Last month, our SuccessFactors experts in Italy, France, and Germany, hosted a series of events across Europe for HR professionals looking to start, or in some cases, accelerate their journey to HR in the Cloud.
While not all attending the workshops arrived convinced that digital HR has all the answers, almost all left recognising the advantages to be had from moving HR processes to the cloud.
The general consensus across Europe is that ‘employees engage better in a digital HR environment.’
Clouds lifting on the business case for digital HR solutions
It was evident as we travelled across Europe, that the business case for moving HR to the cloud is becoming ever clearer.
More and more businesses are buying into the opportunities that come from handing over non-critical HR processes and admin, recognising that this frees up the HR professionals to be strategically people focused.
When asked what was needed to convince budget holders, delegates agreed that they need HR applications that deliver change and value, not just to the organization, but to the workforce.
Those already involved in cloud HR projects reported that they had seen digital HR drive employee engagement, and make strategic HR processes far more effective, creating opportunities for employees and the business, and faster than they had thought possible.
All said that the design, build, management and maintenance stages are all equally critical to overall digital HR project success and these should be done as suits the business. One major lift-and-shift, or in project stages against business requirements and budgets.
Cloud HR is as much a cultural change as a business process evolution and it needs to be planned, integrated, delivered and maintained well.
Road to HR Success
By the end of each country roadshow, there was definitely a greater understanding of the stages to be traveled on the road to HR success in the cloud, and how each of these fit together.
For most, it had become clear that the transition is a much less ominous process and return on investment can be achieved quickly. RoI was high on all agendas as most organizations are still operating in financially austere times.
Customer Case Study: An energy sector customer in Italy presented a very strong case for moving forward with an HR cloud project. It also highlighted the importance of selecting a partner that can make it work well.
Based on previous experience, the spokesperson explained why technical implementation competencies are not enough; a good partner is one able to support and advise on process redesign and change management - throughout the project.
The company made it clear that there is no value in using a partner to implement an HR system if they don’t understand the business function that the IT infrastructure is supporting or the countries in which it operates.
Was there value in an open discussion about making HR work better with digital HR?
"I came with the expectation that it would be a purely promotional event for NGA, but I was pleasantly surprised. There was a lively exchange amongst the participants and many insights into practice in different companies. " Dr. Sven Bornemann, Head of HR Business Support, HSBC Germany.
"The selection of participants and the consideration of topics from different angles was very good. The discussion atmosphere pleased me very well." Lagoro Odida, HR Systems and Performance Manager.
"I look forward to further experiences with other companies in the next event of NGA. This is very helpful for the successful implementation of the company." Jan Mau, Director Corporate HR Compensation & Planning at Lekkerland AG & Co. KG.
“I had no idea that NGA could support our HR processes in so many countries.”