Do you have an interest in global HR?
The white paper brings together comments from industry experts, case studies and best practice advice based on Cezanne Software’s many years’ experience of implementing global HR software systems.
Global HR Systems: Benefits, Issues and Latest Thinking
1. Deploying Global HR Management Systems
Benefits, Issues and Latest Thinking
Cezanne Software White Paper
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2. Contents
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• Introduction
• A Strategic Approach
• Winning Hearts And Minds
• Global or Local – Getting The Balance Right
• Global HR Competencies
• Joining The Dots
• Working In Partnership
• About Cezanne
3
4
6
8
10
12
15
16
3. Introduction
The past decade has seen a
huge increase in the number
of businesses operating on an
international stage.
Thanks to technology, and in particular the
Internet, global business is no longer the
preserve of just the largest corporates.
Even the smallest companies are now trading,
collaborating and forging partnerships with
their customers and counterparts overseas.
This shift has led to huge challenges – but
also opportunities – for HR. HR functions
have had to develop new strategies for
managing the complexities of an international
workforce. They have had to do this against
the backdrop of an uncertain and rapidly
changing environment.
It’s no longer the case, for example, that a
business ‘becomes’ international’ over time
as part of its natural growth. Today, many
new businesses are international from day
one. In some cases, HR can find itself
plunged into a global scenario overnight
as a result of a merger or acquisition.
An effective global HR function can, however,
make an enormous contribution to the success
of an international business. Research from
the CIPD suggests one of the key ways it
can add value is by using information and
communication technology to ‘e-enable’
Human Resource Management (HRM).
A common HR system gives organizations
the ability to extract and interpret data about
everything from salaries to succession from
across the business in a simple, consistent
way. This not only gives the board the real-
time information it needs to make critical
decisions, but also gives managers access
at the click of a mouse to the operational
detail they need to manage their teams.
It means that the HR function can be
released from much of the ‘transactional’
activity it has traditionally dealt with, and
be freed to focus on the capability and
business development roles that add
value to the business.
Cezanne Software’s experience suggests that
organizations are almost universally enthusiastic
about the concept of global HR systems, but
often nervous about taking the plunge and
moving into full-scale implementation. It’s
a project that tends to get put on the “too
difficult” pile, because of concerns about
cost and the many practical obstacles they
perceive will have to be overcome.
This report aims to highlight some of
the issues and latest thinking associated
with implementing a global HR system.
It also provides practical advice on
the key stages, as well as case studies
demonstrating how a range of organizations
have benefited from adopting a unified,
technology-enabled approach.
Julie Windsor,
Cezanne Software
Cezanne Software Ltd · Deploying Global HR Management Systems
Introduction - 3
“I think we are seeing a division of
rhetoric versus reality. Companies
are talking a lot about a global
approach and there are good
intentions, but less implementation
and action”.
Arno Haslberger,
Director of the Ashridge
Strategic Human Resource
Management Programme.
4. A Strategic Approach
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A global HRM system can deliver
huge benefits to an international
organization. It can speed
up decision-making, improve
connectivity and provide real-time
information at manager’s finger-tips.
International HR systems can also give HR
a global overview of their talent, improve
communication and engagement and help
to create a transnational mindset across
the business.
But the system will only deliver its full
potential if the organization is clear from the
outset about exactly what it wants to achieve.
Where Are You Now?
Organizations enter the journey towards
global HRM at different stages of
development and readiness.
• Some organizations may have well-
established processes within independent
business units, but realise the need for
a new group-wide HR system.
• An organization may be expanding
into new territories and needs a better
system to support this.
• The business may be going through
a merger or acquisition which takes it
into a global HR environment.
• Some organizations may be under
pressure to cut costs and have
recognised that significant savings
can be made from an integrated, web
enabled approach.
What Do You Want the System to Do?
In its Executive Briefing ‘Globalising HR’
the CIPD suggests that global HR activities
tend to fall into one of three main areas:
• Transactional
(i.e. payroll, sickness, absence)
• Capability Development (i.e. talent
management, succession planning)
• Business Development
(strategic direction)
Organizations need to consider what their
existing systems are delivering, where the
gaps are and what needs to be treated
as a priority.
