SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central: An Overview
SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central (EC) is a central, cloud-based platform that frees HR from administrative tasks and enables more efficient processes through automated workflows and consistent data. With features such as organisation management, people analytics and seamless integration with other modules, EC supports data-driven decision making and enhances the strategic role of HR. It stays technologically up-to-date with regular updates and flexibly adapts to different company sizes and structures. To maximize the benefits of EC, you need clear internal accountabilities and external partners to help HR transform into a valuable business partner.
Patrik Neubacher-Burkert
What is Employee Central?
Anyone building a house needs a solid foundation. The same applies to setting up a human resources management system. A stable basis is needed. And that means a solution that brings all the administrative functions into the system to relieve HR managers of the burden of day-to-day operations. With Employee Central (EC), SAP has developed a cloud-based solution that does just that. The base module of the SuccessFactors HXM Suite is the cornerstone of efficient HR management and serves as a central and standardized database.
What does Employee Central do?
EC supports HR teams in all administrative tasks that arise in day-to-day business – and offers a wide range of functions for managing and optimizing HR processes:
- Organization Management
No matter how big the company is and how many dependencies it has, EC enables the HR team to intuitively recognize how company units, business areas, departments, positions and locations are related. Thanks to clear organizational charts, HR has an overview of the entire workforce. - Position Management
Managing positions has never been so easy. With EC, positions can be created and configured, and hierarchies can be viewed. This enables HR to reliably plan which employee profiles are needed in which position and until when. - Personnel data management
Employee data is always up to date and consistent. Increasingly, employees are taking care of this themselves by changing their data in self-service when needed, for example, when they get married, change banks or start a vacation. And because all data is managed centrally in the cloud, all employee profiles are consistent across the company and can be accessed with just a few clicks. - Personnel processes
No more tedious manual processes and cumbersome workflows: EC supports automated workflows for approvals or notifications and facilitates standardized processes such as hiring, promotions and transfers. - Time management
A must for companies operating internationally: with EC, they can manage absences while taking country-specific requirements into account. In addition, attendance management can also be used if required and supplemented with the time tracking function.
But EC can do even more. With People Analytics, strategically important data can be generated. And the best thing is: EC can be expanded as you like, for example with AI components or other modules from the SAP SuccessFactors HXM Suite such as Recruiting. These fit seamlessly into the system, including all EC data.
If HR managers succeed in exploiting the possibilities of EC, they can gradually shift the focus of their activities and become valuable strategic business partners.
What are the advantages of Employee Central?
EC takes HR out of the hamster wheel of pure administrative work. On the one hand, because the module takes over administrative routines. On the other hand, because it ensures consistent data and processes and thus more efficiency and a new quality in HR work. Specifically, this means:
- More efficiency
Collecting and managing employee data and answering support queries are still the “bread and butter” work of the HR department. EC can do this too – faster and more reliably. Employees and supervisors can update data and carry out actions independently. On the other hand, routine tasks such as settings, promotions, salary changes, etc. can be automated, reducing the administrative burden. - A better overview
The larger the company, the more complex the personnel management. EC provides an overview here: all employee data is stored and managed centrally on one platform, which minimizes redundancies and data errors. In addition, real-time access to current information is provided to enable informed decision-making. - More reliable decision-making
Companies that have the right people in the right place are ahead of the competition. This requires well-founded, fact-based personnel decisions. EC provides the data needed to make data-based decisions with People Analytics. - More networking
EC can be seamlessly connected to other modules such as onboarding, recruiting, learning or compensation to ensure consistent HR processes. Payroll systems such as SAP HCM, SAP ECP or other solutions can be easily integrated so that EC can be used as a single source of truth for master data and time management data, for example. - More flexibility
Thanks to the special interface concept, EC can be expanded with SAP and third-party solutions as required. This provides variability. EC can therefore be adapted to any organizational structure and company size, whether it is a small or medium-sized company or an international corporation. The option of using different languages also increases scalability for global companies.
What else does Employee Central offer?
The benefits at a glance
• For HR teams: Simplified workflows, data quality, and focus on strategic issues.
• For employees: Greater transparency, empowerment and ease of use.
Regular releases ensure that the software is always up to date and always delivers the latest technological advances. In particular, the reporting and analysis function provides meaningful data from which key performance indicators (KPIs) can be derived. This is how HR can score points with management, for example when it comes to investing in new personnel or new AI technologies. This example shows that If HR managers succeed in exploiting the possibilities of EC, they can gradually shift the focus of their activities and become valuable strategic business partners.
What does it need?
Essentially, courage and the ability to recognize the potential of EC. What is the added value? How does the application affect work processes and employees in the long term? And how does my organization have to be set up to get the most out of the solution? HR can take responsibility here and help shape work in all areas of the company.
Of course, HR needs allies to do this. Within their own company, these can be key users and allies at the management level. Externally, these can be partners who are familiar with both the HR world and new technologies.
