continued to rise since the adoption of technology tools during the pandemic.

The U.K.’s ageing population also threatens to put even more pressure on the NHS in years to come. Technological solutions that create efficiencies, help control costs and enable health care professionals to treat patients more effectively will help mitigate this risk.

One of the biggest issues — and not just in the U.K., but around the world — is mental health. And that impacts productivity, because if you’re not happy and you’re suffering from depression or anxiety, you’re not at your best. It’s estimated that one in four people globally will suffer from mental health issues in their lifetime, with depression alone costing the global economy $210.5 billion each year.

Health care and life sciences organizations everywhere need connected data and intelligence, along with robust integration and automation tools, to help their employees deliver connected, personalized care to patients in real time. This is of the utmost importance as we continue to live in an era of misinformation and disinformation in health.

PS: How is Salesforce supporting public sector health care currently? What specific tech solutions are its customers deploying to tackle these challenges?

GN: Salesforce’s Patient 360 for Health innovations are exactly as they sound. They draw on the Salesforce ecosystem of products to enable providers and life science and MedTech companies to provide a complete view of every patient, putting them at the center of everything. This automation makes patient profiles more accessible, offering a better experience and ultimately driving a better outcome. 

With our behavioral health solution, for instance, health teams can personalize every step of the patient’s journey. It also provides access to mental and behavioral health services more efficiently to help address behavioral health inequities.

Advanced Therapy Management helps pharmaceutical companies streamline and maintain full visibility around the entire advanced therapy treatment processes for patients — from referrals and multiple appointment scheduling to drug manufacturing and administration — by connecting everyone involved in a patient’s therapy journey.

What’s more, Salesforce Genie for Healthcare integrates real-time clinical data, such as past and current medications, and non-clinical data, such as social determinants of health, to create a more comprehensive patient profile.

We continue to see health care as a place to grow. More than 190 countries used our product to schedule the vaccinations of millions of people. We were very much a part of the solution for COVID-19 from a citizen standpoint globally. In today’s uncertain economic environment, our research shows that health care and life sciences organizations using Salesforce are seeing an average 25 percent saving on operational costs.

We want to be an exceptional leader in health care, and my role is testament to that.

PS: What do you think the future of public health care looks like and what will Salesforce’s role be? 

GN: Everything we’ve done for public health has been laying the foundation for the future and building the technology infrastructure to be prepared for the next crises. Digital transformation is going to be core to that. We see Salesforce Customer 360 as central to the future of public health and infrastructure. 

We also think it’s important for the public and private sectors to work together. The pandemic has been a great example of the need for cross-sector cooperation. It does take a village, and personalizing the experience of patients — with technology that creates a 360-degree view of the individual and connects disparate data systems — has become much more important. 

The pandemic proved that this industry has what it takes to evolve in the face of shifting customer needs and expectations. Why not harness that momentum?

Salesforce is committed to creating new health care technologies for customers that can address the fast-changing front-line challenges of patient care and help our customers to scale effectively and efficiently.

As virtual health care develops and new health needs arise, our core technologies are more relevant than ever.

The dilemma of what's next - how to allocate resources, adjust pricing, invest in product - is going to get easier with real-time insights from employees who are closest to customers.

SEATTLE, July 27, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Groopit, the enterprise SaaS platform that makes it easy to crowdsource insights from employees, today launches new Salesforce capabilities that help leaders determine what's next using insights from frontline sellers.

Business leaders are constantly determining what's next - how to allocate resources, adjust pricing, Strengthen customer experience, and invest in products. But by the time you have data to support your plans, it's too late. Decisions have already been made, opportunities have been missed, deals have been lost, customers are frustrated, and competitors have moved ahead.

The future of "what's next" starts by adding Groopit to Salesforce. Groopit delivers the critical business insights needed to inform decisions from Salesforce, directly to your department and to you. For the first time, you can harness the collective wisdom of your frontline employees within Salesforce, guaranteeing that these invaluable insights reach you and the key decision-makers across your organization. Simply install Groopit from AppExchange into your instance of Salesforce and you'll have the quantitative data you need from employees who are closest to customers. Insights at your fingertips, in real-time, making it easy to determine and articulate what's next.

Groopit provides business leaders with extreme agility, speed, and scale. As business needs change and evolve, you'll redefine the insights you need and get them fast - without waiting for Salesforce configuration. The enterprise system is built on top of a Microsoft Azure Cloud Services, so it will power hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of your employees at a time, updating data in real-time. Today, enterprises like Home Depot, Siemens, and Guidant Financial, rely on Groopit to inform their most strategic initiatives with real-time insights from the frontline.

