Go-Live is not the end: how to support your post-launch plan internally

In Talent Tech, the end of implementation is often seen as the finish line. Users are trained, cupcakes are served, the system is live, and everyone steps back. But this thinking misses the point entirely.

The real value of Talent Tech emerges after go-live. Adoption, performance, optimisation, none of these happen in a vacuum. They require shared accountability between the customer and the vendor, and a long-term commitment to outcomes, not just setup.

If you treat go-live as the end, you risk leaving considerable value on the table. Often (but not always!) vendors are ready and willing to offer plenty of post-launch support, but that support is only as valuable as the internal resources you have dedicated to continuous improvement. Here’s how you can ensure your team is set up for success.

The Post-Go-Live Void

As we’ve said before, one of the biggest killers of ROI is the assumption that once a system is live, the work is done.

But a freshly implemented system is like a gym membership. Signing up doesn’t build muscle. You need to show up, train with purpose, and have the right support structure around you before you see any gains.

Let’s start with what companies need to provide from an internal perspective.

What You Need to Own

1. Designate a Named Owner

Every system needs a champion. A named person or team who are on the hook for outcomes, internal education, roadmap alignment, and vendor escalation. This is not a passive administrator. Too often, it’s assumed that this role can fall to a tech savvy recruiter as a stretch objective. But we have seen this approach fail time and time again, as they have neither the time nor skills to fully succeed. You really need a strategic owner who can translate business needs into platform configurations and drive internal change.

Whether you designate this owner within the P&C function (as a Talent Ops Lead, Implementation Manager, or a dedicated CRM/ATS Specialist) or within the IT organisation, someone must be empowered to own the relationship. If this doesn’t exist, accountability falls through the cracks and the system stagnates.

2.Understand the Support Model

Support doesn’t sit in one place. It spans both your internal team and your vendor. To get the most out of your platform, you need to clearly define who does what, where the boundaries are, and what to expect.

Internally, map out who logs tickets, manages change requests, runs impact assessments, and handles testing. In smaller teams, this might fall to a single administrator. In larger organisations, it could be distributed across TA Ops, HRIS, and IT. Make sure those roles are documented and resourced. Support isn’t just about fixing issues, it’s about enabling improvement.

From the vendor (more on this later), take the time to understand their full support model. Are they providing basic troubleshooting, or can they assist with system configuration and best-practice advice? Will you have access to a Customer Success Manager (CSM), and if so, how often will you meet and what kind of guidance will they offer? Clarifying the scope of vendor support, including SLAs, escalation paths, and potential rebates, should happen before you sign the contract.

Pro tip: Get specific during negotiations. Document roles and responsibilities, support levels, and timelines. It’s easier to set expectations upfront than fix a vague agreement later.

3. Continuously Improve

Go-live is Day 1. Your workflows, dashboards, automation, and candidate journeys will need tuning as your business changes. That means you need to revisit what’s working, what isn’t, and what could be better.

Ongoing optimisation also relies on listening. Gather feedback from your end users regularly. What’s frustrating them? What would make their work easier? You can even crowdsource a roadmap by asking users to vote on the changes they’d most like to see. This helps you prioritise and gives your team a voice in platform evolution.

Bringing in fresh eyes can help. We often do post-implementation audits three or six months in to find hidden inefficiencies or features that were never switched on.

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What Your Vendor Should Bring

While it’s vital that you first get your own house in order in terms of your internal support structure, it is still important to ensure the vendor is going to be there to support you, ideally, during the sales process, before all of the contracts are signed.

1. Post-Go-Live Support: More Than a Help Desk

Your vendor should offer structured support beyond basic ticketing. That means clear SLAs, proactive monitoring, and real humans who understand your configuration. A generic “self help” database of libraries is not going to cut it.

Ask them to outline their post-go-live support model. Will you have a dedicated Customer Success Manager (CSM) or just a general Account Manager (AM)? For a refresher, here’s the key difference between the two:

• A CSM focuses on your outcomes. They help you adopt features, align product capabilities to goals, and proactively identify opportunities for optimisation and adoption.

• An AM focuses on the commercial relationship. They handle renewals, upsells, and contract questions at a much more basic level.

  
  

  Some vendors only offer one, or worse, neither.

2. Read the Roadmap

What’s next? A great vendor will give you transparency on their roadmap. Are they investing in new capabilities? Are you part of a customer advisory board? Will new features be free or charged separately?

You’re not just buying software; you’re buying into a product that (hopefully) gets better over time. Ask whether updates are opt-in, configurable, and how they’re rolled out. We cover this in more detail here.

Real-World Example: ATS Implementation

Let’s say you’ve just implemented a new ATS. The implementation team has gone, the vendor has assigned you an Account Manager, and your team is logging tickets to fix bugs.

But:

• No one’s reviewing or optimising recruiting processes

• Recruiters are defaulting back to email and spreadsheets

• Dashboards are static

• You’re paying for features that no one uses

  
  

This is where you need to stay in the game. You need to push for a CSM who reviews adoption monthly. You need your internal system admin / champion or an external partner like TalentTech to work through the backlog of improvements. You need roadmap access to understand whether the new DEI tools or AI matching features are relevant to you.

Don’t settle for support that just keeps the lights on.

Questions to Ask Before You Go-Live

Whether you’re about to go-live or in the middle of an implementation, here’s a quick checklist:

From your side:

• Who is the named internal owner?

• Who logs support issues and tracks performance?

• Do you have the capacity to continuously optimise?

• Would external support (like Talent Tech’s TA Ops as a Service) help close the gap?

From the vendor:

• Will I have a CSM, an AM, or both?

• What’s your product roadmap and release cadence?

• Are new features included or at an extra cost?

• How do you support long-term adoption and success?

• What level, or “tier” of support do I need to purchase?

Final Thoughts

Go-live is not go home. It’s the beginning of an ongoing support of a living system. You need the right internal ownership, a clear support model, and a clear understanding of what post-launch support your vendor offers.

If you don’t have the resources to manage it all internally, get in touch. We can help you keep your tech stack running like it should, not just switched on, but actually delivering results.

Need help post-implementation? Book a call with us.