SAP HCM Reviews

I am currently heading the payroll benefits and HRIS team here in Manila. We are using SAP HCM on-premises, and we implemented SuccessFactors focusing on Employee Central and GMPM.

SAP HCM has helped a lot due to the always changing government regulations pertaining to taxation, social security service, and local regulations that change frequently. Automation is beneficial, although we have internal systems outside of SAP for timekeeping, which captures absences and attendances.

We use SAP HCM for all employee management data. It is implemented for our HR operations, covering all aspects except performance and goal management.

It integrates well between modules, such as HCM and FICO, where processing salaries automatically reflects transactions in FICO.

I work with SuccessFactors as well as SAP SC. I am good in employee control, ECP, and also support with a lot of support teams. Employee sector and payroll are my specific areas, and I am good at country-specific elements. My partners are HRBP and CHRO, which I cater to for my organization. I support more than thirty applications, and we are now doing analytics and human experience, which we were not getting earlier. Therefore, after implementing the mechanism of applications, we are getting a lot of additional time, which we can give as value to the organization.

By implementing this tool, we now have a twenty-five percent utilization time in India, which we did not have before. We are doing analytics and micro-level analysis on performance, providing significant support from knowledge management, and decreasing our attrition rate. This allows us to add a lot of value to the organization.

The payroll operations under my management in both this and other companies have handled significant volumes, showcasing the stability of SAP HCM. In terms of talent management, we've engaged consulting services and complemented them with internal innovations. Additionally, we're actively exploring cutting-edge AI applications such as chatbots and AI-driven scenarios.

Based on my experience, SAP HCM and analogous solutions are robust, yet the current emphasis should lie in fostering employee engagement through enhanced features. Employee adoption thrives when tools are easily accessible. Implementing features like actionable notifications for pending tasks such as learning recommendations, initiating subordinate reviews, and reminders to approve crucial travel requests can significantly bolster adoption rates. Such proactive prompts and recommendations naturally encourage task completion. Leveraging AI tools to deliver timely prompts with pertinent data insights further enhances this process."

Adapting to new platforms often presents challenges. Consider a scenario where a company has a portal that its employees rely on daily; persuading them to transition to a new system, regardless of its superiority, proves to be a daunting task. This challenge extends beyond older employees; younger generations may also resist change if information isn't readily accessible at their fingertips.

To improve SAP HCM, the focus should be on enhancing user experience. While many products offer various features, the key lies in user-friendliness and speed. It's essential to balance providing necessary notifications and insights without overwhelming users with too much information, screens and clicks. Ease of use is crucial. Additionally, incorporating AI-driven recommendations can enhance user experience. While I haven't explored the latest versions of SAP's cloud products, prioritizing user experience will improve the overall solution. Currently, users don't want to do too many clicks or move between too many screens. 

When meeting with customers, we mainly receive feedback about the high cost of user training. Despite the balance between stability, scalability, and resource allocation, the primary concern remains the expense of training.

I leveraged it for four end-to-end projects. There were a few different use cases, largely around human capital itself. 

1. The first was around 2009-2010 for a real estate company. They wanted HCM for their employees and contracted agents.  
2. The second was around 2016-2017 for a pharmaceutical company in Australia. They wanted to replace their other SCM tool with SAP HCM. Earlier, it was called SAP HRM; then it became HCM. 
3. We also worked on other HCM projects, like for a materials company. They provide materials on demand to companies like aviation/aircraft manufacturers. They had over 10,000 employees and contractors and implemented HCM to optimize their manpower utilization.
4. We also worked with Automobile company, along with their IT arm.

The last project ended in November 2023. Since then, I have no HCM-related projects.

The compliance management functionality is quite good. 

Compliance management has two aspects: internal compliance and external compliance, such as laws of the land. 

Internally, you can define rules like allowing a hybrid work culture (after the COVID era), which wasn't always the case before. 

Earlier, attendance was based on punching cards, but now it can include working from home. You can define these rules and configurations to capture this information. 

For external compliance, it allows you to generate reports and offers out-of-the-box support. That's about it.

I'm an SAP reseller and an implementation partner and provide Application Management Support Partner. Earlier, I was an HR Leader and  CHRO for nearly 18 years of mt 33 years in HR. I left my CHRO role to start this company and offer a superior and unique experience  and level of implementation.

We offer a superior and intuitive understanding of SAP SuccessFactors and bring our functional and mulcticultural experience to bear on each implementation. 

SAP SuccessFactors' Human Capital Management module is now referred to as HXM – Human Experience Management, is all about enhancing the employee experience. So, SAP SuccessFactors, HCM, and HXM can be used interchangeably.

We primarily work with SAP SuccessFactors. The use cases include the entire hire-to-retire cycle management within an organization.

Imagine SAP SuccessFactors (HXM), the human experience management software, as the equivalent of the business ERP for employees and HR. It's an ERP for managing your most valuable asset – People, which is why effective talent management is crucial!

We're implementing SAP SuccessFactors to streamline our HR operations. Before, we only did payroll in SAP HCM. Now, we're bringing in personal and recruiter information to make the workflow easier and less time-consuming.

The payroll function in SAP HCM has been most beneficial for managing global workforces. We plan to use goal management and KPI features to link to payroll through the SAP SuccessFactors module.

The payroll functionalities have greatly enhanced our efficiency. Previously, we did payroll manually in Excel, which was time-consuming and error-prone. Now, there's a single source of truth in the system, drastically reducing human errors - I'd say by about 60-65%.

There's still room for improvement. We need end-to-end systems. Only the HR team uses HCM, but employees don't have access to their data. With Employee Central, employees can see their ratings, increment cycles, and other details, making things more transparent.

SAP's technical support is okay. In my last job, when we had a P1 issue, just raising a ticket wasn't enough. You need to follow up every ten minutes and call them for updates. It depends on the person handling it. I don't just rely on SAP's support system. Even though it's automated, it's about the people who want to solve the problem quickly. I don't think the support team understands how serious production downtime is.

I want SAP HCM to adopt new changes faster, like AI and analytics, for future releases. SAP HCM is slow compared to Tableau or Power BI. In Fiori, we faced challenges creating dashboards. It should work fast to compete with startups in areas like AI-powered queries and instant dashboards.

SAP HCM is used by our clients for all their business processes, such as HR, finance, procurement, and supply chains.

SAP HCM has a good performance.