Winner: 2024 Best Run SAP Human Capital Management

GPT Group: Enhancing employee experience with a transformative technology integration. Download the Document

SAP Australia and New ZealandBest Run Awards 2024
Best Run SAPIndustry WebsiteProduct and Services Featured SAP SolutionsReal Estate www.gpt.com.auProperty ManagementServices for Office, Logisticsand Retail SectorsSAP SuccessFactors (EmployeeCentral, EC Payroll, Recruitment,Onboarding, Learning,Performance & Goals, Succession &Development, Compensation)People AnalyticsSAP FinanceSAP Integration SuiteThe GPT Group (GPT) is one of Australia’s largest property groups, managing more than $30 billion worth of office, retail and logistics assetsacross the country.GPT grew from 450 to 670 over the last two years through a combination of organic growth and property fund partnerships and acquisitions.With this new talent combined with the feedback that employees wanted to feel more connected to the vision of the business, GPT launchedits “Experience First” purpose in 2023 which focusses on creating experiences that drive positive impact for people, place and planet.This growth combined with GPT’s new purpose, lack of investment in the HRIS and the need to move away from the existing HRIS managedservice provider, provided the platform for upgrading the HR systems, including addressing the fact that payroll was not integrated. It alsomarked a turning point for the People Team, ushering in a fresh strategic direction and a commitment to enriching GPT’s HR foundations andits HRIS.Enhancing employee experience with atransformative technology integrationGPT GroupHuman Experience Management
ChallengesGPT were seeking to select an implementation and managed service partner to transition GPT’s SuccessFactors awayfrom the incumbent provider who couldn’t support SuccessFactors beyond December 2023. The outdated HRIS hadbecome a critical hurdle, forcing GPT to transition away from its existing payroll platform within a tight 12-monthtimeframe.The implementation involved a lift and shift of GPT’s existing SuccessFactors instance to GPT ownership and removedthe immediate operational risk. Following, GPT reimplemented SuccessFactors, uplifting the configuration andfunctionality of the platform to best practice standards and implemented a further four SuccessFactors modules todeliver best practice People processes including Employee Central (EC) Payroll.The manual integrations into the complex SAP Finance Solution also had specific breakdown or wage type to journalpostings.To complement its relevance for the thousands of external customers who visit GPT’s assets daily, the People teambegan a process of change to embed “Experience First” for their internal customers (employees). Promoting inclusionin all aspects of the employee experience was another important part of GPT’s values, as evidenced by its ranking asthe number one property company (and in the top five overall) in Equileap’s annual Gender Equality Global Report &Ranking.The choice of a new solution came from the need for a more interconnected system and additional features that couldaddress wider organisational goals, such as enhancing employee experience, achieving high performance and growthas well as a commitment to inclusion.
SolutionPreviously, GPT used limited SuccessFactors modules (Employee Central, Performance and Goals and Recruitment) via a managedservice provider with integration to a 3rd Party Payroll. However, the business found that the system wasn't fully meeting itsoperational needs, not meeting the mark on employee experience and wasn’t delivering the desired level of functionality.GPT wanted to expand its use of SuccessFactors features to better support the team and operational efficiency to include ECPayroll, Onboarding, Succession & Development and Compensation.GPT embraced these challenges as opportunities for a comprehensive overhaul of its HRIS, aiming to enhance employeeexperience and align with its forward-thinking “Experience First” purpose.Recognising the potential of SuccessFactors to enhance its HR infrastructure, the company began a search for a preferred vendorwho could support a more comprehensive implementation and provide ongoing management to leverage the full capabilities of theplatform.In partnership with their new implementation partner EPI-USE, GPT recommitted to using SAP SuccessFactors for its ability toprovide a fully integrated platform that matched the company’s objectives across recruitment and onboarding, learning anddevelopment, compensation, succession planning and payroll.The solution has removed the previous Dell Boomi integration with the packaged integration from SAP Integration suite. TheEmployee Central integration leveraged the native and robust point-to-point integration from Employee Central to EC Payroll.GPT now have a fully managed service with EPI-USE including implementation services, AMS support and outsourced payrolloperations.
Impact7 daysreduced to less than 20 minutesfor onboarding new employeedata.95%reduction is processing time andeffort for integration with SAPFinance leveraging packaged SAPintegrations400 daysof administrative effort eliminatedfrom succession and compensationprocesses yearly.For GPT’s employees, the introduction of the consolidated HRIS platform has eliminated the need to navigate through disjointedHR systems for basic needs. Rich capabilities, including connection of performance to development for better qualitydevelopment conversations, easy access to leave balances and detailed payslips, as well as integrated learning and developmentempower employees with information at their fingertips and support them with access to better growth opportunities.Managers have experienced a fundamental shift in the way they work. The automation and digitisation of compensationprocesses have reclaimed hundreds of admin hours, allowing GPT’s leaders to reallocate a significant chunk of time towardsstrategic planning and team development.A more efficient onboarding process cut down from a week to just 20 minutes ensures that new hires are integrated swiftlyand seamlessly. With their increased involvement in hiring, managers can now make more informed decisions, ensuring eachnew employee is the perfect fit for their team’s culture and objectives. This process has also streamlined the previous paperdocumentation that existed with onboarding.The company has benefited from positive change and the People team has become a more strategic partner, saving many hourspreviously spent in processing. Processes that used to take weeks, now happen in real time, eliminating cumbersome manualwork previously related to reviews, compensation, onboarding and succession.Having EC Payroll built into the core has helped with accuracy, speed, and compliance by having a single source of truth for datawhich can be replicated and reported in near real-time minutes.SuccessFactors is also helping GPT bolster its commitment to inclusion and equality by making development planning andperformance reviews more accessible and uniform. With everything in one place, it's easier to ensure that performance anddevelopment goals (KPIs) are clear and accountable, leading to more focused and supportive development conversations.