Fourvision Advanced Human Resource Management
Fourvision Advanced HRM is the latest instalment of enhanced human resource management functionality from Fourvision that sits seamlessly within the D365 Finance & Operations and Business Central ERP applications.
We have worked alongside and opposite Fourvision for more than a decade and were one of the first UK Microsoft partners to introduce them to an AX2012 client of ours back in 2012.
AX2012 had some limitations notably absence management and learning development functionality, both of which been requirements of our clients people and development team.
Our approach up until that point would typically have been to embark upon an extensive period of analysis, design and development, plugging these gaps and developing the functionality on behalf of our customer. However aware that a Microsoft Partner was now marketing an ‘out of the box’ solution we investigated Fourvision’s offering and found a natural fit that reduced risk and cost for our client that would benefit the project as a whole.
We saw that Fourvision’s development mirrored much of what we had previously developed on behalf of client’s ourselves, with robust absence management functionality whilst their learning and development module enhanced Microsoft’s standard offering and satisfied other requirements that were due in a later phase of deployment.
An ‘out of the box’ vertical solution was therefore the recommendation and Fourvision was successfully implemented as part of a full award winning ERP deployment that included a full suite of finance, warehousing and manufacturing functionality.
Having also worked opposite Fourvision in advisory capacities, providing assurance services to significant programmes, we have despite the challenges these significant works present, maintained good working relations, not least because of a shared pragmatism and a quality driven focus on our shared customers best interests.
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Fourvision’s 2026 release of their Advanced HRM suite of modules brought functionality that we could see would be of a benefit to our own customer base and pipeline of prospects, so with our long established working relationship we formalised a working partnership, upskilled our consultants and became an official reseller of Advanced HRM.
Our highly experienced, UK based HR consultants can now provide Advanced HRM consultancy independently or in partnership with Fourvision. We still retain an independent objectivity for those programmes or projects who want impartiality and need our advisory services or we can provide that extra skilled resource with UK expertise on blended projects where ownership of a problem is a shared one for all parties.
Fourvision Advanced HRM Workflow
Workflow within Dynamics was without a doubt, a complete game changer when it was first introduced to D365. However in our opinion it has always been a bit technical for some of our HR clients who could sometimes struggle with functions they only infrequently had to amend. An ad-hoc change could leave users scratching their heads if they hadn’t used the workflow tool for a while, those skills can get rusty!
Fourvision recognised this and have introduced a much more friendlier piece of functionality that makes workflow a lot easier to work with when you are a HR professional. It fits on top of D365’s standard workflow, so adheres to all the same logic and security rules but presents it in a format that HR professionals and consultants alike both appreciate.
By significantly improving useability it demystifies one of the most powerful features of D365 and saves the people team calling in ‘favours’ from IT where these skills generally thrive, that’s a good thing for HR and a reason why we like to call out this particular feature of Advanced HRM.
Advanced HRM with Teams
Using Teams as a workspace for those users less involved in the day to day operation and management of an ERP business system is another productivity game changer. As an example users logging into their D365 ERP portal to simply register absence requests or check analytical figures when already in Teams is a keystroke or two too many when this can be a native feature in the Teams workspace.
Microsoft have been using Teams to present information seamlessly using security standards to protect information and so on for several years, Fourvision have built upon this from the employee’s perspective removing some of the configuration and presentation effort. With more appeal in terms of presentation and information it’s another feature worthy of note with cost saving and early adoption advantages we appreciate.
Fourvision Advanced HRM Analytics
Microsoft have a wide range of analytical reports available as standard throughout D365 however Fourvision with their HR expertise have produced another level of analytics that appeal to the HR professional.
Fourvision Advanced HRM has analytical features that many clients would end up generating using Power BI. Out of the box features like these not only reduce the deployment cycle associated with this type of typical implementation deliverable but create that initial positivity amongst the user base that supports early adoption.
With user configurable tools important aspects such as company branding are simplified, it may sound basic but with our programme and project management hats on these things do take time to configure and deliver. Fourvision have recognised these often called for ‘tweaks’ and taken a chunk of time out of a typical project plan by delivering these tools as standard.
Employee Progression and Succession Planning
Building upon functionality that forward thinking professionals in the people and development departments want to see are a range of visualisation tools that provide that management overview which support succession and employee progression.
Fourvision Advanced HRM provide these in formats that would normally require Power BI effort and expertise in order to present these suitably enough for line managers and employees all of which leads to faster deployment with less associated cost.
Is Fourvision Advanced HRM Scalable?
Fourvision followed the example set by Microsoft with D365 so simply put the answer is yes! This means that from the outset Fourvision Advanced HRM was designed so that it could be deployed in organisations both small or large with functions activated as and when required whilst sitting in an environment that can manage multi-company, country specific organisations using different currencies/languages etc.
