As the market ramps up for what many are predicting to be a pivotal year for enterprises in the SAP S/4HANA transformation journey, the potential impact of SuccessFactors HXM Suite, SAP’s SaaS human resource solution, has been a central theme in recent discussions with both our systems integrator (SI) and enterprise customers. While virtually everyone sees the long-term value of investing in this critical area of the business, discussions center around the merits of addressing it early in the initiative or further down the roadmap. There are also perceived challenges and security concerns around migrating existing SAP Payroll solutions to the Cloud.
Central to whether to prioritize implementing SuccessFactors early in the transformation is the core question of why you are making the transition in the first place. By using your key, underlying modernization objectives as guiding principles, you should be able to logically conclude where human experience management (HXM) belongs in your implementation roadmap. Many systems integrators (SIs) and enterprises see the long-term strategic value of creating new and better experiences that touch everyone in the business. There is a caveat: the impact on corporate culture, employee satisfaction, and related productivity gains are challenging to measure.
Since enterprises are inherently fiscally driven, it can be difficult to make a cost justification to lead with HXM in a technology transformation initiative vs. leading with a business area with a more tangible financial impact. However, in our observations here at Baer, the strategic value of prioritizing HXM early in the innovation roadmap can be directly correlated to globalization and size of employee workforce. Global organizations with thousands or hundreds of thousands of employees spread across multiple regions seem to be better able to make the case for it. For these companies, there is simply more at risk by not prioritizing HXM, and they typically have better representation for its impact in the boardroom.
Another interesting and related theme emerging from recent discussions with both SIs and enterprises centers around modernizing ECC Payroll. Many ECC-incumbent customers have a combined gross/net payroll solution, have outsourced their net payroll solution to ADP or other provider, and/or have complex schemas driven by factors such as unions and customized wage types. For these companies, replacing their current solution with SuccessFactors cloud-based Employee Central Payroll may be perceived as highly risky or may not be legally an option.
To address this, SAP has released alternatives, including S/4HANA Private Cloud Edition Payroll and SAP HCM for S/4HANA On-Premise (H4S4), so these customers can maintain payroll and other legacy Personnel Administration and Personnel Development (PA/PD) components of their ECC HCM solution. This has created more options but also added complexity for HXM transformations with many incumbent SAP clients now considering hybrid options to leverage aspects of both S/4HANA and SuccessFactors jointly.
Independent of where SuccessFactors and recent S/4HANA HXM solutions fall in your SAP innovation roadmap and timeline, when you are ready to invest, Baer has actively participated in a wide range of these transformations. As an enterprise performance partner, we understand the complex challenges around upgrading to SuccessFactors and implementing ECP and native S/4HANA capabilities. We have built long-lasting relationships with qualified experts who have proven expertise in key areas including SuccessFactors Talent Suite, ECC HCM, and S/4HANA Payroll. In addition, we are proactively identifying additional resources with these critical skillsets and closely coupled technology offerings from ADP, Kronos, Workforce Software, etc.
At Baer, we are ready when you are with the right people at the right time to help you get those most out of your investment in enterprise technologies.
Unlike typical technology staffing companies, Baer is a true enterprise performance partner. We have a deep understanding of the scope of enterprise technology transformation initiatives and the highly specialized skillsets you will need at different stages of the process.
To learn more about how Baer can make a positive impact on your enterprise transformation, please reach out to btrout@baergroup.com, Executive Vice President, Sales, or John Wilson, Vice President of Strategic Accounts, at jwilson@baergroup.com.
We look forward to speaking with you and learning about your specific challenges.