HR Technology Survey. April 2016

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1 HR Technology Survey April 2016

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3 Table of content 1 Introduction 4 2 About this survey 5 3 Results Today s HR Technology landscape Penetration of HR systems concepts Initiatives and changes in HR systems HR technology spending 16 4 Conclusion 17 5 Contact 18 6 About our services 19 Pulse survey HR technology April

4 1. Introduction Every organization is special in its own way, facing unique challenges and business drivers. Especially for complex global companies this means that no single talent or people management approach can be applied to all of them. However, in terms of challenges they still share a lot of common ground. Through our research and client work we see global organizations struggle with the following generic challenges while managing their international workforce: Stimulate employee engagement Keep people and HR costs at a competitive level Maintain legal and regulatory compliance Nowadays technology plays a crucial part in addressing and tackling these challenges. By using HR software and applications, organizations are for instance able to influence and increase the engagement of its (global) workforce, while also providing a better view of the composition of their organization s talent pool. Furthermore, by using the right technology, HR costs can be decreased while providing better insights in terms of HR costs management. Moreover technology can also facilitate regulatory compliancy, as it can help organizations to navigate its workforce administration through an array of (employment) laws and regulations across the globe. Only ten years ago, HR systems were mainly designed to increase the data quality and the efficiency of transactional HR tasks. The initial aim of these HR systems was to move from the more error sensitive paper-based core administration process to a smoother electronic process. Ever since this move the focus within HR has been continuously shifting from a more administrative role to being a more comprehensive business partner. Since that time more processes have been added to the HR systems landscape, such as learning, recruitment and performance management. At the same time legacy HR systems were largely situated on premise and maintained by the internal IT department of the organization. Over time many organizations have modified their HR system(s) by adding specific functionality or by adjusting the software in such a way that it has a better fit with the (changing) talent processes and needs in the organization. For many organizations this has resulted in a complex HR technology landscape with systems that are often difficult to upgrade and expensive to maintain. For many HR departments this means that it is not easy to adopt to new circumstances. From the perspective of the HR system(s) in place, this new role demands an increasing amount of requirements from the software, e.g. ESS / MSS functionality and having HR-related information available at the fingertips anytime, anywhere and on an device. Furthermore disruptive technologies such as Cloud, Mobile and Big Data have also emerged. With more new technology entering the HR-systems landscape, this has resulted (and will further result) in major changes in the landscape and the way HR technology is being used. With this survey we have investigated the relation between specific characteristics of multinational organizations and their changing needs with regard to the management of the global workforce on one side. While taking into account the strategic direction and initiatives they undertake with regard to their global HR organization, processes, systems and software on the other. Therefore, with this report we would like to inform you about the current transformation that is taking place in the (global) HR technology landcape by shedding light on several trends in the field of HR technology, while focusing on specific characteristics and initiatives of multinational organizations. 4 Pulse survey HR technology April 2016

5 2. About this survey Figure 2: Participants per industry For this survey we asked a group of HR professionals at large organizations with native presence in the Benelux for their insights in the field of HR technology. We provided these HR professionals with an invitation to an electronic survey containing 23 questions. The answers were collected and processed early The majority of the HR professionals which participated in this survey are employed by multinational/global organizations and either had knowledge about, or were responsible for their organization s policy or strategy in terms of HR technology. The typical respondent is at the intersection of HR and IT and has oversight of HR technologies which are currently used in their organization and the HR technologies that are planned. The following graph displays how the participating organizations are distributed in terms of headcount. Figure 1: Participants in terms of organization size 0-5,000 employees 18% Consumer Goods/Retail Energy and/or Oil and Gas Financial Services High Technology/Telecommunications Professional and Business Services Transportation and automotive Other In order to get a more comprehensive view of the participating organizations, we wanted to know more about the structure of the organization. As globally operating organizations are often complex across many dimensions, we characterized the participating organizations using an approach that recognizes the differences in: 6% 4% 12% 12% 18% 24% 24% 0% 5% 10% 15% 25% 5,000-10,000 employees 18% 1) Organization/HR structure (Global, Multinational, International, National) 10,000-15,000 employees 15,000 + employees 6% 58% 2) Strategy focus (ranging from Global to Local) 3) HR technology landscape (from Enterprise technology to custom in-house built tooling) 0% 60% The majority of the participants work in a global/ multinational organization with 15,000 or more employees. The participating organizations represent seven different industries, ranging from consumer goods and retail organizations (e.g. supermarkets and department stores) to transportation and automotive organizations (e.g. postal and courier services). In this study the largest representation of organizations is in the energy and/or oil and gas industry (e.g. utility providers of electricity and or gas; 24%) or financial services (e.g. banks or insurance companies; 24%). Pulse survey HR technology April

