Client Q&A – Key Factors in Global Implementations of SAP HCMHuman Capital Management Newsletter - Spring 2009 |
There are certain questions that we hear more often than others from clients. We thought our readers might find it useful to see our line of thinking in responding to issues of common interest. This first column deals with the special challenges of global implementations.
Global implementations of SAP HCM bring many specific challenges. What are three key factors to consider and how would you recommend addressing them?
True, global SAP HCM projects involve a wide range of challenges that are not experienced with a single country implementation. These range from “logistical” in nature (such as how to maintain stakeholder engagement across several geographies and time zones) to functional considerations (e.g., what languages to implement), as well as all the complex legal and regulatory factors that can arise when multiple jurisdictions are involved. Key issues such as these present themselves in all phases of a project, but, because we believe in getting projects off to a good start, we will focus here on the challenges faced during the Project Preparation phase.
| Factor | Addressed by |
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Deciding on the right deployment approach |
Typically, the geographical challenges of a global project determine that some form of phased deployment is required. However, understanding how to design the phased approach is driven by addressing a set of characteristics that are unique to each project and client. For example, you should consider:
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| Addressing local country requirements |
While the details of such requirements will be addressed in the Blueprint phase of the project, it is important to clarify and set expectations about this issue early on. We find that the most value is gained from global projects that focus on the development of a common and standardized set of core processes and requirements that are used for all countries that are in scope. Local country requirements, therefore, would focus on the inclusion of functionality and processes to address any legal and regulatory items that apply. However, it is important to maintain effective, two-way communications with the in-country stakeholders to confirm that no vital requirements are missed and to avoid the possibility of local “shadow” systems being created to fill perceived gaps. The proliferation of such shadow systems is one factor in why some global implementations do not realize their expected cost efficiencies.
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| Maintaining effective stakeholder engagement across multiple geographies and organizational entities throughout project duration |
Another major challenge with a global project is the trade-off between the value of in-person participation in design workshops — and other project activities — versus the cost of global travel required to achieve this direct involvement. While recent communications technology improvements enable a lot of stakeholder engagement even with team members remaining in their home countries, we feel the value gained from in-person participation in design workshops cannot be replicated as effectively by any other means. We recommend mitigating the travel impact (on the person, as well as the budget) by nominating a small group of stakeholders to provide regional (versus country-by-country) representation for all functional design workshops. Finally, a relatively simple and inexpensive technique for maintaining stakeholder engagement across distances is to use your cell phone video to send quick messages that link team members by both sound and picture!
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Note: If you want more information about these topics and you are attending the HR 2009 conference in Las Vegas in March 2009, we recommend attending a session led by Kristof Huyghebaert of Deloitte Consulting titled “Strategies for identifying and overcoming project management challenges that can derail a global SAP ERP HCM implementation.”
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