SilkRoad On-boarding Software Review

An HR Software Vendor Solution Brief for SilkRoad's RedCarpet Onboarding Software

SilkRoad Company Overview

Founded in North Carolina in 2003 with initial sights on the content management systems market, SilkRoad quickly moved into (and proved its worth) in the e-recruitment automation market—garnering a rank as a serious "challenger" in the 2009 Gartner Magic Quadrant. SilkRoad then further expanded to begin offering a series of solutions covering the full spectrum of talent management software functionality; a "core" system of record; and an increasingly sophisticated user experience (UX). Now headquartered in Chicago, and with offices in ten countries around the world, this company's award-winning "Life Suite" of talent solutions emphasises the employee engagement element of talent management. To highlight the most recent of SilkRoad's plaudits:

• December 2011 – NCTA 21 Award for Customer Service Excellence for superior customer service experience in implementation and deployment.
• November 2011 – SilkRoad's GreenLight learning management system ranked as a 'champion' in McLean & Co.'s Vendor Landscape.
• August 2011 – A Distinguished Honoree medal at the International Business Awards for SilkRoad's Customer Service Department for their efforts in providing world-class customer service to a global customer base.
• March 2011 – Winner of the "Relationship Management Solution" category in the fifth annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service for HeartBeat, SilkRoad's core HR solution.

SilkRoad's RedCarpet Onboarding Application Purpose

Available as a standalone onboarding software solution, or as part of the SilkRoad HR software suite, Red Carpet is based off of integrated modules, the key features of which are as follows:

On-boarding & Life Events – Geared towards acclimating new hires to corporate culture and procedures via a personalized and secure employee portal, this module includes the features of:

• Easy-to-use tools for management of the time sensitive tasks associated with various life events.
• A personalized portal which provides a central location for most information and necessary paperwork.
• Off-boarding, including the revocation of system access, return of company assets, paperwork, termination of benefits, etc.

Electronic Forms - Enabling employees to complete paperwork electronically, this module features the capabilities to:

• Organize and track e-forms and tasks that need to be completed before the start date, during the first several months, and/or during the first year of employment.
• Conduct I-9, tax, emergency contact, direct deposit, parking, procurement and other form completion; even allowing for forms to be sent in advance of the start date.
• Capture electronic signatures to allow e-forms to act as binding legal documents.
• Pre-populate forms with data from an applicant tracking system.

Task Management – This software module allows for:

• Automated task workflow through an easy point-and-click interface.
• Tasks and workflows to be auto-determined based on position, department, or location of the new or transitioning employee.
• Tasks and task statuses, including routing information, to be viewed via the Portal or via e-mail notification.
• Dependencies to be added so that one task creates another in set workflows.
• The reporting function to collect data and track the status of legal and corporate policy compliance.

I-9 & E-Verify – As a Web Services E-Verify Employer Agent of the Department of Homeland Security, Silk Road offers the following functionality:

• Electronic I-9 functionality, including form completion, retention, archival, re-verification, search, and retrieval forms for U.S. government mandated processes.
• The capability to verify employment eligibility via integration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Employee Portals – Personalized portals for new hires, this HR software module allows for:

• Early access to a personalized and secure employee portal after offer acceptance.
• Customized portals for life cycle events using non-technical editor functionality.
• Portals branded to match desired corporate look and feel.

In addition, RedCarpet can integrate and share data with legacy systems, other recruiting, payroll and HRIS systems, and other HR solutions, including SilkRoad's other Life Suite solutions such as OpenHire for recruiting; WingSpan for performance management; GreenLight for learning management; Eprise for intranets/content management; and HeartBeat for "core" HR. Further, RedCarpet also integrates seamlessly with many third party vendors that provide services such as background checks and tax credit searches.

SilkRoad's Customer Target Market

With 2000+ clients spread out over 80 countries in support of 5M+ employees, SilkRoad's customers are not limited to any specific industry sector. That said, marquis customers for SilkRoad's solutions include Allianz, Crate and Barrel, the Singapore Institute of Management, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, IMG Worldwide, Make-a-Wish Foundation of America, Reckitt Benckiser and Rocket Software—indications that retail, non-profits, and technology companies find the SilkRoad on-boarding software solution to be a tool worth leveraging.

SilkRoad's Perfect Prospect Profile (PPP)

Given SilkRoad's cross-border presence, enterprise-class functionality and multi-national support capabilities, RedCarpet seems particularly well-suited to large, global corporations, However, the Life Suite (including RedCarpet) of solutions is ideally suited for businesses of all sizes due to its unique and open "start anywhere" architecture which allows implementation of the complete suite or just a single software product, adding functionality as needed.

SilkRoad's Technical Specs

RedCarpet is available as a Software-as-a-Service deployment, built using the Microsoft .NET platform. As a purely SaaS provider, SilkRoad takes the issue of security seriously, following the C.I.A. principle of information security: confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Using a multi-layered approach, SilkRoad adopts ISO 27001-based policies, standards, and procedures and undergoes SSAE 16 (formerly SAS 70) audits.

SilkRoad's Primary Competitors

As with SilkRoad, most onboarding systems are designed to complement a wider recruitment and/or talent management suite. Potential competitors include iCIMS's e-recruitment solution, Peoplefluent Onboarding, and Enwisen's AnswerSource which – like RedCarpet – includes both onboarding and offboarding features.

Strengths of SilkRoad's RedCarpet Onboarding System
 

• In 2009, Gartner named RedCarpet as having best-in-class functionality.
• The inclusion of offboarding and other life cycle events makes RedCarpet a more comprehensive package than some competitors.
• In the last two years, SilkRoad has raised their profile beyond North America with a genuinely global offering.
• SilkRoad's recent partnership with WorkStrategy makes SilkRoad's RedCarpet more accessible to WorkStrategy's customers operating in an integrated ERP-based human capital management environment.

Weaknesses of SilkRoad's RedCarpet Onboarding System
 

• SilkRoad goes to great lengths to ensure the security of their SaaS solutions; however, with the market at this stage of development, some buyers may still have reservations about keeping employee data "behind the firewall".
• While more indicative of an industry-wide issue rather than a SilkRoad-specific problem, RedCarpet provides little in the way of effective on-boarding training for managers that extends beyond technical "how-to" learning for the system.

Bottom-line for SilkRoad's RedCarpet Onboarding Software

SilkRoad's aim with RedCarpet is to drive up employee engagement from the very beginning of the employee life cycle to the very end. The global reach, easy integration with the wider award-winning talent software, and stringent compliance and security measures should make RedCarpet attractive to businesses that wants to give new hires the best start with the organization and reduce ramping up time to a minimum. Furthermore, given the ever-changing nature of today's business world, any software that eases mergers, acquisitions and relocations is worthy of serious consideration.

  Categories: Onboarding Software

  Tags: Onboarding, SilkRoad

  Permalink: www.hrlab.com/silkroad-review.php

 Author: Dave Foxall

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