As a subsidiary of German company Galeria Kaufhof since 2001, INNO has maintained its pioneering spirit over the years. Since its founding 125 years ago, INNO has played a leading role in Belgium. The classic department store has transformed into a modern omnichannel retailer that can compete with the other major players in the market.
In Belgium, the company operates a traditional HR secretariat. As is the case with many companies, this type of specialized tool provides a basic service but ultimately offers little added value in terms of effective, modern personnel management.
With this in mind, INNO chose SAP SuccessFactors: a comprehensive, fully integrated HR suite that manages all aspects of human resources (payroll and soft HR) in a single tool. From a payroll perspective, Partena will be responsible for operations on SuccessFactors. Legal compliance and adherence to deadlines are therefore fully guaranteed.
The Challenges
Is a payroll tool a necessary evil, or an opportunity to reduce administrative burden, improve the employee experience, manage data risks (including GDPR), and take the step toward modern HR management?
By switching from a traditional payroll engine to SAP SuccessFactors, INNO chose the second option. The ambition is to migrate payroll while immediately leveraging the new tool to support performance review and training management processes.
Persolis’ Approach
The first focus of the project is payroll migration. Transitioning from a legacy (and outdated) payroll tool to a new one always presents a three-fold challenge:
- Data recovery : data must be consolidated in a single place, even though it is not always accurate and not always centralized.
- Payroll rules recovery : over time, it is not uncommon for these rules to be only partially documented.
- Ensuring integration with the application environment: a payroll system can sometimes serve as the HR reference source for other systems, while also being fed by third-party tools such as time-tracking or time-entry systems.
That covers what already exists.
A further challenge is to project yourself into the new tool and seize opportunities for optimization: controls, decentralization… There is no point in changing tools if you simply replicate the previous one identically.
In this context, our approach rests on two pillars:
Planning: setting up an HRIS tool including a payroll calculation module is our profession. The path is well known and our methodology is tried and tested. It must of course be adapted to the client’s specific needs and shared with all stakeholders: the client’s key resources, the social secretariat, external service providers, etc. It is a crucial foundation to build on, ensuring that everyone knows what is expected of them at all times and can plan ahead. It also serves as a tool to monitor progress: are we on track? Is the goal still within reach? Do corrective measures need to be taken? As part of the INNO project, the roadmap includes the implementation of payroll, the performance review process (SuccessFactors Performance & Goals), and training management (SuccessFactors Learning Management). The final key element in the planning was solution validation through intensive, integrated testing: 3 months of payroll were reproduced in the new solution to validate that it met all requirements.
Support: HR activities cannot be interrupted during a project. This means the department must take on this additional burden alongside its day-to-day work. Our mission is to support users in making this overload manageable: our consultants are payroll experts who understand the business and speak the same language as the client. In addition, their solution-oriented approach makes decision-making easier: problems are analyzed and documented, and concrete solutions are proposed. It is also about explaining and illustrating the target solution — making it tangible and enabling users to picture themselves working within it. In the case of the INNO project, this support proved decisive during the data migration phase. We also provided very close support for the go-live, which we call ‘Hyper-care’: our consultants are present on-site and can even work hand in hand with the client to take over certain operational activities, ensuring a smooth transition. Mission accomplished!
The Results Achieved
The new INNO payroll engine went live as planned on October 1st.
Since then, several payroll runs have been completed and the results are clear for everyone to see: a single, coherent platform, a user-friendly interface that enables decentralized management, and a reduced workload for the teams. Thanks to this cloud-based solution, there are no longer any issues with local servers and the system is accessible anytime and anywhere. The social secretariat (Partena) can also work confidently with the new platform, ensuring perfect operational continuity.
The outlook — even for payroll — does not stop there. SuccessFactors introduces new functionalities every six months, allowing INNO to decide how and when to adopt them. In addition, “pay-as-you-go control” tools can be further refined to enable even greater ease of use and proactivity, such as through the Payroll Control Center.
These are just a few examples, and the rollout roadmap already indicates that the first Talent modules will soon go live.
Results like these are the outcome of a strong and positive collaboration between all parties involved: the INNO teams, of course, working closely together with the Persolis teams and with the support of the Partena social secretariat. It is the combination of all these talents that makes a project like this successful, and we are proud to have been one of the driving forces behind it.
Testimonial
David Maertens – HR Office Manager at INNO
SAP SuccessFactors is so much more than a payroll tool! It allows our employees to directly manage a whole range of processes: management of working hours, leave and absences, performance reviews, training, including online tutorials, and more. Everything is available in one tool accessible via PC, smartphone, and tablet, which is a major advantage. This fits perfectly with INNO’s radical modernization — and it also meets the expectations of our employees.
The analysis, implementation, and go-live were carried out in collaboration with Persolis and Partena. Together, we formed a true team, with maximum fluidity, efficiency and constant communication. Our needs were clearly understood, and the proposed solutions were swift and effective. Since the launch, the tool has fully met our expectations. And following the Go Live, we can still count on the support of Persolis and Partena Professional.
Séverine Schepens – Project Manager at Persolis
The fruitful collaboration we have experienced is built on a mutual trust that has grown stronger over the months. Thanks to our regular and constructive exchanges, we have been able to set the right course and ensure the project runs as smoothly as possible. This solid relationship has enabled us to work efficiently and achieve our goals. Our collaboration has been a true driver of success, and we look forward to continuing to work together on promising future projects.
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Chris is based in The Netherlands.
