SAP paves the way for global e-recruiting

Singapore - Adopting a global e-recruiting system can help HR reduce dependency on external recruiters, lower hiring costs and time taken to recruit quality staff. SAP reveals how.

Besides transparency and governance, implementing a common recruitment process platform across all its worldwide offices in less than six months has helped streamlined communication and interaction between all involved parties. According to Martin Prinz, vice president and head of HR operations for SAP Asia-Pacific Japan (APJ), hiring managers can check the status of their requisitions online anytime. "They receive workflow alerts when their action is required. Employees have instant visibility of all job postings and can submit referrals using the system."

A regional HR helpdesk was introduced to make it easy for over 12,000 employees in 15 subsidiaries to request information and services. External candidates and agencies are also given access to the system through the company's public website. Prinz says, "The feedback we have gotten on this channel is overwhelmingly positive. We have also streamlined and harmonised the HR back office processes and data maintenance."

Nonetheless, it was a huge challenge for Prinz to formulate a global recruitment process, given the short timeframe and a non-existent regional recruitment organisation at the beginning of 2007. Fortunately, having "great sponsorship" from the head office helped make the "industrial-strength recruitment machine" project a reality in September 2007, he says. Tapping into more mature recruitment models from North America and implementing e-recruitment as a global tool further accelerated the process standardisation.

While Singapore was chosen as SAP's shared services delivery headquarters due to its ideal location in the heart of the APJ region, not all functions need to be centralised and co-located to create a successful shared services model. Prinz states "a smart use of technology and a high degree of process standardisation" can similarly replicate the virtualisation, even though employees are not working in the same location. "We have a satellite location in Bangalore. That allows us to take advantage of the proximity to our large employee base in India and the lower operating cost."

It is equally possible to adopt this service model in other industries as the guiding principles to align HR with the company's resources and expertise are universal. Prinz remarks, "Invest in a transparent client relationship and effective service delivery channels and finally, drive efficiencies and service quality through process standardisation, simplification, and automation."

SAP APJ recently won the Asia's Best New Shared Services Organisation for its Human Resources Shared Services Organisation (HR SSO) at the Shared Services & Outsourcing Network Excellence Awards 2008.