Assessments & Strategic Engagements
An HCM assessment helps leaders understand what must change before they buy, replace, or optimize a system. Align HCM supports requirements gathering, roadmap planning, vendor evaluation, risk mitigation, budget clarity, and implementation readiness.
Most clients start with some form of low-cost, no-obligation assessment designed to help them move forward no matter where they are in their HCM journey.
We can create a custom assessment for you, or you can choose from one of our proven assessment offerings.
Contact us →Risk Mitigation Engagements
Payroll Continuity Risk Assessment (2 weeks)
- Addresses: Fear of payroll disruption
- Deliverable: Complete risk analysis of your current payroll operation with failure points mapped, plus a zero-downtime migration blueprint
- Benefits: We'll show you exactly how to transition without missing a single payroll cycle - or identify why your current setup is more vulnerable than you think
Data Migration Confidence Audit (2 weeks)
- Addresses: Data migration fears
- Deliverable: Assessment of your current data quality, migration complexity score, and sample data conversion with discrepancy report
- Benefits: We'll prove we can accurately migrate your data by doing a test validation of your most complex employee records
Financial Clarity Engagements
True Cost of Ownership Analysis (3 weeks)
- Addresses: Unclear ROI and hidden costs
- Deliverable: Side-by-side TCO comparison of current vs. new solution including hidden costs (manual workarounds, IT support tickets, compliance risks, shadow systems)
- Benefits: Discover how much you are really spending (most companies are spending 20-40% more than they think) on your current system once hidden costs are revealed
Contract Optimization & Exit Strategy (2 Weeks)
- Addresses: Vendor lock-in concerns
- Deliverable: Current contract analysis, negotiation strategy for early termination/credits, optimal timing recommendation
- Benefits: We'll help you understand your exit options and might save you significant termination fees you didn't know you could
Technical Validation Engagements
Integration Feasibility Assessment (2 weeks)
- Addresses: Integration complexity concerns
- Deliverable: Technical architecture review with integration map, API compatibility analysis, and proof-of-concept for your most critical integrations
- Benefits: We'll provide technical walkthroughs of how systems will integrate with attention to key fields and how they will map to your systems
Strategic Planning Engagements
HR Technology Roadmap Workshop (2 weeks)
- Addresses: Not knowing the art of the possible
- Deliverable: 3-year HR tech strategy aligned with business goals, capability maturity assessment, and prioritized improvement opportunities
- Benefits: Even if you don't change systems now, you'll have a clear strategy for modernizing HR operations on your timeline
Stakeholder Alignment Sprint (2 weeks)
- Addresses: Internal buy-in challenges
- Deliverable: Business case presentation tailored for CFO/IT/CEO, objection handling guide, and executive briefing materials
- Benefits: We'll help you build a solid business case that gets CFO and IT support - no sales pitch, just strategic consulting
Implementation Planning Engagements
Implementation Blueprint & Resource Plan (2 weeks)
- Addresses: Resource constraints and implementation timeline concerns
- Deliverable: Detailed project plan with realistic timeline, resource requirements by week, and mitigation strategies for minimal disruption
- Benefits: Know exactly what you're signing up for before you sign - including how to staff the project without burning out your team
Change Management Engagements
When an HCM assessment is the right next step
| Situation | How Align HCM can help |
|---|---|
| Unclear requirements | Document processes, risks, stakeholders, and priorities before selecting or changing technology. |
| Vendor or roadmap decision | Create objective evaluation criteria, realistic sequencing, and budget clarity. |
| A live system is underperforming | Identify configuration, adoption, reporting, integration, and governance gaps. |
Frequently asked questions
What does an HCM assessment include?
An HCM assessment can include stakeholder interviews, process review, requirements, platform fit, data and integration risks, operating-model gaps, roadmap priorities, and an actionable recommendation.
When should an organization complete an HCM assessment?
Complete an assessment before vendor selection, replacement, implementation planning, a major optimization effort, or whenever leaders disagree about the problem the technology must solve.
Can an assessment help with HCM vendor selection?
Yes. Align HCM can translate business needs into evaluation criteria, compare options objectively, and help stakeholders understand implementation and ownership implications.
Can Align HCM work alongside our internal team and software vendor?
Yes. Align HCM can work as an extension of the internal HR, payroll, IT, finance, or project team while coordinating with the software vendor and other partners. Responsibilities are defined at the start of the engagement.
Which HCM platforms can Align HCM support?
Align HCM supports organizations working with Dayforce, UKG, Paylocity, HiBob, and other HCM environments. The exact team is matched to the platform, modules, project stage, and business requirements.
How does an Align HCM engagement start?
The process starts with a discovery conversation to clarify the business problem, platform, timeline, stakeholders, and required outcomes. Align HCM then recommends a practical scope and the specialists needed to deliver it.
Related HCM guidance
HR Technology Roadmap Workshop (2 weeks)
- Addresses: Change fatigue
- Deliverable: Employee survey analysis, pain point mapping, and experience improvement scorecard
- Benefits: Find out what your employees actually like/dislike about current HR systems - you might be surprised
Ready to Get Started?
Contact the team at Align HCM today.