Colorado State University

“Our entire institution uses the HigherEd Platform for all hires, and they enjoy it.”

Having the right tools to accomplish a critical task—and believing and trusting in those tools—can make a world of difference.
Colorado State University (CSU) knows an HR solution like the HigherEd Platform is no different. This is why CSU has taken the comprehensive training PeopleAdmin provides during implementation even one step further and invested in creating a CSU-specific HigherEd Platform training library geared for even their least tech-savvy employees.
“I want people to be on board with [the HigherEd Platform] so we can all get the most out of it,” said Chris Mullen, assistant director for recruitment and selection at CSU, who has overseen the HigherEd Platform implementation and training for more than 7,000 employees.
In this case, getting the most from the HigherEd Platform has led to high solution-adoption rates, improved HR efficiencies, and greater audit-ready documentation since CSU implemented the HigherEd Platform three years ago.

“Implementing change is not easy for everyone but providing additional training can ease some of the issues and concerns,” Chris said. “We try to meet everybody’s needs, every type of learner, with in-person trainings for every different section.” For example, CSU offers HigherEd Platform training guides with screenshots and computer lab-style training where super users work with employees one-on-one to answer questions.

“Now we’re moving into more video,” Chris said, quick to add that it’s not as labor-intensive as it may sound. “When I get a question, I log in as the person with the issue, record my desktop, and show them how to do it. I then send them the video. And that has gotten rave reviews.” Once recorded, videos are added to the university’s training channel on YouTube, so other employees can find answers easily. Chris’s goal is to achieve an automated training process, so all employees have access to necessary training with minimal effort from his team.

“PeopleAdmin is intuitive for the millennial generation or someone who uses technology like myself,” he said. “A lot of our employees didn’t grow up with technology. But with training they learn easily how to look at applicants, review them, and combine their documents.”

CSU’s training emphasis has led to high adoption rates among university employees at all levels, including support staff and mid-level employees. “Our entire institution uses [the HigherEd Platform] for all hires, and they enjoy it,” Chris said. “PeopleAdmin brought together a lot of efficiencies for us. We got rid of a lot of paper—and not just in my office. We combined a ton of processes into the system that got rid of all kinds of paper, emails and letters being sent from one office to another.”

Colorado State University shows that you get out of HR technology what you put into it. Their up-front effort to introduce the system and provide instruction so that all stakeholders can use it to meet their needs has significantly decreased the learning curve, improved efficiency, and prepared their university for an even more successful future.

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