6 We asked our respondents to characterize their organization in terms of the geographic focus of their operations. Of the respondents, 53% characterized their organization as being global, with one global HQ and multiple sites/operations around the world. 29% characterized their organization as multinational, having their operations primarily on one continent. Figure 3: Geographic characterization Although the majority of the respondents described their organization as being global (figure 3), only 5% of the participants characterized the structure of their HR function as one single integrated function for the entire (global) organization. This discrepancy shows that although the majority characterizes their organization as global, the HR function of many of the participating organizations is still decentralized. Since we found that the majority of the participants has a separate HR function (either by business unit or geography) with a reporting line to the corporate HR function (4) or as a separate HR function with a reporting line to the management of the business unit/geography (4). Figure 4: HR system and vendor strategy 53 % 29 % Single integrated HR function for entire organization 5% Global Organization with multiple sites/operations around the world Multinational Organization sites/operations primarily on one continent Separate HR function with a reporting line to the management of the business unit/geography 4 Separate HR function with a reporting line to the corporate HR function 4 0% 10% 30% 50% 12 % International Organization with sites/operations on 2-3 continents 6 % National Operations are primarily located in just one country 6 Pulse survey HR technology April 2016

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8 3. Results The key results of the survey will be discussed and analyzed in this section. Additionally we will compare the results from this survey with research which has been done by others and look for similarities or discrepancies. 3.1 Today s HR Technology landscape The results of our survey indicate that based upon the survey we provided there is no real majority in terms of how the participating organizations have currently set up their technology landscape. Figure 5: HR Technology landscape One system used for entire organization (Business wide Enterprise technology) 25% One HR system (HR Enterprise technology) 25% Best functionalities in the market (Best-of-breed technology) Custom / in-house developed tools 30% 0% 5% 10% 15% 25% 30% 35% The results show that 25% of the organizations have a single solution approach by incorporating HR solutions in business wide enterprise technology. On the other hand of the respondents indicated a different focus by automating their HR processes in multiple systems which each have the best functionalities in the market (best-of-breed). Think of separate technology such as mobile Apps for declaring expenses, performance management or specifically developed tools for strategic workforce planning and workforce analytics. 8 Pulse survey HR technology April 2016

9 30% of the participating organizations develop custom/inhouse HR tools. In our practice we experience that organizations which have custom/in-house developed applications sometimes struggle to keep up with the rapid changes in processes and technology. In case of changing needs, the IT solution needs to be updated in order to support these changes. On the other hand the environment itself is also changing, e.g. HR departments are now looking for options to provide data to the organization via mobile devices and it may be difficult and costly for the IT department to keep up with these constant changes. This could be a driver for organizations to shift to commercially available HR software, because the vendors will take care for these changes in both processes and technology. In many organizations the IT department plays an important role in the HR technology landscape and system strategy, leaving the choice for a certain HR solution not only up to HR. The IT department may have other or additional requirements which also influence the HR (system) strategy more or less directly. These requirements can for example be the fit of the HR solution with other business applications (including non HR) or security or maintenance aspects of the solution. Next to this there is also a financial aspect which influences the choice for a certain solution. A traditional on premise solution requires an investment in both hardware and in software licenses which has an impact on the organization s capital expenditures. A SaaS solution, which primarily requires recurring fees based on a usage, is considered as an operational expenditure and minimizes the cost for initial investment. Pulse survey HR technology April