Built for Organisations Small and Large
Typically 50 users would class as a small client, whilst at the high end a large well known international drinks brand with 24000 employees spread across 17 countries is an example of Fourvision’s current largest client.
Small companies may not have a requirement for all the processes a much larger organisation needs but if they do, the functionality is there waiting to be activated, configured and used.
It’s an important thing to note as this is not a boutique software product with a limited functionality set, it has real depth that supports complex organisations but importantly all that functionality does not need to be deployed from the outset and does not necessarily require expensive consultancy to deploy at a later stage.
Its got a WIKI
Okay so what you might be thinking but from a practical implementation perspective it’s one of the features our consultants really appreciate.
It’s more than a basic effort at putting together help documentation, sectioned so that it applies to different audiences we have something that we can use in day to day situations, technical stuff for the techie audience, infrequent processes explained for the likes of line managers doing those periodic activities that they have forgotten how to do.
The WIKI takes away most of that end of project write up effort that our consultants find rather boring but necessary.
From our advisory and D365 project management perspective it’s work you would utilise D365 Task Recorder for, removing this effort is a bonus to the overall cost of a project hence we applaud the effort Fourvision have gone to here as it is an extensive and useful piece of detailed functionality.
HR First Strategy
We have often encountered clients wishing to implement HR in a first phase of deployment as part of a wider programme of system change. There may be several reasons for such an approach, some certainly see HR as a less complex piece of functionality to deliver and subsequently a quicker win for the programme management team.
Other’s may be constrained by budget or have ‘burning bridges’ to address where they have to move from their incumbent systems and onto one fully integrated solution like D365 F&O. Earlier generations of HR system often stand alone, many evolve from spreadsheets and some are simply stand alone solutions with minimal integration (if any).
Its not surprising therefore to see lower risk perceptions when it comes to deploying HR first, a testbed is often referred to in our experience!
Whatever the rationale and speaking with 20 plus years of experience of HR and Dynamics ERP, these types of deployment still need close management and always benefit from experienced programme and project management teams. If you do not approach any phased deployment without using the right people and implementation methodology costs invariable will be higher than you forecast.
It is important to recognise too that deploying HR will not be a HR only team effort, consideration has to be given to other workstreams and input gathered from them for the sake of later efficiencies. Cross workstream working groups should be convened especially when discussing shared areas of responsibility. That is not to say you drag in other workstreams to every meeting but there will be touch points that cross departments and knowing what, who and when these need to be convened is not typically a skill set possessed by a business lead but is of an ERP consultant.
As an example, the HR team will be particularly conscious of GDPR and this requires a robust approach to security but security isn’t just about who can see what. It can also underpin some of the most beneficial features of D365 F&O such as workflow. This can rely on security groupings that need input from other workstream leads as it can impact information flows and approval, in isolation HR will configure what is right for HR but are unlikely to appreciate how the rest of the business or organisation need to use this feature.
Ignore these cross functional areas and you set yourself up for future rework, with live systems in play that can get complex and in the world of ERP complexity infers cost..
As trusted advisors we always say take that holistic ‘helicopter view’ with any phased deployment to minimise rework and additional effort and avoid those downstream additional costs.
Experienced programme management will help remove a significant number of unknowns from any task list and is one of AX Software’s specialisations.
Fourvision Advanced HRM lends itself to HR first deployment strategy when D365 F&O or Business Central is the preferred ERP system of choice.
It obviously has its enhanced HRM functionality but been built to operate independently is another advantage with a HR first deployment strategy. It reduces the number of cross workstream activities that need to be configured or considered by other workstreams. When the programme reaches the point of deploying D365 F&O or BC only then are the systems joined.
This does not mean that cross workstream activity can be done away with altogether, just that the level of activity can be reduced and this has budgetary benefits during that first phase of HR deployment.
If you want to discuss your roll out strategy of D365 F&O or Fourvision Advanced HRM and of how we can bring to bear our experience as advisors and implementation partners contact us and start your programme or project off with professionals by your side.
AX Software and Fourvision Advanced HRM
AX Software are recognised resellers and implementation partners for Fourvision’s Advanced HRM vertical solution. With UK based HR expertise we can provide consultants for both the public and private sectors, independently or as part of larger blended project teams.
Our experience has encompassed almost every type of project imaginable, with expertise not just HR centric, an important factor to consider. It may start with a worker record worker within an organisation but understanding how that information flows throughout an organisation is crucial for operational efficiency considering those powerful productivity tools are there in Dynamics 365 and need to be deployed effectively.
Basically we understand supply chain, manufacturing, sales and marketing, finance and the whole suite of modules found within D365 F&O and can build a solution not just for HR but for your whole organisation.
Contact us for more information.