It’s vital to ask yourself questions at the
outset about what you want the system
to actually deliver.
• Is the objective to have a single database
with the capability for global, regional and
local reporting?
• Are you looking to improve the consistency
of HR processes across the business?
• Are you looking to get a better view
of your talent? If so, what data do you
need to support your decisions?
• Do you want to shift some of the
‘transactional’ HR processes into the
line or to allow employees to self-
manage their own data?
• What are the strategic plans of your
business? Are you looking to expand
rapidly, in which case is the objective to
identify and fast track leaders from within
the business or recruit externally?
4 - A Strategic Approach
5. A Strategic Approach - 5
How ‘Ready’ is Your Organization?
It’s also important to think about the
backdrop of your organization and the
underlying factors that will influence the
speed and style of any new system you
are planning to bring in.
Key points to consider might include:
• The culture of the organization: How
willing will your people be to embrace
the change and support implementation
of a new system? (See ‘Winning Hearts
and Minds’, p6)
• Senior Management Support: Are your
senior management team convinced
by the business case for a global HR
system and willing to provide the
necessary support and resources?
• The skills and standing of your team:
Does your HR team have the credibility
and competencies to support the project
(see ‘Global HR Competencies’, p10)
• Compatibility: Will a global HR system be
in tune with the way the business
operates on a wider scale?
Cezanne Software Ltd · Deploying Global HR Management Systems
Case Study: Renishaw
Growing Global HR
Alongside The Business
Renishaw has used its global HR system to
support significant change and growth in its
business over the past 18 years.
The organization designs, manufactures and sells precision measuring equipment used in industries
ranging from aviation and engineering to pharmaceuticals and dentistry. It’s a world leader in its field,
with a workforce of 1,200 in the UK and a further 680 based in 32 subsidiaries around the world.
Renishaw has long used Cezanne’s global HR software to streamline HR administration in areas such
as absence management and recruitment management.
The business has found one of the key advantages of the system is its ability to produce the accurate
and up-to-date data needed to support strategic business decisions.
The company has grown significantly and has undergone a number of restructuring exercises over the
past 10 years. Easy access to information about available talent, divisional headcount and salary costs,
for example, have informed a number of critical business decisions.
Accurate information on areas such as employee performance and diversity has also helped the business
ensure it is complying with the raft of new employment legislation that has been introduced in recent years.
Renishaw is currently experiencing a period of rapid growth in China and India, and is planning to develop
its global HR system to support the expansion. The package is already being used by managers within the
Chinese subsidiary, with longer term plans to possibly look at a self-service, Chinese language version.
As the business becomes increasingly international, there are plans to eventually roll the system out to the
majority of overseas subsidiaries. “Our staff overseas are primarily sales and service personnel and virtually
everyone has access to a PC, so I think we are likely to move more and more towards a self-service system
over time,” says Personnel Manager Gwyn Jones.
6. Winning Hearts And Minds
Successful roll-out of a global
HR system is not just about the
nuts and bolts of implementing
the technology.
The best and most advanced system in the
world won’t deliver the goods if the people
using it are not on board.
A consultative, partnership approach to the
project will help you win ‘hearts and minds’
– and the key is to plan ahead for how you
are going to achieve that buy-in.
Vested Interests
It’s important to recognise that, particularly
in larger organizations, there may be many
vested interests in maintaining the status
quo. A regional HR director, for example,
may not be keen on the idea of a centralised
system if they perceive it could reduce their
power, influence and status. Hard-pressed
line managers may feel that HR is delegating
(or dumping) yet another responsibility,
which will cause them more work.
How easy it will be to get engagement with
the project will depend on the nature – and
the culture - of the organization. Those
organizations who have worked hard to
create a shared vision and values may
have a head start over those who have
a more autocratic approach.
A business that already has strong formal,
informal and cross-departmental networks
will also be able to move more quickly
than organizations whose communication
mechanisms are less well developed.
Global Engagement
“If you want to introduce an international
HR system you have to involve the local
HR people right from the start, not just for
the roll-out, but also for the design,” says
Arno Haslberger, director of the Ashridge
Strategic HRM Programme.
The ideal, he suggests, is that the business
creates project teams or work groups that are
truly representative of the entire organization.