10 Another important dimension of the HR technology landscape is the global versus local aspect. Therefore we wanted to know what HR system and vendor strategy each organization pursued. Of the participating organizations 35% is currently running or implementing a global HR system and only use HR technology from other vendors by exception. This is for example the case when the global HR system does not support certain local specific regulation. Figure 6: HR system and vendor strategy Nearly 50% makes an effort to use a single system/vendor within a region or country, whereas 6% of the participants indicate that each location is able to independently determine its system/vendor strategy. The remaining 12% of the participants indicate that they have a different HR system and vendor strategy. These findings correspond with the findings on the structure of the HR function. The majority of the participants described their organization as one with a separate HR function (either by business unit or by geography). Due to this decentralized approach and separate HR function, 54% of the organizations are able to decentrally determine which HR systems they want to use. 35 % 24 % 24 % 6 % Run a global system/vendor and only use other systems on exception Makes an effort to use a single system/vendor within a region Makes an effort to use a single system/vendor within a country Allow each location to determine its system/ vendor sourcing strategy 10 Pulse survey HR technology April 2016

11 3.2 Penetration of HR systems concepts In the past couple of years we have seen that the concept of Software as a Service (SaaS) has become quite common within HR systems. Contrary to on premise, in a full SaaS solution the HR system is hosted centrally in the cloud by the vendor. It is also possible that vendors offer their solution both in a SaaS concept as well as in an on premise solution, a so-called hybrid Cloud. The adoption of SaaS within HR is quite high, as 76% of the participating organizations already utilize some form of an HR SaaS solution. But although the Cloud is the strategic direction for the majority of the organizations, 24% of the participants HR software also remains on premise. In line with findings of other recent research 1 the top concerns of switching to SaaS are related to service and support (25%). And with the press regularly reporting on data leaks and Cloud hacking, the results also show an increase in concerns about security and data privacy (14%). For this research specifically, multiple respondents report organization readiness as a main factor for not switching (yet) from their current on premise solutions to SaaS. Figure 7: Utilization of HR systems On premise 24% Figure 8: Portal utilization and rationale Reason not to implement yet Readiness organization Our primary processes Other Cloudsolution 76% No, but we are working to develop a self-service portal No, and we have no plans to develop a selfservice portal 1 Sierra-Cedar HR Systems Survey White Paper ( ) 2 CedarCrestone Going Global with HR Technologies (2014) 19% 6% Next to the systems HR is using to support their core processes, they also use specific technology such as portals and other self-service tools to manage their HR operations and communications. Although functionalities may vary, these often include ticketing systems for HR help desks, knowledge management, lifecycle tools and content delivery via manager and employee self-service portals. This area of service delivery tools and manager/ employee self-service will continue to evolve over the next few years. Where expansion is triggered even more by the use of mobile technology and the increasing need to keep up with the employees expectations with regard to constant access to information. Organizations with the right focus and technology adoption are able to achieve a higher level of service delivery and are generally able to realize a reduction of HR administrative roles 2. Of the participating organizations 75% utilize a self-service portal for both employees and managers. Several reasons were given for deploying a self-service portal: promoting employee/manager self-service (30%), one stop shop for access to all HR systems (23%), cost reduction (23%), information sharing and knowledge management (1). Other reasons such as enabling and empowering both managers and employees and improving efficiency accounted for of the answers. Of those organizations that do not have an employee and management self-service portal in place yet, 19% is currently working to develop one and 6% of the organizations has no plans to develop a self-service portal. Alike SaaS, a large part of the reasons for not implementing a portal is that the organization is not ready for it yet, as some participants indicated being preoccupied with other HR technology transformations (e.g. implementation of global SaaS platform or setting up an HR SSC). We however believe that self-service concepts should be integrated into these initiatives too. Self-service portal 75% Yes, we have a selfservice portal for employees and managers Reason deployment Promote employee / manager self-service One-stop shop for access to all HR systems Information sharing / knowledge mgt Cost reduction Other 1 23% 23% Pulse survey HR technology April %

