The driving force of Kaspersky is its employees – the world-class professionals who research cyber-threats and create leading security technologies. The company relies on the knowledge and expertise of its employees, and therefore strives to provide an exceptional workplace experience for its people to attract and retain the best talent.

“We have long known that, to make Kaspersky a great place to work, we need to listen to the wants, needs, and desires of our employees,” says Marina Alekseeva, the company’s chief human resources officer. “Previously, we didn’t have a unified resource to conduct employee surveys, and we wanted to launch a platform that we could integrate with our core HR system to listen to employees’ feedback more regularly, to understand how they feel and learn about their concerns.”

To support the shift to a continuous listening strategy, Kaspersky selected to help gather employee experience data at regular touchpoints and gain insights based on employee feedback.

Kaspersky deployed the 51ˇçÁ÷Qualtrics Employee Engagement solution in just four weeks, building dynamic surveys and response surveys all while working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Integration between the 51ˇçÁ÷Qualtrics Employee Engagement solution and 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Human Experience Management (HXM) Suite enables the company to combine employee experience data with operational HR data to get a better understanding of its workforce.

Kaspersky conducted 10 global surveys and more than 30 local pulse surveys in 2020, providing new insights into the employee experience and helping the company to identify areas for improvement.

The results were very encouraging: 80% of Kaspersky’s 4,000 employees participated in the 2020 global engagement survey (a 14% increase on the previous year), and shorter pulse survey participation rates were also high. Moreover, 50% of employees took the time to enrich their responses with free-text comments, providing deeper insights into their thoughts and feelings.

Business leaders also benefit from instant access to survey analytics. For example, in the past, they could wait up to two months to see the outcome of a global engagement survey; today, they can track results and participation rates in real time via interactive dashboards.

But what’s the point of conducting employee surveys and gathering data if you don’t act on it? With unique insight into the employee experience, Kaspersky can take targeted action to support its people, fast. For example, just two days after receiving feedback on remote working conditions, Kaspersky made a new company policy to deliver a desk chair to any employee who needs one, so that they could work more comfortably – and therefore productively – from home. Although it may seem trivial, having a comfy chair can make a huge difference to your employees’ health, well-being, and happiness. Kaspersky wants to ensure that its people have everything they need to work at their best.

Regular pulse surveys also gave managers a convenient way to check in with their team while they were working remotely during the COVID-19 lockdowns, helping them to monitor employee well-being and workload, and to provide support to prevent burnout and maintain pre-pandemic performance levels.

“Understanding our employees is critical to everything we do,” says Alekseeva. “With the 51ˇçÁ÷Qualtrics Employee Engagement solution, we get regular feedback that helps us to build a more attractive and engaging workplace.”

Edith Krieg is part of 51ˇçÁ÷Reference Management and Content.

“Our employees and volunteers are incredibly passionate about helping young people reach their full potential,” said Kimberley Cleland, director of People and Learning at The Prince’s Trust. “Our job in HR is to nurture that drive and enthusiasm, and equip staff with the tools that will help them support young people.”

To enable employees to work as efficiently and effectively as possible, the Trust wanted to provide the very best working experience. By moving to cloud-based , the Trust transformed its HR function, delivering intuitive employee self-services, supported by a modern, digital platform. Employees are delighted with the convenience and simplicity of self-service HR, while the Trust has cut costs and improved HR efficiency.

Today, the serves as the master record for all employee data, including training information, and for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. DBS checks are carried out by a UK government agency to establish a person’s criminal record history, helping employers to make safer recruitment decisions to prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups. The Prince’s Trust built custom portals in 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central to manage employees’ DBS check status. Automatic alerts are triggered when DBS checks near their expiration date, enabling managers to apply for new checks in a timely manner.

In addition, the move to 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central is enabling further HR benefits. For example, The Prince’s Trust can respond rapidly to requests from funding partners for information, helping to secure much-needed donations. Similarly, centralized recruiting processes have helped the Trust to make smarter hiring decisions across the organization and reduce reliance on external agencies, freeing up precious resources to invest in youth services.

The 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions also underpin the Trust’s new employee development strategy, which is designed to equip staff with the competencies they need to support young people, such as mentoring and conflict resolution skills. Using the , employees now have access to a central catalog of digital training programs, and the HR team can track course completion, helping to ensure that all employees undertake mandatory and career-progression training.

With integrated, automated processes covering the entire employee life cycle, 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions have laid the foundation for efficient, user-friendly HR operations.

