Academy of Better Business

mySAP HR in international corporations

How to meet headquarters’ requirements and Polish unit’s needs?

Many units of international concerns are obliged to a corporate mySAP HR model. Transferring it into Polish conditions only seems easy. In fact, implementing a corporate concept creates difficulties resulting from differences in legal regulations and in the headquarters’ expectations and a unit’s needs.

Pros and cons of corporate implementations

International corporations aim at unifying IT systems used in their units in various countries. The solutions that support human resources management are no exception.

The aim of corporate mySAP HR implementations (roll-outs) is first of all unifying the system of reporting personal data and implementing in personnel management the best practices, tested in other countries and included into a corporate model.

Finances also count. The total cost of maintaining an integrated system is lower than using a separate system by every unit. Even if it is not physically one system installation for several countries, the fact of using the same solution enables a flow of know-how among units.

However, not every unit of a concern uses the whole corporate model. In many countries legal regulations may considerably differ from the model adopted as a corporate standard. Poland is a very good example.

If this is not taken into consideration during the implementation, life with such an ill-adjusted HR system may be a real nightmare for a unit.

The more often the labor law changes, the bigger the problem is. Changes in legal regulations should be quickly reflected in the system, which may prove difficult to achieve in an international corporation. Polish legislators often do not provide much time to comply with legal changes.

It can be difficult to adjust the system if the Polish unit does not have an authorization to implement such modifications in the corporate system. Remote cooperation with SAP competence center in the headquarters may prove insufficient. 

Will corporate HR standard bring more advantages or problems? This depends on the adopted manner of implementing the corporate standard and a model of post-implementation support.

In order to work out a good solution, the headquarters and the unit should be aware of the threats and know how to avoid them.

Beware of traps

mySAP HR includes sub-modules: personnel administration (PA), time management (TM), payroll (PY), organization management (OM).

Unless the OM module has a special Polish version, the specification concerns other elements listed above. Particularly the modules of personnel administration and payroll are specific due to their local requirements.

Polish labor law, the rules of configuration typical of Poland, which are described in the so-called country manual, taxes, social insurance premiums, calculations with Płatnik software, calculation the payroll according to the labor code, processing algorithms of wage types, registration in ZUS, SAP-Płatnik conversion… These are only some examples of peculiarly Polish areas.

In time management an additional worry for a corporate consultant may be settling time wage types i.e. payroll components based on the absences recorded in the system.

Different roles in the roll-out

In roll-outs there are usually three parties engaged in the project: the headquarters (supported by external and/or internal consultants), a unit and an external local company that supports the implementation.

The division of roles among the parties may vary, as there is no one right model. System customizing or  preparing additional programs may be the headquarters’ or the implementation company’s duty.

It is important that the role division reflect the headquarters’ awareness and knowledge of the local requirements, which in turn is reflected in suitable choice of employees delegated to the project.

It is good when project managers for the corporation take care of working out a common template manual, one for the whole corporation. The manual is a set of rules which must be complied with by external consultants and is vital for maintaining a corporate information system. 

An inevitable result of common rules for all the corporation are disputes. In successful implementations they lead to reach compromise. The way it is achieved depends on the importance of the problem. Sometimes it means adopting other configuration solutions, quite often also a change in the corporate standard.

Taking decisions on whether to adopt a Polish version or a corporate one is a key element in managing such a project. Often the choice consists in evaluating whether more profits are obtained by unifying solutions or by adjusting them to a particular company.

When a corporation really wants by itself

Some corporations tried to implement roll-outs in Polish units only with corporate consultants. They had real good will and wide knowledge on mySAP HR configuration. The project started, the concept phase started and for some time there were no problems.

However, it changed when consultants met with problems related to the pitfalls of Polish labor law.

Some companies decided to face the system configuration by themselves. Then, for example, corporate consultants created additional software, unaware that such solutions already exist in standard Polish version of mySAP HR system. It took a long time and results were not always satisfactory, as itwas just reinventing the wheel.

With the view of avoiding such problems during the project, a local implementation company should take part already in the preparation to the roll-out.

Polandis not the only country where corporations use local companies’ assistance. The company must only convince the headquarters that the specificity of Polish labor law is too complex for occasional consultation after the start of the system. 

We use corporate mySAP HR and…

The law in Poland changes quickly. A representative of the system’s producer, the company SAP Poland, in response to those changes under a maintenance contract gives client the so-called monthly LCP (Legal Change Patch). It helps in updating mySAP HR by adjusting the system to legal changes.

A corporation should conscientiously answer the question: who and how will take into consideration and how quickly will operate the listed modifications.

In many corporations implementing developments in SAP systems is centralized and consequently more difficult for the unit. Unit employees may not have an authorization for modifications in SAP system. Before the actualization is included into the system, the regulations may change again. This will lead to trouble with proper payroll calculation, time management evaluation, etc.

Companies more and more often see the advantages of outsourcing. It is worth considering delegating responsibility (total or partial) for implementing day-to-day changes to an external consulting company. For example, BCC provides such services under a permanent contract for mySAP HR application services.

The knowledge on opportunities and threats helps duly prepare and execute corporate mySAP HR rollout. The result is a system complying with the concern’s and local requirements, flexibly adjusted to changes. The solution helps users in everyday work, and the corporation regularly receives valuable reports.