“You have to resist the temptation to divvy
the work up by what is convenient in terms
of geographic location, because if you do
that, what tends to happen is that people
develop strong ‘in-group’ feelings in their
local, national groups.”
If these ‘fault lines’ are allowed to deepen,
it can cause the project to stall or even fail,
as people become more focused on their
own, local concerns and lose sight of the
overall objective.
Of course there may be occasions when
there just simply isn’t time to go through a
long consultative process – but even when
the pressure is on, it’s important to allow at
least some level of involvement with the
people concerned.
“A lot of these things are driven in rather
than consulted in, and there are dangers
attached to that,” says Peter Reilly of the
Institute for Employment Studies.
Getting People Involved
So how can you get people involved at
the early stages and win their support?
Here are some ideas that might work in
your organization:
• Share the business case. Make sure
everyone involved is clear about the
objectives and advantages of the new
system. Don’t just focus on cost savings
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6 - Winning Hearts And Minds
“The technology enables but does not cause the required
connections and sharing.”
(CIPD Executive Briefing, Globalising HR)
7. Winning Hearts And Minds - 7
Cezanne Software Ltd · Deploying Global HR Management Systems
– explain how a global HR system will
provide better data, make managers
lives easier and free their time to focus
on more strategic tasks. Sometimes
something as simple as a company-wide
organization chart will help managers feel
more connected. For others, standardizing
and automating core processes to reduce
administrative overheads and provide
access to up to date management reports
is important.
• Have an internal project launch meeting
to generate a sense of excitement and
explain how people can get involved.
• Ask local managers what would make the
most difference to them, and ensure that
the system delivers their key requirements
• Involve the wider HR team in the
procurement process. Ask potential
suppliers to organise a demonstration
so people can get a real sense of what
a global HR system can deliver.
• Include key stakeholders in process
design workshops. This will create
early engagement and will also help
you ensure the resulting system meets
everyone’s information needs.
• Identify project champions. Ask for
volunteers to help pilot the system in
their departments or regions. Get them
to act as ‘ambassadors’ for the project
throughout the business.
• Look for quick wins. Try and identify parts
of the project or areas of the business
where you can get the system off the
ground quickly. Demonstrating early
success will help maintain momentum and
keep interest and excitement levels high.
• Be prepared to take decisions. While
collaboration is important, you won’t be
able to please every body all of the time.
Start with those areas that share your
vision, and bring the others on board later.
A phased implementation is always best.
Snapshot Case Study: Bakkavor
Leading food manufacturer Bakkavor Group used
its global HR conference as the platform to launch
a new international HR system.
The business, which has headquarters in the UK and Iceland, operates 57 factories and employs over
19,000 people in ten countries.
The group is using Cezanne’s software to manage key HR processes across its international operations,
encompassing everything from absence management and reward to performance management and
succession planning.
Bakkavor felt its annual HR conference presented an ideal opportunity to highlight the benefits of the new
international HR system and get early buy-in from the people who would be using it.
Representatives from Cezanne attended the conference to demonstrate the system and explain how it
would streamline time-consuming HR processes and make managers’ jobs easier on the front line.
Response to the presentation was overwhelmingly positive, with HR teams from across the business keen
to get involved in the early stages of implementation.
“The global HR conference was attended by all of Bakkavor’s HR management team and the feedback from
the presentation of the software was really positive, with almost every site wanting to participate in the pilot
stage,” said Katie Heath, Bakkavor HR Systems Manager.
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8 - Global or Local – Getting The Balance Right
One of the big challenges
organizations face is getting
the right balance between HR
processes that are delivered
globally – and those which are
managed with local variations.
There are some processes – like talent
management and succession planning for
example – which can clearly be handled on
a global basis, while others, such as payroll,
need to have a local focus.
That leaves a whole raft of HR processes
in the middle – which could potentially be
handled either way and are often the cause
of heated debate between corporate HR
and local HR teams.
Legal Issues
Of course the legal backdrop of the countries
you are operating in may influence what can
realistically be delivered globally. Local laws,
for example, covering the level of employee
involvement in HR issues, vary greatly.
In some European countries Works
Councils have to be consulted before a
process such as an appraisal system can
be introduced or amended. In the US,
where union representation is sporadic and
often only covers manual grades, changes
can generally be made faster and without
the need for protracted negotiations.
