Houston, HR Has Landed!

What happens when HR enters the ServiceNow Galaxy?

When companies first fire up their ServiceNow engines, the launch sequence usually looks familiar: ITSM modules like Incident, Problem, Change, and Knowledge hit the runway. There's a lean, mean IT team behind the scenes, usually tucked into the IT department, responsible for supporting that initial launch. They are mission control, and the platform is their shuttle.

Then, as the platform grows, so does the passenger list. In comes more IT-friendly applications like CMDB, Software Asset Management, and Hardware Asset Management. All supported by the same hard working but almost at max capacity IT platform development team.

But then... HR shows up. And things get interesting!

HR doesn’t just roll in quietly. It enters with a brand-new application and a whole different approach to how things get done. Oh, and let’s not forget, ServiceNow separates the HR application scope from the IT scope, like two space stations orbiting the same planet but wisely maintaining their own life support systems. (Kinda S-M-R-T if you ask me.)

While the app is built on the same platform, HR comes equipped with its own roles, its own workflows, and yes, its own admin privileges. Which means, post-implementation, your developers and system admins may find themselves politely shown the shuttle door exit from the HR module.

So, who supports HR you may be asking?

Great question. And the answer is: no one unless you plan ahead.

See, once HR is live on the platform, the project team disbands and most times the continuing support is left to IT, who is already drowning in a starry sea of tickets, enhancement requests, and unexpected configuration puzzles. Nine times out of ten, IT is too tapped out to take on HR support, and HR finds itself trying to mature but stuck in the bottlenecked queue of a lifelong backlog.

So, what does HR do?

• Option A: Continue to beg IT for help. (Spoiler alert: They’re swamped.)
• Option B: Hire direct. (Pricey but an option.)
• Option C: Contract with a partner. (Smarter because of experience and flexibility.)
• Option D: Upskill someone in-house. (Noble, but rare and still an option.)

Let’s be honest, most HR teams weren’t launched into orbit to write scripts or troubleshoot record producers. They were hired to deal with people, benefits, compliance, and culture. Expecting them to double as developers? That’s like asking astronauts to pilot and build the shuttle mid-flight.

The best-case scenario? HR brings in what I like to call “power users” during the implementation phase along with ServiceNow partner backing.

The power users are HR savvy, platform curious folks who should be involved from the start of the project, attending UAT sessions, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with the developers, and soaking up everything from HR services to Journeys to integrations. They are the glue between HR and IT. AND, you get bonus points if you make sure these folks are trained before the project kickoff.

The selected partner provides flexibility to accelerate, decelerate, and continue fueling the growth of your power users. These people are your gravitational anchors, always there to stabilize the mission when turbulence hits.

And then there’s a twist no one sees coming...

The power users may at some point leave the company to pursue astronaut careers, or they decide the job is not right for them and move elsewhere within the company. Now what? How will you continue to drive your maturity? Well, thank goodness you onboarded a partner to leverage their experience and development squad that can continue to operate through the turbulence.

When HR comes aboard the ServiceNow mothership, it is not just an app, it is a whole new planetary system. Success is not defined by the launch date but by how well your mission team collaborates once you are in orbit. So, build your HR astronauts early, chart out that support model before liftoff, and make sure mission control (IT) and the new crew (HR) are speaking in the same frequency, Houston-style!