Hay Group, a global management consulting business specialising in organisational and workforce strategy has gone live with a human capital management (HCM) system from COA Solutions . This HCM system, which has integrated workflow and self-service modules, has been customised with swine flu screens to effectively manage the impact of swine flu on staff absence levels.
As a fluid organisation, Hay Group required a flexible and customisable HCM system to replace its standalone systems. The HCM system was required to store and interrogate information about its 320 UK employees, automate HCM processes and accurately record and monitor information relating to staff absence. It was also vital that the system could be customised quickly and easily in response to external and organisational change.
Alison May, HR Manager – Operations for Hay Group, comments, “Our previous system was not flexible enough to meet all our needs which led to an unnecessary duplication of effort. We needed a single, integrated system that we were able to customise in order to provide us with instant accessibility to all HR information and allow us to respond quickly to change.”
COA Solutions’ HCM system, which went live in March 2009, is now enabling Hay Group to more accurately record staff information, automate various administration tasks and provide reports for analysis purposes. Using the system’s self-service functionality, authorised line managers at Hay Group can access employee information in real-time directly from the desktop, such as salary band information, number of days absent and holiday dates, freeing up the HR team’s time. In the future, the HR team will be rolling out the self-service functionality to other teams, such as facilities and absence coordinators, to assist them in managing the employee data for which they are responsible.
In preparation for the potential impact of swine flu, using the configuration capabilities of the system, Hay Group has created swine flu screens within the absence field. These screens effectively record when an employee first started having symptoms, if and when they were properly diagnosed with having the virus, when their absence started and the length of absence. The screens also help to monitor quarantine periods.
May comments, “The system’s flexibility has allowed us to quickly and easily introduce swine flu screens so that we can keep accurate records of staff absence as a direct result of this virus. With this information to hand, we can determine if and when swine flu is having a real impact on the business and respond appropriately to minimise disruption.”
The HCM system’s workflow functionality will also help to speed-up Hay Group’s recruitment process. Candidate details will be entered onto the system and interview invitation, offer and rejection letters will be generated using the system. Once a new member of staff is appointed, COA Solutions’ HCM system will automatically notify the relevant people within Hay Group to ensure a seamless induction.
May adds, “COA Solutions’ system has eliminated time-consuming administrative tasks, allowing the HR team to be more productive. As the system enables interrogation of the information held in the system as well as the swift production of bespoke reports, this is also aiding management decision making.”