Ashridge’s Arno Haselburger cites the
example of an American-owned company
who tried to introduce a standardised
performance management system across
its global operations. They managed to
implement the process fairly swiftly and
painlessly in the UK, carefully negotiated
its introduction in Germany over a period
of months - and a year down the line still
hadn’t managed to make any progress at all
in Italy. When the system had been up and
running in the US for a year, the business
decided it wanted to make some changes –
and had to start the whole negotiation and
consultation process all over again.
Cultural Sensitivities
Attempts to standardise HR processes can
also be derailed if cultural sensitivities are
not taken into account. A reward system,
for example, which is centred round team
performance is likely to go down well in
some of the highly collectivist cultures that
are found in Asia, where being ‘singled out’
for praise could be perceived as a bad thing.
That approach is less likely, however, to
motivate employees in some Anglo-American
cultures where there is traditionally a strong
emphasis on individual performance.
Approaches to decision-making in different
culture also need to be borne in mind.
Countries like Sweden or Germany,
for instance, are used to a consensual
approach while Anglo-American countries
may be more autocratic in their style.
Global or Local – Getting The Balance Right
9. Global or Local – Getting The Balance Right - 9
Cezanne Software Ltd · Deploying Global HR Management Systems
“To expect countries to operate similarly seems simple-
minded as they are all so different in terms of history,
culture and traditions. Internet technology, however, is
bringing Western culture throughout the world and is
affecting styles, cultures and aspirations.”
‘Globalisation’
The consensus among the experts seems
to be that the best approach is to build HR
policies that have global intent, but which also
allow room for local variation where necessary.
“The best organizations recognise cultural
differences,” says Paul Turner of Ashcroft
International Business School. “So you
say as an organization, our intention is to
manage a particular HR practice in this way –
and here’s the variation you can have within
that. The challenge of course is making sure
you don’t get too flexible, because then you
completely undermine the whole thing.”
Ashridge’s Haselburger likens the process
to creating a job specification. “If you hire
someone you have a few essential criteria,
and then you have desirables – but you don’t
need to raise the bar to an extent where you
have nobody complying,” he says. “So I think
companies need to be very sensitive to the
needs of the various cultures and local
country systems and to focus on the
essentials in terms of standardisation.”
10. Global HR Competencies
A strong HR function is critical
to the success of a global HR
programme. An effective HR
business partner can combine
their knowledge of best practice
with an in-depth understanding
of the business challenges on
the front line. They can help build
international HR policies and
practices which fit with strategic
objectives – and are workable
on the ground.
The reality, however, is that many HR
professionals still lack solid international
experience. They are certainly aware of the
impact of globalisation – but have had scant
opportunity to put the theory into practice.
“With the exception of some of the most
senior HR people who may have had
a stint abroad, I think most middle level
and junior HR professionals do not have
international experience,” says Ashridge’s
Arno Haselburger. “This in itself creates a
more HQ-centric attitude, because people
don’t understand the international detail and
they don’t have the experience to draw on.
“The diversity in the HR department needs
to reflect the diversity in the organization –
organizations need to transfer HR people
from different countries and across regions,
so that people get the opportunity to gain
more international experience.”
The picture is gradually changing. In a
survey conducted last year by CIPD, 87
per cent of HR professionals said keeping
up with global developments was important
to them. Around 30 per cent of the 4,000
respondents said their current role
encompassed international responsibilities.
The CIPD’s Vanessa Robinson says the
challenge for HR professionals operating
on a global stage is two-fold. “They need
to make sure they understand the wider
business context and the specific context
their organization is operating in – and they
need to get their minds on an international
or global frame,” she says.
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10 - Global HR Competencies
“HR people are very keen on sending others out
on international assignments, but they tend not
to send themselves.”
Arno Haselburger, Ashridge.
11. Global HR Competencies - 11
Cezanne Software Ltd · Deploying Global HR Management Systems
The CIPD is actively developing its
professional standards to make them more
business-focused for the new generation
of HR people coming through. ‘Technical’
training and advice is also available from a
variety of sources to help people understand
the legalities and minutae of operating
in China, India or wherever might be
appropriate for the individual organization.
