SAP Employee Central: Seven Key Questions & Answers for Implementation

No software implementation follows a standard script. Ultimately, your progress depends on the personnel management and HR IT structures of the respective company. Nevertheless, there are some fundamental commonalities that we repeatedly encounter in implementation projects. We have compiled the 7 most important questions and answers that you should consider before starting the project – brief, concise, and to the point.

Typical stumbling blocks before and during implementation include

• a missing technical architecture overview
• silo mentality of HR and IT
• lack of stakeholder alignment
• insufficient change management
• a rushed project start without a plan
• unclear roles and responsibilities
• a missing HR target image

Of the three phases of implementation – preparation and design, realization with an iterative approach, and go live – the preparation phase plays a key role. This "Prepare4Success" phase provides the company with the opportunity to explore HR potentials in greater depth and develop a joint HR-IT strategy. For this purpose, we have developed a best-practice concept consisting of three consecutive workshops on a range of individually selectable topics.

Together, the following will be addressed:

• the project approach and process will be developed;
• success factors and risks will be defined;
• HR-IT strategy, business cases, and long-term operational concepts will be discussed;
• HR goals will be defined with regard to the HR operating model;
• the process integration of all stakeholders will be planned;
• the key steps will be outlined, and a roadmap will be formulated.

A typical process looks like this:

• Workshop one "Levers for Optimization Beyond IT": What could a project approach look like? What success factors and experiences from other projects already exist? Is there a business case or an operational concept?    
• Workshop two "HR Goals and Transformation Roadmap": How is HR positioning itself? What are the goals? What does the governance structure look like? Other key topics include stakeholder management and the implementation roadmap.    
• Workshop three "Technical Foundations and Solution Concept": What does my HR-IT architecture look like? What other systems are in place? Am I going to the cloud for the first time? What interfaces exist? What does the IT strategy look like?  

To ensure that the implementation and subsequent operation run smoothly, some EC-specific aspects should be considered from the outset. The guiding question is: What goals does HR associate with the introduction? Is it primarily about relieving HR? Or is the focus more on creating more transparent processes for employees or generating business metrics? The overarching goal is to establish and position HR as a professional and future-oriented business partner in the company.

However, to achieve these strategic goals in the introduction of EC, allies are needed. These come from among the stakeholders. Consequently, they should be identified and involved early on. Key stakeholders include, for example, the works council, parts of the workforce, IT managers, or individuals from upper management. They can all benefit from EC, and these benefits need to be demonstrated to them. Acceptance is further achieved by involving future key users in testing iterations. Their feedback can help further optimize processes.

Another important approach is to critically question the existing HR processes even before the implementation. Are our processes uniform? Are responsibilities within HR clearly defined? What options are there to streamline the processes? The upcoming system change is an opportunity for a cut. At the same time, it offers the chance to leverage the potential of EC, unify processes, define responsibilities, and simplify workflows.

In addition to the processes, the data must also be put to the test. Here, you should answer the following questions for yourself:

• Are the technical prerequisites in place?
• What interfaces to other modules exist?
• What data should be migrated?
• What is the quality of the data and where does it need to be cleaned up?

A pre-scoping workshop can bring light into the darkness. It serves to examine the old system landscape, analyze custom infotypes, and consider which data is relevant and how to transfer it as smoothly as possible into the EC module. There may also be data that can remain in the old payroll system. The benefit: With the results developed in the workshop, the implementation effort can be more accurately estimated.

What is often forgotten in the bustle of the preparation and implementation phase is to clarify who will take on which administrative tasks later in the EC operation. These responsibilities need to be clarified from the start so that those involved can adjust to them and grow into their roles. It is important to timely check which competencies are available in the company and how the distribution of roles within the company should be. Our experience shows that it makes perfect sense to bring a partner on board for SAP support and the necessary release management later on and to outsource certain tasks.