Have you ever participated in a technology selection project for Human Resources? Whether it's applicant tracking, performance management, core HRIS, or any other variety - it is almost always a horrible experience. There is something about the combination of internal politics and the competition between vendors that always turns it into a f**king goat rodeo. And it gets even worse when the opinions of a consultant get in the mix.

Over the last twenty years I have lead, participated in, or observed more than 100 HR Technology vendor selection projects.  These projects have the tendency to get ugly especially when there are internal politics. Most of the time it's the Human Resources function against IT, but the battle lines can also emerge between the business units.

If you are in the market to buy a new Talent Management Technology product, there is no shortage of advice on how you should conduct your selection process. I know this because I am one of the people who used to preach "best practices" vendor selection methodology.

When I was the manager of recruiting operations for a large government contractor, my role included maintaining the relationship with our ATS vendor. At first it was an ugly relationship. We had so many technical problems the system was randomly crashing in the middle of the day. If I wasn't on the phone yelling at someone, I was writing a nasty email with copies to all the bosses.

Earlier this year I was participating in an industry event and a sales executive for a Talent Management Technology vendor was telling the story about how he had won a big deal. Part of the story included how much better off the client would be on the new platform and all of the reasons the old system was not a good fit. We heard things like configurable vs. customization, user experience, and customer support.

But when asked "what were the reasons they selected the other vendor in the first place?" we found out something ironic.

I don't think it is exclusive to the Talent Management Technology industry. You should probably make sure you have a good bullshit detection meter for most aspects of life. But when it comes to buying and selling technology, it is an absolute necessity.

Up until last week, you were living in bliss. Last year, you convinced your leadership team to purchase a full talent management suite to streamline hiring, onboarding, performance review and learning management across every department. And then it happened. Your beloved talent management provider was acquired.