An international mind-set, however, is
something that individuals have to gradually
develop through personal experience.
“The whole issue of cultural awareness is a
big piece and some of that you have to get
from experience – from seeing it and feeling
it – because reading about it doesn’t make
you realise what the scale of the differences
really are. It’s talking and having experience
with people that gives you that extra insight,”
says Robinson.
Key Skills for the Global HR Professional
• Being a strategic thinker
• Possession of strong personal networks inside and outside the organization
• Being a provider of information and advice within this business network
• Becoming a broker of appropriate knowledge, learning and ideas across
a loose connection of people
• Capacity for and tolerance of the ambiguities and uncertainties inherent in new
business situations
• Being a resource negotiator
• Being a process facilitator, with diplomatic sensitivity to complex organizational
politics and power struggles
• Mobilising the energy and engagement behind ideas
• Having a respect for the countries and communities being dealt with
• Showing an appreciation of the ways in which culture influences core
organization behaviours
• The ability to work virtually.
Courtesy of CIPD
12. Joining The Dots
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Of course any global HR system will
only be as good as the information
the organization puts into it. That’s
why it’s important to be clear from
the start about what you want the
system to achieve – and how people
are going to input and access the
information on a day-to-day basis.
Requirements will vary enormously from
business to business, but there are some
key questions you might like to consider:
Group V Local Requirements
Organizations typically need to access key
information, such as labour costs, attendance,
organization charts, talent pool, succession
plans, high performers, under performers, skill
gaps, position blockages, development needs
and employee turnover, at different levels.
So what metrics does the business need
a helicopter view of to help make critical
decisions? What data might HR teams need
to pull off regionally to help with recruitment
strategy or succession planning? What kind
of operational information do line managers
need to access locally? Can your HR system
flex to allow you to reflect local requirements?
– perhaps by letting you rename existing fields
or adding new fields to screens – while still
enabling company wide consistency.
Visibility
Who needs to be able to see what
information? Do your regional HR managers
need access to information about their local
territory, or would it be beneficial for them to be
able to compare with neighbouring regions?
Do line managers need access to detailed
employee data across their department or
business unit – or is it enough for them to
be able to drill down into the data for their
own team? You’ll also need to check that your
HR system can handle all of the different roles
and data access requirements that you have.
Organizational Structure
How will the system need to be designed to
‘fit’ with your organizational structure? How
many levels are there in your hierarchy? Is
the grading structure consistent across the
business? Are job titles the same or do they
differ from region to region? If you want to
be able make comparisons, you’ll need to
make sure that your HR system can link
all of the pieces together for you.
Data Gathering
How much data do you already have in your
existing system or systems? What will need
to be transferred across to a new system –
and what will need to be collected from
scratch? How accurate is your existing data?
Will it need cleansing before you import it into
your new system? Can this system help you
by validating data during import, for example
by checking your existing data against new
data validation tables?
Data Protection
Data protection regulations may differ across
the various countries you are operating in. In
some instances, there may be issues around
storing data on nationals outside their own
country. A good supplier will be able to help
you ensure your system complies with all the
relevant legislation.
Security
How will you undertake a systematic
approach to managing sensitive corporate
information and ensuring data security? Are
you confident that you have all the necessary
measures and internal procedures in place to
protect your data and minimize any potential
security risks. Make sure that you take the
time to talk to your vendor to ensure that their
product is architected to protect your data
and if you are using SaaS as a service,
check to see if they’ve got ISO 27001
certification. This shows that a vendor’s
information management security processes
have been independently certified.
User Interface / Self-service
How will people in the organization input,
view and retrieve information from the
system? In a knowledge-based business
where everyone has access to a computer,
employee self-service is relatively easy
12 - Joining The Dots
13. Joining The Dots - 13
Cezanne Software Ltd · Deploying Global HR Management Systems
to achieve. If you are a manufacturing
company with a significant number of ‘shop
floor’ workers, how, when and where will
they be able to input their data into the system?
What processes do you want them to
complete? When is a good time to roll-out
employee self service? Do you have any
process deadlines, for example to fit around
your performance management review
process? What if any training will be required?
It’s usually best to start with a pilot, so that you
can test the system first. It’s even better if you
can include some of these stakeholders in the
early stages of the implementation of the
project, so that you can work with them to
overcome any issues.