12 Figure 9: Setup primary delivery system Recruiting/Staffing 33% Onboarding/Joiner administration 21% 29% 29% 21% Compensation & Benefits 2 2 Performance management (goal setting, assessment) 33% Learning management and training 43% 21% 36% Career development / planning 21% 14% 29% 21% 14% Succession planning and retention 2 2 Workforce planning / analytics 13% 13% 13% Payroll Expat management % 2 0% 10% 30% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Manual / paper based Custom / In-house developed tool Enterprise technology Best-of-breed technology Not applicable Talent management software helps organizations manage key HR processes ranging from planning to sourcing, acquiring to onboarding, learning, performing to rewarding and assessing to developing. An integrated talent management suite often includes all of these functionalities. Due to the integration, the (same) data is used in different modules of the application. When looking at the full spectrum of talent management solutions in terms of functional areas, we asked our respondents to identify their primary delivery system as being manual/paper based, a custom/in-house developed tool, an integrated talent management suite (enterprise technology) or a best-of-breed application. In this survey we have considered payroll and expat management as part of the talent management spectrum. Ever since integrated talent management suites emerged 5 6 years ago we have seen an adoption climb. The market for talent management solutions continues to mature 3 and the adoption of both suites and best-of-breed solutions is growing. We continue to see slight increases in adoption for all talent management applications, with on average 79% of our respondents indicating that they use some sort of technology solution (custom, best-of-breed, or enterprise) for their talent management processes. This result corresponds with other research and predictions on integrated talent management solutions 4 with a 71% adoption rate. Looking at the general results in terms of how the primary delivery system of the participating organizations is set up, on average 56% of the tools used for each functional area are either best-of-breed or enterprise technology. Similar to the Sierra-Cedar s results in their 2015 HR systems survey 5, we also observed that performance management is the number one talent management component adopted as part of enterprise technology (), followed by recruitment (33%). For organizations that don t want to replace their core HR management systems, talent management suites are also offered as an add-on. In the market we see a slow shift from specific talent management solutions to broader HR suites, with vendors that could originally be characterized as best-ofbreed systems shifting towards models offering more broader services. Does this mean that the market for best-of-breed talent management solutions is diminishing? According to our research this does not necessarily seem to be the case. Bestof-breed solutions are still strongly represented in the market, especially for specialist talent management solutions such as recruiting/staffing (), learning (36%) and in the payroll market (). Additionally new vendors continue to surface. These vendors generally offer specific talent management solutions which have disruptive technologies, like mobile, social and data analytics incorporated. 12 Pulse survey HR technology April Gartner Magic Quadrant for Talent Management Suites (2015) 4 Sierra-Cedar HR Systems Survey White Paper ( ) 5 Sierra-Cedar HR Systems Survey White Paper ( )

13 The majority of the solutions these vendors offer are built specifically for the Cloud. These Apps and systems have modern interfaces and mobile is part of the DNA of these systems. These are products which are easy to use and are less expensive both in terms of buying and operating cost. Looking at figure 9, only a minor percentage of the participating organizations currently still manage some HR processes manually/paper based (13%). This percentage excludes data from learning management and training and payroll, as all organizations have incorporated these areas of HR in some form of technology. The results show that 2 of the multinationals are still processing their expat management manually, which can be caused by the level of complexity of expat management (e.g. complex regulations, different tax systems) or by the use of external service providers. Another 2 indicated that they do not have any dedicated system or tooling in place for their expat management. This result corresponds with the previous results on geographic characterization, in which 29% answered to be operating primarily on one continent, and 6% operating primarily in one country. It is likely these organizations do not have (or just a few) expats in their organization. A possible explanation for the low penetration of HR systems in the area of international mobility support is the complexity and diversity of the benefit packages and local tax regulations which are associated with administration around expats. This makes it difficult to support this process with a (standard) HR system. Another remarkable result is the absence of tooling for workforce planning/analytics and career development/planning with respectively and 14% of the participants indicating that they do not have something in place for these processes. Workforce planning/analytics tooling makes it considerably easier to answer the question: What are my organization s business goals over the next several years and what kind of workforce do we need to reach those goals? Without using specifically designed tooling or technology, it can be really difficult to identify the type and number of talent an organization needs to achieve the business goals. Moreover, the absence of a career development/planning system may also make it more difficult to provide insight in the career paths of employees or whether the organization currently has people with the right skills to execute the business strategy effectively. When looking at the geographical focus of our respondents current primary delivery system we see a big difference per functional area (figure 10). Payroll (79%), compensation and benefits (6) and onboarding / joiner administration (6) scored high on local focus. These findings were expected, as payroll and compensation are often very country specific due to (tax) legislation. The results in terms of onboarding and new joiner administration also show a high local focus (6). Our experience in practice is that global organizations are looking into more uniform ways to recruit and onboard employees. These uniform processes supported by global systems are more effective and efficient from a cost perspective. Figure 10: Geographical focus of primary delivery system Recruiting/Staffing 13% 4 Onboarding /Joiner administration 6 13% Compensation & Benefits 6 Performance management (goal setting, assessment) 2 13% 53% Learning management and training 46% 23% 31% Career development / planning 36% 21% 43% Succession planning and retention 36% 14% 50% Workforce planning / analytics 36% 21% 29% 14% Payroll 79% 14% Expat management 14% 21% 43% 21% 0% 10% 30% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Local Regional Global Not applicable Pulse survey HR technology April