Kimberley Cleland concludes, “With the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions, everyone at The Prince’s Trust has all the information they need at their fingertips. Ultimately, this helps us get the right people with the right skills out in the field to provide life-changing support to help young people realize their potential.”

Top image via The Prince’s Trust.

“Providing a great workplace experience for our employees is a top priority,” confirms Yoav Ventura, co-founder and managing partner at AKT Global. “The sudden shift from hybrid to fully remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic and the expansion of our workforce to include both on- and off-balance-sheet talent forced us to rethink how we manage and engage with our people.”

As part of this rethink, AKT Global implemented the solution to help build a digital communication and knowledge management platform that gives each employee a digital workspace, providing a personalized overview of relevant information, insights, and actions.

Thanks to the extensive library of design and functionality widgets available in the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Work Zone solution, AKT Global was able to build a custom homepage for the new workspace in just a couple of weeks, bringing together business information that previously was siloed. Next, the company conceptualized and mapped out detailed knowledge base articles (KBAs) that make it easier for employees to find any information they need. The ability to create and update KBAs also empowers people to share their expertise while working remotely.

The digital workspace is integrated with the company’s 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions for core HR and talent management. It serves as the first port of call for communicating with colleagues, exchanging information, reading the latest company news, signing up for virtual events, completing onboarding and training, and submitting HR queries. And, with native integration to Microsoft Teams, project and work collaborations are integrated too.

“51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Work Zone is helping us to constantly improve our organization’s effectiveness and engagement by creating one space where employees can find everything they need to get their work done and to be productive,” says Ventura. “They can easily communicate and collaborate with each other no matter where they are based. Employee exposure and engagement with HR and company communications has increased by 50%, and we’ve seen a 20% efficiency improvement within the first few months alone.”

The digital workspace also empowers managers with the insights they need to become better leaders. The integration between 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Work Zone and AKT Global’s People Management Digital Coach solution – Global Winner of the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Work Zone Innovation Challenge 2021 – means that the digital workspace can nudge managers to take positive actions towards their team members. For example, an employee’s upcoming return from maternity leave, pulled from the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Employee Central solution, would trigger a nudge to her manager on how to welcome her back and re-onboard her for a smooth transition back to work.

Ventura concludes: “51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Work Zone helps us to bring our global remote workforce together as one team as we continue to grow and helps us create the right workplace experience for employees, keeping them informed, engaged, and productive.”

Edith Krieg is part of 51ˇçÁ÷Reference Management and Content.

With Industry 5.0 on the horizon, manufacturing companies like Kongsberg Automotive will soon face a shortage of digital and technological resources. Industry 5.0 means greater automation in manufacturing thanks to artificial intelligence (AI), augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), and closer interaction between humans and machines. It is imperative that employees have the right skills and competencies to adapt to these increased capability requirements and production standards.

More rapid technological change will impact both the individual and corporate mindset and challenge the traditional learning experience.  Educating each employee and getting the entire organization ready for the future will be a cultural journey. Consequently, Kongsberg Automotive’s HR learning strategy must go fully digital. It must link business needs and expectations with a lifelong approach to learning. This will add value and develop successful employees, both in the short and long term.

Marcus von Pock, executive vice president of HR and Communications at Kongsberg Automotive, confirms, “We are always looking ahead. We know that new technologies will massively disrupt manufacturing, so we need to our employees in line with upcoming Industry 5.0 trends.”

To engage employees in this change, Kongsberg Automotive decided to give them more control, and therefore more responsibility, over their professional development and career. This effort trigged a complete transformation of the HR function.

Giving Employees Greater Autonomy

Kongsberg Automotive replaced its previous human capital management (HCM) system with 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Human Experience Management (HXM) Suite, the foundation for a new, ultra-modern HR system for 10,000 employees in 19 countries.

The company worked with 51ˇçÁ÷gold partner Mercer | Promerit to digitalize HR. The new system includes multiple solutions from 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors HXM Suite to support talent management, learning, and development, as well as the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Mobile app. All employees now have 24/7 access to HR self-services using their smartphones.

E-learning resources empower employees to learn as and when it suits them, fostering a culture of continuous development. Employees have greater autonomy and control over their training, increasing engagement and motivating them to develop their competencies and learn new skills, which is crucial as Kongsberg Automotive looks to the Industry 5.0 future.

Deep Diving Into Workforce Data

The 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors portfolio gives Kongsberg Automotive instant access to employee data. HR can generate reports 67 percent faster than before and make this information available to executive teams at the touch of a button.