It’s also good to consider reporting
requirements early on so you can make
sure you are capturing the right information.
What reports will local HR or managers
need to see? Are dashboards available that
present key metrics in a visual and easy to
understand format.
What will the user inter-face look like and
how intuitive is it? Will the end user be able
to navigate around the system and identify
information pertinent to them quickly and
easily? Does the system include dashboards
that present key HR metrics in a visual and
easy to understand format? Does employee
self-service include a home page that
provides the end user with key information?
Language/Calendar Requirements
Do you need to provide the system in a variety
of local languages? Will training need to be run
in local languages too? Do you need a system
that can support local country calendars
(i.e. different public holidays) and different
date and number formats? Do you need all
text – prompts, messages, dropdown lists,
commands, email notifications - to be displayed
in the employee’s preferred language? Check
that the new system can manage all of this for
you. If they don’t support all of the languages
you need, look at their translation tools. Is it
easy for you to manage – and upgrade – your
own translations if you want to?
Multi-Currencies
Do you need a system that covers multiple
currencies? How are your individual country
payroll systems going to interface? What
will the process be for updating currency
conversion rates? Again, check how your
new system can help you manage this.
The list of questions can seem daunting,
but a reputable supplier will be able to help
you work through your practical requirements
and design a system that meets individual
organizational needs.
The key is to start small and simple –
and then plan to ‘grow’ the system over
a realistic timescale.
A global HR system that brings everything
together and provides people information in
real-time can have a real impact on the
bottom line.
“A lot of good HR practice comes out of
having accurate information,” says Paul
Turner, Professor of Management, Ashcroft
International Business School. “Technology
is the bedrock on which a global HR
programme can work or flounder – and you
need to get as many processes enabled as
possible, so there is less to do in the centre.”
Delivery Methods
Will the system be in-house, hosted or Software as a
Service (SaaS)? Deploying the system in-house will involve
the traditional licensing option, which means a high up front
capital cost and investment in IT infrastructure. This can often
be a significant barrier to adopting new global HR software.
With hosting, clients benefit from having someone else take
care of their IT infrastructure for them – but usually at high
cost and with all of the traditional issues associated with
implementing new software releases.
With SaaS, products are architected in such a way that
organizations benefit from lower costs - and a continuous
program of system updates, which are provided for free as
part of the service. New features are delivered on a regular
basis, and it’s seamless. Once the update has been applied,
organizations simply log on to their system and the new
features are immediately available to them. In fact, the
benefits are so significant that today most organizations
are choosing SaaS as their preferred method of delivery.
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14 - Joining the Dots
Case Study: TSYS – Managing and Developing People Around the Globe
Leading payment services company TSYS is managing
and developing its people across the globe with the help
of Cezanne’s global HR system.
TSYS provides outsourced payment services for financial
institutions and retail organizations around the world. It has
grown rapidly in recent years and currently has over 7,600
employees globally in countries including the UK, US, India,
CIS, Malaysia and Dubai.
The business recognized it needed a global HR solution that would help it manage all aspects of HR,
ranging from pay and benefits and absence management to recruitment and performance.
It chose to work with Cezanne because of its partnership approach and ability to deliver a product that
would operate across international boundaries.
The new global HR system was introduced in an extremely tight timescale. The first users, from the HR
team, went live on the system just seven months after the decision to go ahead was made. Once HR were
comfortable with the system, it was rolled-out to line managers. Just a year on, and it is now being used
on a self-service basis by employees across the business.
The system has had an immediate impact. Line managers report that it has enabled them to streamline
and speed up key HR processes and that it is easy to use.
The appraisal system, for example, which was previously entirely paper-based, is now conducted on-line,
leading to a more dynamic process, saving an estimated 5K tonnes of paper each year and a significant
amount of money.
The process of awarding annual salary increases has also been significantly improved. Line managers
now submit their recommendations on-line to HQ, who are able to run off reports giving them an overview
of each division. Once approved, decisions about reward are communicated to employees via the system
and implemented seamlessly through the payroll function.