14 Performance management (53%), succession planning (50%), recruitment (4) and career development (43%) scored high on global focus. These processes require relatively less national customization and are therefore easier to manage from a centralized approach. The expat management strategy (43%) is also often deployed from a global perspective. However, expat management does require local/regional knowledge in terms of national tax regulations and policies. On average, 45% of the participating organizations maintained a local approach for each of the functional areas 6. When including the regional focus as well, the average is 59% per functional area. An average of 34% of the participating organizations has a truly global focus for each of the functional areas. This percentage corresponds with the previous findings on system/vendor strategy (see Figure 6) where 35% indicated that they have selected a global system or vendor and only use other systems on exception. 3.3 Initiatives and changes in HR systems We asked our respondents to indicate the main areas where they expect changes in their HR landscape for We have highlighted a number of HR processes and asked if the respondents plan to make changes in their current approach on these processes. The biggest changes are expected in the areas of recruitment (60%), compensation & benefits (5) and learning management and training (53%). Only 8% of the respondents indicated that no changes are planned in any of the listed functional areas, so the vast majority is planning for changes in the HR systems landscape. A number of different reasons were given why organizations have planned for interventions. The most frequent reason was a shift in focus from local to a more global approach (22%). Organizations shifting in focus from local to global still seem to rely often on (local) best-of-breed systems, which may not accommodate usage in multiple countries. So this might entail that organizations that currently use multiple single system(s) and vendor(s) within a region (24%) or country (24%) are preparing for the transition to use a single global system where possible, still taking into account local exceptions where needed. We expect that part of this transition will also affect the portion of organizations that still run best-of-breed systems on a local/regional basis in the future. A significant part of the expected changes seem technology driven as 19% of the respondents indicate that they face changes as a result of changes in the IT landscape. Organizations want to explore the opportunities new technologies such as mobile, big data and social media are providing. Figure 11: Planned changes per functional area Planned changes in 2016 Reason for changing approach Recruiting/Staffing 60% No changes planned 8% Onboarding/Joiner administration 53% 4 Expiration of contract(s) 8% Compensation & Benefits Performance management (goal setting, assessment) Learning management and training Career development / planning Succession planning and retention Workforce planning / analytics % 43% 43% 53% 4 60% 60% 5 Not satisfied with current vendor / solution Automation / digitalization of manual processes Shift in focus from local to global Shift in focus from global to local Major changes in organization / HR structure 3% 11% 14% 14% 22% Payroll 36% 64% Changes in IT landscape 19% Yes No Expat management 43% 5 Other 3% 0% 50% 100% 0% 5% 10% 15% 25% 14 Pulse survey HR technology April Including the 79% score on local focus for payroll. Without payroll the average result is 41%.

