University of Auckland - Best Tech Awards 2025 Business Transformation
University of Auckland supports its people through large-scale change with SAP WalkMe Download the DocumentSAP Australia and New
Zealand Best Tech Awards
2025
Zealand Best Tech Awards
2025
Best Tech SAP
Industry WebsiteProduct and Services Featured SAP Solutions
Education https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en.htmlTertiary Education and Training WalkMe An SAP Company
The University of Auckland is New Zealand’s leading university, ranked among the top 100 globally (QS World University Rankings 2024). With over 40,000
students, it is recognised for excellence in teaching, research, and innovation, and is committed to making a positive impact through education, discovery and
global collaboration.
The University needed a new approach to modernise HR processes, lift digital capability and deliver a consistent, user-friendly experience for all staff. With
varied digital confidence across the workforce, it was essential to support people through adoption and use of its HCM platform. WalkMe – branded as Hono
Helper – became a cornerstone of its digital adoption strategy, offering real-time, in-system guidance that reduced frustration and enabled confident self-service
from day one.
University of Auckland supports its people
through large-scale change with SAP WalkMe
Business Transformation
Industry WebsiteProduct and Services Featured SAP Solutions
Education https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en.htmlTertiary Education and Training WalkMe An SAP Company
The University of Auckland is New Zealand’s leading university, ranked among the top 100 globally (QS World University Rankings 2024). With over 40,000
students, it is recognised for excellence in teaching, research, and innovation, and is committed to making a positive impact through education, discovery and
global collaboration.
The University needed a new approach to modernise HR processes, lift digital capability and deliver a consistent, user-friendly experience for all staff. With
varied digital confidence across the workforce, it was essential to support people through adoption and use of its HCM platform. WalkMe – branded as Hono
Helper – became a cornerstone of its digital adoption strategy, offering real-time, in-system guidance that reduced frustration and enabled confident self-service
from day one.
University of Auckland supports its people
through large-scale change with SAP WalkMe
Business Transformation
Challenges
As the University of Auckland transitioned to its new HR, finance and payroll platform – the scale and
complexity of the transformation posed a major risk to user adoption and success.
The shift replaced outdated systems with more than 100 new digital business processes. Many of these were
unfamiliar and unintuitive, particularly for occasional users. Without the right support, the university faced real
risks, including:
• Increased frustration and low engagement due to unfamiliar workflows.
• High error rates in self-service transactions, risking compliance.
• Over-reliance on support teams, which already fielded over 30,000 HR queries a year.
• Training fatigue as it wasn’t feasible to train everyone on every process.
To ensure the success of the Hono project, a robust digital adoption strategy was essential. This included the
rollout of Hono Helper (WalkMe) as an embedded guidance tool offering in-system, real-time support at the
point of need.
The approach aimed to:
• Reduce low-level support queries and lighten the load on service teams.
• Improve accuracy and confidence with just-in-time, in-context instructions.
• Support all user types, from HR professionals to occasional academic users.
• Scale change support, with tools that evolve alongside processes.
By embedding digital adoption into the transformation, the university enabled a smoother transition, more
confident users and a stronger foundation for continuous improvement.
As the University of Auckland transitioned to its new HR, finance and payroll platform – the scale and
complexity of the transformation posed a major risk to user adoption and success.
The shift replaced outdated systems with more than 100 new digital business processes. Many of these were
unfamiliar and unintuitive, particularly for occasional users. Without the right support, the university faced real
risks, including:
• Increased frustration and low engagement due to unfamiliar workflows.
• High error rates in self-service transactions, risking compliance.
• Over-reliance on support teams, which already fielded over 30,000 HR queries a year.
• Training fatigue as it wasn’t feasible to train everyone on every process.
To ensure the success of the Hono project, a robust digital adoption strategy was essential. This included the
rollout of Hono Helper (WalkMe) as an embedded guidance tool offering in-system, real-time support at the
point of need.
The approach aimed to:
• Reduce low-level support queries and lighten the load on service teams.
• Improve accuracy and confidence with just-in-time, in-context instructions.
• Support all user types, from HR professionals to occasional academic users.
• Scale change support, with tools that evolve alongside processes.
By embedding digital adoption into the transformation, the university enabled a smoother transition, more
confident users and a stronger foundation for continuous improvement.