Q4.Explain three key considerations when selecting an HRIS technology vendor.

scenario

You are the newly hired HR generalist for Anika's Animal Shelter in the midwestern United States. The owner and executive director, Anika, recognizes that with expansion, additional staff and volunteers will be required to operate efficiently. The organization has struggled to hire and retain staff this year (see the "Organizational Chart" section of the attached "Supporting Documents"). Further, this shortage resulted in the organization's inability to get animals adopted quickly, create community adoption events and fundraisers, and get payroll out on time on two occasions.

Anika's relief about a new grant is matched by her concern about implementing next steps and meeting the expectations outlined in the grant. She recognizes the shelter has many needs, and staff members have great ideas (see the "Compiled Results of Focus Groups" section of the attached "Supporting Documents"), but she wonders how she will decide what is most important. The three-year grant covers the first six months of salary for your position, adds three new full-time dog trainers, provides laptops and tablets for select staff, and provides some additional operations funds that the shelter may usefor other purposes.

Additionally, she receives an email from the board of directors (see the "Email from the Board" section of the attached "Supporting Documents"). As a result of the email, she researches some other local shelters to gain a broader perspective of the shelter community in her locale (see the bottom of the "Email from the Board" section). She is apprehensive about the influx of applications and the next steps she needs to take to address the implications of the board's expectations. The current technology will not support the type of volume other organizations are handling. Currently, the following hardware is being utilized in the shelter: two desktop computers, two printers, and two laptop computers. One of the printers has the capability to scan and fax documents as well. Certain files are password protected for administrative purposes, and each employee has a password. A basic package that allows word processing, spreadsheets, and use of a database is the main software used, and Internet service is available.

Last, Anika recognizes that she needs to redistribute her time. If she increases her visibility in the community to include greater involvement in civic events and in fundraising, the shelter can build new partnerships, increase adoptions, and increase donations. The daily operational tasks will need to be handled effectively by others or more efficiently by Anika.

SUPPORTING DOC

Email from the Board

Applicable Tasks: 2

April 30, XXXX

To:Anika Miller, owner and executive director of Anika's Animal Shelter (AAS)

From:Talia Thomas, board president

We hope this finds you well this morning. Knowing that it will be a few weeks until we can meet in person, we would like to share a few discussion points from the executive committee. Certainly, we are open to discussion at our upcoming meeting.

First, we'd like to commend you on securing the grant through which we'll add the three dog trainers and expand shelter services. There are many deserving animals in the community (and their owners too, of course!).We recognize the hard work you and the team put into that grant and how competitive fundraising and serving animal causes can be.

Second, a recent newspaper article caught our attention, and we wanted to make sure you'd seen the details. Trusted Pet Services, another no-kill shelter located about 45 minutes away, offered a thank-you to its patrons and the community on their anniversary.In their eighth year, they achieved these results:

• serviced 400+ animals
• placed almost 300 animals into adopted homes
• spayed or neutered 1,000+ animals
• received 15,000 telephone inquiries from the community
• received a record number of donations through online giving and social media

This is a clear representation of what is possible at AAS.Please give these outcomes your consideration. We are confident, as a board, that you are the right person to lead our shelter into the future, and we renew our commitment to assist in whatever ways possible.

Best regards,

AAS Board

Streamline operations

• Hire someone to answer the phones.
• Have more than two computers available in-house.
• Provide clearer communication to the community:how and when to drop off animals, hours, what we do and do not do, etc.
• Hire more staff so we do not have to work so much overtime and retain those employees. It is a lot of work to keep training new employees.
• Question: "Could we use a pager system that lets people in the lobby know we are almost ready for them when we are busy or if we are doing curbside service?

Facilities

• Expand to another location or make this one bigger.
• Provide staff and volunteer lockers to keep personal items safe.
• Provide a special room and brochures with available community services for owners grieving the loss of pets.
• Create outdoor interaction areas (e.g., large grassy areas where potential owners can let dogs run).

Funding

• Increase the board size and get additional people with influence.
• Make the website better.
• Try a variety of ways to get fundraising going. We do such great work!
• Provide leashes, cardboard cat carriers, and catnip bags with our names on them.
• Question: "What community events can we be a part of or create?For example, could we do an annual holiday sale in the parking lot where people donate things they do not want and the shelter gets the proceeds?"
• Question: "How can we make sure not to lose our jobs in the future?"

Ideas for improved services and programs

• Create a scholarship fund for low-income pet owners beyond low-cost spay and neuter services (e.g., short-term food and kitty litter assistance). Maybe they could work it off with volunteer hours.
• Rescue animals in need (when the owner must abandon the animal due to health or death).
• Provide a mobile adoption van for areas where transportation is a problem.
• Create a community board at the shelter where people can share and post services (e.g., dog walkers, someone willing to dog- or cat-sitting, low-cost options for food or care)
• Arrange for summer movie nights with your dogs (in our green space), sell tickets, have popcorn and treats, etc.
• Provide lost-and-found pet services. (Drop them here, and we will try to find the owner.)
• Accept more types of animals:bunnies, ferrets, etc.

Appreciation

• Create company T-shirts
• Question: "How can employees earn promotions?"
• Provide medical insurance.
• Consider providing tuition reimbursement so I could go to vet school.
• Establish "bring your dog to work" days.