15 Looking back at the current HR technology landscape of the participating organizations (figure 5), 30% still describe their HR technology landscape as a range of custom or in-house developed tools. With 19% of the participants indicating that they are planning to change their approach or vendor due to changes in the IT landscape. For 2016 we expect to see the most changes in this area. The continuing rise and adoption of HR SaaS solutions is likely one of the reasons that organizations are expecting and getting ready for changes in their IT landscape. Moreover, in terms of the continuing rise of, and demand for mobile technology 7, it will proof to be difficult for organizations to continue using using custom/inhouse developed tools to make the move to these types of technology. An additional issue with best-of-breed systems in combination with mobile is the risk of fragmentation in mobile applications which are used within the mobile eco system of the organization. If every system has its own App, the employee (via ESS/MSS) is facing multiple HR apps, which could all have a different layout or user interface and may require different logon ID s and passwords. All in all leading to a lowered user experience. Switching to a SaaS based solution may therefore be one of the solutions, as the (further) development of mobile technology will be taken care of by the vendor. Other reasons to change HR systems are the further automation/ digitalization of manual processes (14%) and undergoing major changes in organization/hr structure such as anticipated large HR transformation projects. This also amounts to 14% of the reasons for change. 60% of the respondents considers changing their recruiting/staffing application in These findings are consistent with findings of other research and their outlook for Traditional recruitment systems were mostly used to solely manage resumes and track applicants. Today s talent acquisition systems are often called recruitment success platforms and are specifically designed to enable recruiters to do their job better and more efficient. These systems are often integrated with social platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook. They allow applicants to apply for jobs via mobile devices, and to have interviews through online video. A trend we see in the market is that organizations use and combine both recruitment systems and candidate relationship management systems (CRM). This enables recruiters to follow talent even before they apply. The CRM systems are aimed to maintain a warm relationship with persons of interest and inform them about job opportunities when they arise. In many cases the target group of these systems are students, but also other people can be followed by a CRM system. Similar percentages can be seen in other functional areas such as applications for compensation and benefits (C&B) (5). An area in which technology has to adapt to a continuing need for flexibility in terms of compensating employees, whilst improving usability. In the past, tasks related to C&B were specifically reserved for employees working within HR. Now we see that (line) managers become more involved in this process as compensation proposals are done in the systems by the manager via MSS. The manager receives an overall budget which can be divided in the system across his team based (for example) on the performance of each of the team members. For learning management and training (53%), once intended to solely manage administration of learning, there are changes too. Nowadays these applications have transformed into learning experience platforms specifically designed to help employees to explore opportunities, earn certifications and collaborate with experts; usually in an online environment. Taking into account that 43% of the respondents indicated to have a custom/in-house tool in place for learning management and training (figure 9), we expect a significant change in 2016 and beyond for this functional area. 7 Sierra-Cedar HR Systems Survey White Paper ( ) Pulse survey HR technology April

16 3.4 HR technology spending Expected HR technology spending remains strong, and continues to be positive in Nearly half of the respondents plan to increase spending on HR technology in 2016, in spite of cost reductions in some other areas of HR. These investments can mostly be directed toward implementing or switching technology or adding new functionalities. Our data shows that most of the expected technology spending in 2016 will be in the area of performance management and goal setting. We and other researchers see that traditional performance management software is no longer aligned with the contemporary performance management process. In the past these processes were quite complex and contained workflow and approvals of multiple (management) levels in the organization. Nowadays organizations start to realize that such a process is too complex and too time consuming and they prefer to move to a more agile and flexible process. Examples of changes in the performance management process are that organizations shift to a model of continuous real-time feedback, rather than having just one or two moments per year where feedback is being provided. Also there is a shift towards 360 degrees feedback rather than just getting performance feedback from the direct manager. In the market we see a number of new players which offer easy to use mobile Apps which can cater for the new approach in performance management. Figure 12: Expected spending on technology and area of investment Expected spending on technology in 2016 Technology area of anticipated investment Much lower (more than a reduction in 2016) Lower (less than a reduction in 2016) About the same Higher (up to a increase in 2016) Much higher (more than a increase in 2016) 13% 13% 33% 33% No anticipated investments in 2016 Recruiting/Staffing Onboarding/Joiner administration Compensation & Benefits Performance management (goal setting, assessment) Learning management and training Career development / planning Succession planning and retention Workforce planning / analytics Payroll Expat management 2% 5% 10% 12% 14% 10% 19% 0% 0% 10% 16 Pulse survey HR technology April 2016