Key features and capabilities include:

• Groopit Insight Feeds. Groopit delivers precisely the right insights, from frontline employees working in Salesforce, directly to you and the appropriate decision-makers across corporate disciplines. Receive insights from Salesforce and easily consume them in Slack, Teams, email, or wherever you work.
• Groopit Templates. New and updated templates for the most common use cases provide precisely the right data surrounding each insight. Templates include competitive pricing intelligence, customer experience breakages, field site visit learnings, new product reactions, operational issues, positive customer quotes, wins, losses, and more.
• Groopit Integrations. 94% of sales organizations plan to consolidate their tech stack in the next 12 months.* Groopit makes that possible by establishing an underlying insight sharing engine that works across disciplines, consolidating and eliminating data silos that exist in discipline specific systems.
• Groopit Quick Start. Eliminate Salesforce configuration wait time. With Groopit, business leaders define the insights needed from frontline sellers without waiting on Salesforce configuration or support. You'll get the precise data needed, fast, and everyone, including Salesforce Administrators, saves time.
• Groopit Sharing. According to Salesforce Research, 69% of sales professionals agree their job is harder and reducing administrative work is key. Groopit radically simplifies how reps contribute insights with a few quick taps, in less than a minute, and from wherever they work - Salesforce, Teams, Slack, web, and mobile.

"Groopit transforms business problem solving, just like smartphones transformed photography – both delivering high-quality, rapid views and outcomes that were previously out of reach", says Tammy Savage, CEO & Co-founder of Groopit. "With Groopit, leaders decide the vantage point from which they approach a problem, immediately receive data from employees to form a high-fidelity image of that problem, and can pivot immediately to explore new angles. It transforms how leaders are understanding competitors and improving customer experiences, products, and operations."

The new Groopit App for Salesforce is available beginning today. For more information on the solution, please visit https://groopit.co/products/groopit-salesforce-app/.

About Groopit

Groopit is the leading provider of crowdsolving software, a new category of enterprise SaaS software that transforms how people come together to solve problems. With Groopit, front-line employees share real-time data to illuminate a problem, and everyone involved is empowered to make better, faster decisions. To learn more about Groopit, visit https://groopit.co/.

Pull Quote

"Groopit transforms business problem solving, just like smartphones transformed photography – both delivering high-quality, rapid views and outcomes that were previously out of reach", says Tammy Savage, CEO & Co-founder of Groopit.

Media Contact

Media Relations, Groopit, Inc, 1 (564) 212-6962, press@groopit.co, https://groopit.co

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SOURCE Groopit, Inc

Rubrik Inc. is acquiring Laminar Technologies Inc., a startup that helps companies map out their cloud-based data assets and find insecurely stored information.

Rubrik didn’t disclose the financial terms in its announcement of the deal today. However, a source told TechCrunch that the acquisition values Laminar at more than $100 million. Two other sources claimed that the deal is worth between $200 million and $250 million.

In a large enterprise, keeping tabs on all the files that employees create can be a challenge. Administrators may not always notice when a record is copied without permission or shared in an insecure manner. Such cybersecurity issues can increase the risk of data breaches.

Tel Aviv-based Laminar has developed a software platform that promises to address that risk. According to the startup, its platform can automatically map out all the records in a company’s cloud environment. The software then uses machine learning to automatically find files that contain sensitive data such as passwords.

According to Laminar, its algorithms also collect other key details about a company’s files. The startup’s software can determine when a record was created, where it’s stored and who can access it.

Laminar uses the information it collects to identify data assets that may be at increased risk of hacking. The platform can, for example, point out records that are accessible to more users than strictly necessary. The platform then prioritizes the cybersecurity issues it finds based on their severity and generates remediation suggestions.

Laminar reportedly amassed a customer count in the “double digits” before its acquisition by Rubrik. The startup also raised $67 million in funding from Salesforce.com Inc.’s venture capital arm, publicly traded cyber security provider SentinelOne Inc. and other institutional backers.

“Together, our teams will create an integrated offering that gives customers the benefits of cyber recovery and cyber posture capabilities, and positions them to be resilient in their fight against cyberattacks,” said Rubrik Chief Business Officer Mike Tornincasa. 

Rubrik is reportedly not the only company that sought to buy Laminar. Earlier this year, reports emerged that several other enterprise software companies had also expressed interest in acquiring the startup. It’s believed observability provider Datadog Inc. was among the prospective buyers. 

The company will use Laminar’s technology to extend the existing data protection features of its flagship offering, the Rubrik Security Cloud. Those existing features include a tool that allows companies to create immutable backups of their data. An immutable backup can’t be modified or deleted, which allows it to withstand ransomware attacks. 

Rubrik also plans to open a new research and development center in Israel following the acquisition. The center, which is set to focus on cybersecurity, will join the existing engineering hubs that the company operates in Bangalore and Palo Alto. 

Image: Laminar

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