“It’s critical for us to be able to hold salaries, allowances and bonuses in Sterling, Euros, US Dollars,
Roubles and Rupees, which the software will allow us to do. We will also be able to report all salaries
and allowances in Sterling or US dollars, so that we have a standard framework for comparing HR costs
across the business,” says HR manager Kate Lingham.
The global HR system has also helped the business significantly improve its talent management capability.
Personal development plans are held on the system, which allows managers to request and book specific
training. Individual team members are encouraged to submit their own data about personal capabilities the
business might not otherwise be aware of, such as a level of expertise in a particular language, for example.
Recruitment is also handled through the system, which has helped to improve speed and efficiency of
handling current vacancies, but also meant that details of potential candidates are easily to hand when
future opportunities arise.
“Our people and values are vital to our success, especially as we continue to grow rapidly, and our aim
is to become an employer of choice. We needed a system that would help support our people objectives
across all of our operations, so identifying the right HR software solution with international capabilities was
an extremely important decision for the business,” says Kate Lingham.
15. Working in Partnership - 15
Cezanne Software Ltd · Deploying Global HR Management Systems
Working in Partnership
Implementing a global HR system
can seem like a daunting task.
There are so many strategic,
practical and technical issues
to consider that it’s sometimes
difficult to know where to start.
A good supplier will work in partnership with
you from day one to make sure the process
is as seamless and painless as possible. An
experienced supply partner should be able
to help you:
• Define the objectives of your system
and what you need it to achieve
• Identify and involve the right
stakeholders in the project
• Identify the core data you will need and plan
how this will be collected and managed
• Think through key legal issues, such
as data storage and security
• Identify risks and plan how to manage them
• Build a project plan with milestones
and realistic timescales
• Design a process that is tailored to
your organization’s specific needs
• Plan how to manage integration of a new
system with your existing processes
• Plan how to launch and communicate
the new system to your employees
• Understand how you can expand and
adapt the system as your organization
changes and grows
• Assess and evaluate the processes on
a regular basis and continually work out
ways of how to improve them
• Be able to provide you with the
necessary support when required.
16. About Cezanne
16 - About Cezanne
Cezanne Software is a leading supplier of global HRC and Talent
Management software systems delivered on both a Software as
a Service (SaaS) and on premise basis. Headquartered in the UK,
Cezanne Software has over 20 years’ experience of working with
some of the world’s leading organizations. Today, it supports over
700 organizations, including companies as diverse as Vodafone,
HM Prison Service, Swarovski, TNT, Kempinski, LINPAC, & TSYS Europe.
The company’s integrated suite of Human Resource systems include solutions for people
management, succession and career planning, employee performance management, survey,
training administration, recruitment, and pay review, and reflect many years’ experience of
working with clients, independent consultants and academics at the forefront of best practice
in HR, talent and compensation management. Designed around modern web technologies,
Cezanne’s HR systems offer extensive support for manager and employee self-service and
can be deployed in house or on a Software as a Service basis, providing significant benefits
in terms of both cost and speed of deployment.
Cezanne Software’s focus is to provide flexible, people-centred Human Resource systems
that improve the day-to-day execution of HR and business strategies, help drive critical
employee performance and reward processes and enable companies to achieve and
sustain a competitive talent advantage.
Further Information
UK & Benelux (Headquarters)
Cezanne Software Limited
T: +44 (0)20 7202 9300
E: info.uk@cezannesw.com
France - Cezanne Software S.a.r.l.
T: +33 (0)1 44 09 71 21
E: info.france@cezannesw.com
Greece - Cezanne Software Hellas SA
T: +30 210 6895 625
E: info.hellas@cezannesw.com
Italy - Cezanne Software S.p.A.
T: +39 080 549 84 11
E: info.italia@cezannesw.com
Portugal - Cezanne Software Ibérica S.A.
T: +351 21 3562024
E: info.portugal@cezannesw.com
Spain - Cezanne Software Ibérica S.A.U.
T: +34 91 7684080
E: info.espana@cezannesw.com
USA - Cezanne Software, Inc.
T: +1 617 418-3945
(from USA 1 800 CEZANNE)
E: info.usa@cezannesw.com
Venezuela - Cezanne Solutions C.A.
T: +58 212 959 87 16
E: info.lam@cezannesw.com
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Contact Details
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email info@cezannesw.com
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