Eversheds Sutherland has gone live with Fulcrum Global Technologies’ version of SAP SuccessFactors. The firm has rolled out the cloud-based HR platform’s Employee Central module to around 3,000 employees across the UK, France, Luxembourg, Middle East and Asia as it seeks to streamline operations across its international office network.
“When I came into this role 18 months ago, it because very clear that we were operating on a number of different systems across our HR infrastructure and that a lot of those systems didn’t talk to one another,” Neridah Jarrett, Eversheds’ international head of transformation told Legal IT Insider. “Our HR information system was approaching end-of-life so the clock was ticking and we needed systems able to cope with our growing, global organisation and all the intricacies and legislative requirements that presents.”
Eversheds priority was simplification. “We have celebrated the fact that we have cut between ten and 15 manual forms out of our toolkit with this process,” said Jarrett. “It is about making life easier for our people, particularly our lawyers, so they can give that time back to our clients.”
Jarrett added that pre-project planning was essential to minimising the need for extensive customisation. “The programme of work itself was around five months but we spent the year before that streamlining out processes behind the scenes. Did we really need five step approval processes or would one or two suffice?”
Smooth implementation was also assisted by a two-stage roll-out. The platform, known as MyHR within the firm, was first soft-launched to HR teams and office managers, two months before being taken to the rest of the business. “Having two of our most significant high-use stakeholder groups spending a couple of months testing systems and providing feedback was immensely helpful,” said Jarrett. “It meant we were able to put our best foot forward from day one of launch with HR and our office managers as change agents.”
Eversheds is now focused on delivering mobile enablement through SAP SuccessFactors, “allowing our people to use the product anytime, anywhere,” Jarrett explained. “We will also be looking to roll out further modules as part of a wider strategic initiative designed to offer a superior employee experience.”
Speaking to Legal IT Insider, Martin Telfer, head of EMEA at Fulcrum GT, added: “We feel strongly that law is a people business and that first class HCM is critical to the strategy, management, and operations of today’s complex global legal practices. Applying our IP solution to a world class foundation like SuccessFactors will help Eversheds Sutherland to transform its management of today’s multi-generational global workforce while meeting its complex compliance obligations effectively and efficiently.”