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Customer Stories

Röhm: Empowering employees during a business transition with digital HR

Explore Röhm’s journey with SAP

A leader in methacrylate chemicals that keep industries moving, Röhm GmbH split from its parent company and achieved operational independence. But on the way to this transition, the business realised it needed to better support and empower employees. Röhm chose SAP SuccessFactors solutions to transform HR and smooth the transition for everyone.

~60

%

lower costs related to HR IT systems.

15

production sites on four continents with harmonised HR processes.

12

months to implement SAP SuccessFactors solutions.

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Heiko Müller
Head of Human Resources Röhm GmbH

Röhm has a long legacy in chemicals, but we feel like a young company now that we’re operating independently. Our business faces many of the same challenges that smaller, younger companies do, and SAP SuccessFactors solutions help us overcome them.

The Challenge

Smoothing a move to operational independence

Since Röhm was founded in 1907, the company has been characterized by pioneering inventions and the courage to break new ground in chemicals. Recently, the company set out from its parent organisation and gained operational independence. As an independent company, Röhm faced many new challenges, namely, how to manage and support its 3,500 dedicated employees.

 

To ease the transition for employees and the business, Röhm wanted to simplify administrative tasks, especially in HR.

 

HR needed to position itself as a strategic partner for the business. Röhm saw a future where HR processes could be intelligent, lean, standardised, and based on modern technology.

 

Röhm retained the right to use its parent company’s on-premise HR software, the SAP ERP Human Capital Management solution. To cut down on operating costs and improve efficiency, the company wanted to move HR to the cloud.

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Heiko Müller
Head of Human Resources Röhm GmbH

SAP SuccessFactors solutions supported our employees as they went from working within a corporate enterprise to supporting an independent midsize business. The solutions also helped us recruit and onboard new employees even during the transition.

The Solution

Standardising processes during a time of transition

When Röhm implemented SAP SuccessFactors solutions, the company made a strategic move from SAP ERP Human Capital Management that brought HR into the digital era.

 

The SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central solution modernizes the employee experience at Röhm by providing employees with a variety of digital self-services. Employees can tap into and update important HR data on demand.

 

Röhm used the SAP SuccessFactors Compensation solution to introduce a new employee compensation model, and it implemented the SAP SuccessFactors Performance & Goals solution to set objectives for employees. Objective setting became incredibly important during and after the transition, as Röhm needed to reemphasise employee roles in achieving company goals.

 

The SAP SuccessFactors Talent Management package standardised employee and candidate experiences worldwide with a “quick apply” feature for jobs.

 

Throughout the project, SAP partner Empleox GmbH assured Röhm it would stay on schedule with its implementation. Empleox’s ready-to-use services provided a holistic approach to implementation that included preexecuted configurations, best practices, and sophisticated add-on services.

The Result

Creating harmonised HR experiences across locations and departments

Röhm made the move from working as part of a large corporate enterprise to thriving as an independent midsize company. SAP SuccessFactors solutions smoothed this transition and enhanced employee experiences at the same time.

 

SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central encourages employees to own their HR experience and take responsibility for their HR data. That means this data is more accurate than ever, and employees are empowered with a new sense of accountability.

 

On top of that, SAP SuccessFactors solutions have provided HR with massive time savings. HR no longer needs to send a member of the works council to every candidate interview. The council is automatically given the information it needs. Because the solutions extend across the entire company to create unified, standardised experiences, it’s easier to process changes to an employee’s work arrangements – even when an employee changes departments.

 

Migrating from its parent company’s HR software helped Röhm reduce operating costs and gain an important level of independence.

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Susan Beissmann
Head of Global HR Operations Röhm GmbH

Transforming the HR IT landscape empowered us to simplify and automate many of our HR processes. We’re looking forward to significant long-term cost savings.

Future Plans

Creating the future of HR on a foundation built for growth

Röhm will continue building upon its modern HR landscape to meet the needs of employees and the business. Now an independent midsize company, Röhm knows employee demands and needs can change in an instant – and HR technology needs to keep up.

 

Röhm plans to implement the SAP SuccessFactors Succession & Development and SAP SuccessFactors Learning solutions. Together, the solutions can provide important training and career development opportunities to create a satisfied and high-performing workforce.

 

Recognising the importance of diversity in the workplace, Röhm intends to use the SAP SuccessFactors People Analytics solution to collect metrics related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The company also plans to track its sustainability goals.

 

The company will also soon take advantage of the mobile features of SAP SuccessFactors solutions to further empower employees to take control over their experiences at Röhm, no matter where they are or what device they use.

SAP helps Röhm run better

Key business outcomes and benefits

  • New, digital HR experience for employees and managers
  • Technology to support a cultural shift after becoming an independently operating company
  • Lean, intelligent, and standardised HR processes based on best practices and modern technology
  • Automation and transparency embedded into HR processes

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About Röhm GmbH

Röhm is one of the leading manufacturers in the methacrylate business. The company produces methyl methacrylates and polymethyl methacrylate, as well as a wide range of other products for businesses in automotive, electronics, construction, and other industry sectors. In 2019, Röhm became an independent company after previously operating as part of Evonik Industries.

Industry Region Company Size Partner
Chemicals Darmstadt, Germany 3,500 employees Empleox GmbH
Empleox GmbH

Empleox specialises in HR digital transformations. The company helps businesses implement SAP SuccessFactors solutions and develops its own software solutions to meet niche HR needs. The company’s experts in HR technology provide superior change management services and German-language support throughout even the most complex digital transformations.

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