Digital HR Transformation Keys to Success

[Francis_Chan]

In Hong Kong and many parts of the world, we are facing a war for skilled talent that is exacerbated by immigration and an aging population.  Returning to normal after COVID, employers and employees are also adopting different models of flex-work, both in work location and work schedule.  These factors put pressure on organizations to pay attention to and improve employee experience to attract, retain, and motivate the workforce.

People and organizations alike are constantly looking for an edge, by speeding things up and improving quality.  Software applications are increasingly being used to help with automation and provide artificial intelligence (AI).  While exploring the use of technology to improve employee experience, CHROs must prioritize the human factor during implementation and adoption.  This is the key learning from HR transformation expert, Philip Wixon, who is the Head of HR Transformation at the Hong Kong Jockey Club (The Club) and has over two decades of experience as an HR practitioner and consultant.  At SAP NOW Hong Kong, Wixon talked about how to humanize HR transformation to achieve successful technology implementation, leveraging SAP SuccessFactors.

Philip Wixon, Head of HR Transformation at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, emphasizes the human factor in technology implementation at SAP NOW Hong Kong

One of most recognized brands in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Jockey Club operates a diverse business, from race day operations to catering and member management in its Clubhouses, to being one of the top global charitable trusts.  The Club employs over 18,000 people, about two-thirds of which are in frontline (non-office based) roles.  Given the scale of the frontline population, reaching and managing the experience of this workforce is challenging.  Like many businesses, the Club wanted to deploy a modern HR technology platform to digitize and streamline processes and extend access to all employees – office-based and frontline – via mobile device access.

Preparing for the HR transformation included:

• Documenting process variations, such as performance appraisal forms and rating scales.
• Identifying key requirements and readiness for change, such as payroll speed and complexity.
• Understanding compliance and data privacy implications, which included China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), given operations and employees in China.  Having the option to host the application in a data center in China was a key consideration.

Staffing for project implementation and focusing on the human factor included:

• Investing heavily in change management, which was a “must”, and included supplementing external consultants with internal staff.  The change management team was invited to design meetings, to anticipate push backs, manage expectations and change, especially in areas that may not bend according to current processes.
• Hiring people with deep product knowledge, to take part in the application implementation, and not rely solely on the external implementation consultants.
• Partnering with IT, to ensure technical aspects, such as integration, data migration, etc., receive due attention.

Future-proofing the project included:

• Adopting a modularized/phased implementation to address key (pain) areas first, to create quick wins and deliver return on investment (ROI).
• Staying on top of application updates, which happen twice yearly, for both regulatory updates and feature enhancements.
• Planned evolution of the internal project team into an HR Technology Center of Excellence (CoE) post go-live, to continue to scan the market for features and new products to complement the system.
• Laying the foundation for the broader digital transformation, including employee portal and digital workplace.

While not all organizations have the resources like the Hong Kong Jockey Club to invest in an HR transformation, the elements and thoughts that went into preparing for and implementing the change is, nevertheless, a great model for organizations and project team members to consider when embarking on an HR Digital Transformation journey.