Case Study (Below is the material and questions needed answered)
Case Description:
SCP*, in Washington State provides electric power to 330,000 households and water to 19,000 homes
throughout a territory covering 2,200 square miles. In 2013, the Everett, Washington-based organization
took a hard look at its 1,100-member workforce, which had many experienced and capable employees.
Nonetheless, more than 35% were eligible to retire within five years. This impending staff turnover and
associated need to recruit IT staff, engineers, and other technical positions spurred SCP to analyze its
Employee Resources (ER) department and recruitment systems.
An aging human resources (HR) system had been used for employee data and benefits, with access
restricted to HR employees. Managers in other departments could not make changes to employee data
or obtain information for their employees. Outdated processes included paper-based performance
appraisals and manually conveying employee data that originated in HR into the payroll system. Bogged
down with day-to-day tasks, the SCP ER department could not concentrate on the career development
and talent recruitment needs for future success.
SCP’s CIO and ER director began searching for a self-service system that would enable employees to
access and update their own data. Employees today, accustomed to instant smartphone access to all
manner of personal data, are put off by having to contact the HR department every time a minor issue
arises. Also, high0tech employees today expect to be able to access information whenever and however
necessary to perform their jobs.
SCP decided to update its SAP ERP system to consolidate and create a single system of record and to use
SAP’s cloud version to maintain its HR records because SAP had a strong commitment to cloud
technology. SCP also decided to implement in parallel SuccessFactors, SAP’s cloud-based human capital
management suite.
Because both crews in the field and in-house employees would be able to access data from the cloud on
any device from any location, a major challenge was assuring them that their data would be safe. A key
component of end-user training had to outline Success Factors’ built-in security measures for protecting
employee personally identifiable information and meeting the privacy requirements of the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
To implement SuccessFactors, the project team used a wave approach in which pieces of software were
released to employees in stages so they could gradually get comfortable with the new system. The
Project Preparation stage began in March 2014. All fundamental business processes were examined and
a business process design settled upon. Next, in the Business Blueprint stage, a detailed description of
the business processes and system requirements was outlined to produce the project structure and
documentation.
By May the team was ready to launch the first wave of the Realization stage. ADP Payroll and two
SuccessFactors modules, Employee Central and Learning, were rolled out along with Benefitfocus, a
benefits administration package. Employee Central is the core self-service HR system in which
employees can enter data about their skills, areas of concentration, accomplishments, and proficiencies
and where managers can enter information such as salary changes, promotions, and terminations.
Employee Central is linked to Learning, the talent management module in which curriculum can be
developed, deployed, and managed.
From November 2014 to March 2015, the second wave rolled out SAP Jam, the social collaboration tool,
and SuccessFactors modules for compensation management, performance and goals, succession
management, career development and planning and the competency framework. The third and final
wave took place in August of 2015, deploying SuccessFactors modules for recruiting management,
recruiting marketing, onboarding, workforce planning and analytics, and advanced reporting. The
Realization phase concluded within all business process requirements had been implemented.
In the final preparation stage, the SAP ERP system was integrated with SuccessFactors to complete the
final configuration. All HR data were now linked to security access controls, all processes for employee
time tracking, and ADP payroll. The Go Live and Support phase began in September 2015.
The wave rollout created a climate of persistently building on success. This and the meticulously
assembled project team propelled the project forward. Headed by a functional lead from the ER
department and assisted by several strategic subject matter experts (SMEs) who rotated in and out to
perform system and end-user acceptance testing, the team also included SAP specialists from Deloitte
Consulting.
As with any project, there were a few issues. Despite the full support of management and the utility’s
board of commissioners, the project struggled with improper resource allocation. With all departments
naturally having to maintain normal operations, transferring team members in and out sometimes
resulted in understaffing either departmentally or on the project team. Key ER staff members helped to
navigate these rough waters with their thorough knowledge of HR processes and complete familiarity
with SuccessFactors.
Change management was addressed upfront and consistently emphasized. From the start, the project
was presented as a company transformation as opposed to simply an IT initiative to foster an
atmosphere of shared commitment. The Deloitte partners recommended a “change champion” process.
Groups of employees were inserted in various departments to make sure that their colleagues
understood the system. They served as trainers, trouble shooters, helpers, and cheerleader. Assisted by
“super users,” they used SuccessFactors’ Learning module to make sure that all employees would be
ready the Go Live day arrived. Each employee in the ER department participated in testing so that they
were well versed in every aspect of the new system and capable of helping the colleagues. A dedicated
internal corporate communications team reinforced and encourage these efforts.
Project objectives and targets were successfully met, in part because each core business process was
assigned to a senior leader. These business process “owners” had developed backup procedures. This
freed team members to make on-the-spot system implementation decisions without worrying about
business process interruptions It also meant that it was mainly broader issues that were shuttled up the
executive decision-making chain.
Centralized, transparent employee data have resulted not only in huge time savings but also in a
noticeable companywide morale boost. Managers and employees can monitor goal setting and
performance evaluations, enter feedback, and respond to comments in real time as opposed to the
cumbersome paper system previously used. A number of anticipated HR systems and their attendant
maintenance costs were eliminated. ER personnel are no longer dependent on the IT department to run
reports and perform analytics. All HR business processes have been consolidated into a single stream
that follows employees through their careers and beyond. Next up is to optimize the career
development and succession planning tools so that when positions are vacated, whether through
promotion, resignation, or retirement, a ready and able replacement is internally available
*Snohomish County Public Utility District
Case Questions:
1. How crucial was the HR project for SCP? Why?
2. Analyze and describe the organizational, managerial, and technological issues addressed by the
project in order to successfully implement the new system. (Include a separate paragraph for
each of these components – with subheadings.)
3. Explain how the project team dealt with the issues you described in question 2. (Include a
separate paragraph for each of these components – with subheadings.)
4. Describe the project team’s structure.
5. How important was the project team’s structure? Why?
6. Why was SCP’s HR system implementation successful?
7. In general, what are the advantages and disadvantages of implementing a cloud-based
application?

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