An Insider's Guide to Getting the Most out of Your Relationship with B2B Workforce- A Chat with Ralph Williams, Director of SAP HCM Solutions Ralph Willams joined B2B Workforce over three months ago as part or our Solution Architect Program. In the following interview he shares his fresh perspective on what it means to be a B2B Workforce Solution Architect and shares some tips for our B2B Consultants he has gathered along the way. Interviewer- How long have you been in your role as a B2B Solution Architect? Ralph- About 3 and a half months. Interviewer- Can you tell us a little bit about the experience you bring to the B2B Solution Architect team? Ralph- I have always worked with Human Resources oriented systems, with about 20 years experience there, and have spent the last 10 years working specifically with SAP. I made the transition to SAP during the ERP boom in the mid 90's when client companies were looking for people with functional business experience to serve on their ERP implementations. At that time, the hiring companies were willing to train on SAP and I served as a systems analyst at first. Over time, my niche became post production support. Interviewer- What activities have you taken on in your current role as a B2B Solution Architect? Ralph- I have been involved in quite a bit of marketing initially to acquaint our established accounts with the existence of the solution architect role, and the SAP HCM Solution Architect role in particular. I have also been involved in SAP HR implementation assessments where we talk to our client about their possible strategic HCM solutions and options. I have also put together the new B2B Quality Program that is currently being piloted at 2 of our current accounts. Interviewer- Can you tell us more about the B2B Quality Program? Ralph- First let me start by saying, quality is paramount in everything we do as a company. Each consultant we engage is incorporated into our company quality processes regardless of the project size and focus. In our larger accounts, with 5+ employees, we put together an advanced quality processes and procedures and gather information from the B2B consultants engaged on a weekly basis and formally capture it into a status report. After one of our Solution Architects reviews and summarizes we communicate to the Client Partner/Project Manager responsible for the overall delivery and success of the project. This gives the client visibility early on as to any potential trouble spots and allows them to know up front rather than finding out later on down the road. Interviewer- Are there any simple steps our B2B Consultants can take to help us meet our clients' needs and help make the B2B Quality Program a success? Ralph- It is so important that consultants communicate feedback from the project whether it is good or bad. For example any risk that is not addressed by the client or client partner should be escalated to the consultant's B2B Delivery Manager or Resource Manager. By risk, I mean any task a consultant is assigned that is off track, or any design direction they are asked to take that will lead to problems later on in the project, basically anything that could compromise that consultant's purpose on the project. Interviewer- Any tips for communication within the project team? Ralph- I have really seen the importance of consultants having familiarity with the practice of tracking issues. It is important to track whether it means using the client's issue tracking method or the consultant's own method if the client does not have one in place. .It is very important that once issues are identified that they are logged so they can be resolved. Whether you are the keeper of the issues list or a contributor to it, it is very important that all B2B Consultants be comfortable with the practice. Interviewer- Any other tips you have picked up in your interactions with our clients that might be helpful to our B2B Consultants? Ralph- One thing that is helpful for our consultants to do is to actively seek out the process for escalating concerns whenever they start a new project. It is crucial that consultants know the escalation process whether it is raising constructive concerns to the client partner, client, or B2B Team Lead. The benefit of reporting issues is that the client can concretely see the initiative B2B Consultants take to ensure overall project success. By distinguishing the B2B name in this way we increase the likelihood that B2B and our Consultants can prolong their engagement on a project. Interviewer- Anything else to add? Ralph- Our consultants should not be afraid to say they don't know something. In today's market the technology is evolving too quickly for one person to know everything. If the consultant lets us know of the sticking point it is likely we can reach out to the B2B network of experts or engage the Solution Architect team to fix the problem correctly. Interviewer- Those are all very helpful points, thank you Ralph!