17 4. Conclusion HR technology is definitely on the 2016 agenda of large multinational organizations. The vast majority of the participants plan for changes in their HR technology landscape. Additionally, almost half of the organizations expect to increase their spending on HR technology. The expected changes are triggered due to a number of reasons. On the one hand the larger multinational organizations continue to shift towards more globalized operating models. This is creating certain requirements for HR systems which can support multi country or even global processes. Multiple single country based HR systems no longer fit in this approach. At the same time local needs and regulations have to be accommodated. On the other hand there is a technology push. SaaS and Cloud based solutions often offer a better fit to the ever changing HR processes and provide a more future proof solution with regards to mobile enablement and other disruptive technologies like social media and big data. Additionally SaaS makes the HR department in some ways less dependent on the existing IT infrastructure and architecture, as SaaS allows for more flexibility and can be adopted with less fixed costs. So one side of the changes HR departments are facing are a derivative from the overall strategy. Due to the emphasis on further globalization managing the workforce becomes more complex can not be dealt with using multiple local HR systems. The other part of the changes to be taken into account by the HR department is driven by technology factors. Specifically this technology part has a high pace and given these circumstances HR departments should prepare themselves to be in a constant state of transition. This constant transition does not only affect their processes but also the HR system landscape. Even though our targeted group of HR professionals had a major presence in the Benelux, the majority of the findings of this survey are very much in line with other (global) research on HR technology. This proves the already much apparent global focus and presence of large organizations that have either originated or settled in the Benelux. With such a vast majority of the participants anticipating changes in their HR technology, to a great extent caused by shifts in geographical focus, we would like to address two takeaways. Based upon our survey s findings and previous research. In our view only part of the talent challenges that global companies are facing are addressed by a centralized global HR infrastructure, consisting of a set of global HR systems, processes and shared services (centers). Leading companies should develop their HR structure and operating models in such a way that they are flexible enough to allow for global implementations, while being agile enough to adapt to the local markets and/or business needs. However our survey suggests that organizations are still stuck in the middle, not yet fully developing a true global HR systems strategy that is part of their global overall strategy. We believe global organizations could benefit even more from a deliberate HR systems strategy that allows for both standardization and agility simultaneously. Preparing the organization for SaaS is probably even more important than the deployment of SaaS itself. The interest in SaaS solutions is high, as more and more (global) organizations make the switch to it thanks to the potential business benefits that come with a Cloud solution. However, we often see organizations struggling with an important aspect we call SaaS readiness. Where getting ready for SaaS sometimes seems to be more time consuming than the actual implementation. As further developments in IT will impact HR and the way HR will operate in the future, HR departments have to prepare themselves to cope with (constant) change and learn to embrace it. For a large part this means that while transforming itself, HR creates a culture in which change and transition are part of the normal routine. So that they are able to prepare and adapt themselves and the rest of the organization for the adoption of the new technologies. Pulse survey HR technology April

18 5. Contact For more information regarding this survey you can contact one of the following EY People Advisory Services professionals by calling: or by . Hans Groothuis Marco Droogendijk Jolanda Hidding Martijn Oosterhoff 18 Pulse survey HR technology April 2016

19 Standard methodologies 6. About our services The world continues to change as a result of globalization, demographical shifts, technological changes and regulation. These disruptive forces require organizations to change rapidly and they need their people to be agile and adaptable to that change. At the same time it s getting harder to source, manage, motivate and retain talent while controlling costs. By focusing on how they manage and engage their people, leading organizations are not only managing these global disruptions, but in fact are improving margins and running more efficiently. Looking at people as part of an integrated business strategy, organizations are able to gain a competitive people advantage. Our People Advisory Services is an end-to-end offering dedicated to solving big, complex people, organizational and compliance issues. Backed by a global ecosystem of consultants and industry professionals, we specialize in Performance, Talent, Systems, Reward, Mobility and Analytics all with a shared sense of purpose and values. The diversity of our talent, global connectivity and collaborative philosophy means we re inspired to ask better questions to help organizations design better outcomes, deliver long-lasting results and achieve a competitive advantage. Design Insight As-is analysis Solution architecture Delivery Market intelligence and latest developments Business, IT and People strategy HR technology vision and strategy Project healthcheck Data architecture and quality Leading practices Roadmap development Requirements definition Project management Process redesign System implementation Change management & readiness Business case development Product & vendor selection Pulse survey HR technology April

20 EY Assurance Tax Transactions Advisory About EY EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities. EY refers to the global organization and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com EYGM Limited. All Rights Reserved.