For the first time, Kongsberg Automotive can cross-compare data and take a more holistic approach to HR. For example, it enables management and HR to identify and nurture top talent, and this greater visibility into the talent pool has enabled Kongsberg Automotive to fill more vacancies through internal hires. Assuming a three percent retention rate for top managerial roles, this will save 15 percent in recruiting costs.

“Having a one-stop shop for all HR processes with 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors makes it easier for us to deliver a great workplace experience,” von Pock concludes. “More opportunities and satisfaction mean employees are more engaged and motivated in their training and development – exactly what we need to upskill our workforce and navigate the road ahead.”

A young and highly diversified organization, PIH uses its five vertically integrated business units to create spaces, products, and experiences. But diversification and rapid growth presented significant business and operational challenges. Previously, the group’s companies relied on their own processes and systems to manage finances and human resources (HR), with data spread across multiple silos. This lack of visibility caused delays and slowed down decision-making.

Jasim Abdul Rahman, PIH’s group chief information officer, confirms, “Every part of the business needed to be more efficient, responsive, and agile.”

To solve this challenge and lay the foundation for continued growth, the group targeted a far-reaching business transformation.

Transforming Human Resources and Finance

As a first step toward becoming an intelligent enterprise, PIH selected a tightly integrated platform based on 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions and .

With 51ˇçÁ÷S/4HANA, PIH now has one enterprise resource planning (ERP) system across every business unit, with harmonized processes and a single chart of accounts. The company uses 51ˇçÁ÷S/4HANA to drive all day-to-day business processes, and it uses 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Human Experience Management Suite to manage all HR activity.

Today, 100% of HR processes are digital and 75% are directly integrated with 51ˇçÁ÷S/4HANA. This helps ensure a smooth process flow for everything, from payroll processing to workforce management. In fact, PIH has seen a 90% increase in operational excellence for HR and an 85% increase in the accuracy and speed of HR reporting.

PIH has become data-driven from top to bottom, with easy access to information. Data from all areas of the business now flows automatically into 51ˇçÁ÷S/4HANA, and everything that happens across the company is visible through dashboards in real time.

“Our HR and ERP processes are intertwined, so it makes sense to manage them according to the same best practices,” explains Rahman.

Preparing for the Future

The new way of working is already helping the group realize powerful benefits. Thanks to 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions, employees can manage their leave, track their performance, and communicate with HR managers using an intuitive, easy-to-use portal, available online and on mobile – a major advantage when the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a surge in remote working.

The solution is also enabling the company to calculate and apply performance-related bonuses automatically, helping drive up engagement and satisfaction while reducing employee attrition. With 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions, PIH has achieved a 90% improvement in the overall employee experience.

And through the integration between 51ˇçÁ÷S/4HANA and 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions, Power International Holding is achieving its goal of driving lean, agile, and efficient operations across every function in the group.

Ahmed El Zeftawy, chief human resources officer at Power International Holding, comments, “We are delighted with what we have achieved through working with SAP. The solutions help us achieve our vision of becoming a model conglomerate.”

While qualified, skilled specialists have always been in high demand, attracting young people to build a career in mining and metals is more difficult than ever. Competition from global brands and cool startups in the tech, retail, and services sectors — among others — has left traditional industries out of touch with millennials.

It is an issue that Yuliya Ryakhovskaya, Human Resources (HR) Automation leader and Business Support director at Metinvest, knows all too well. “Recruiting young talent is one of the biggest business challenges we currently face,” she says. “Experience is a key differentiator. Millennials typically want to work for companies that offer a modern workplace experience.”

Adopting a Digital Culture

To attract the young talent that it needs for the future, Metinvest needed to build a digital culture.

The first step of this digital HR transformation was to rethink performance management, a previously paper-based process that varied department by department.

Metinvest Digital, IT partner of Metinvest, rolled out the 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Performance & Goals solution at six group subsidiaries for 40,000 employees, including blue-collar workers. Employees can set annual, quarterly, and monthly performance goals, complete self-assessments, track their achievements, and interact with managers at their own convenience.

“There’s much more regular communication between employees and managers,” Ryakhovskaya says. “We’re working hard to build an open, transparent company culture where employees feel listened to and valued, and 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions are a big part of this.”

Employees now manage their performance digitally, rather than having to regularly fill in paper forms.

“There’s much more flexibility, as employees can do everything at their own convenience, 24/7, with mobile devices,” remarks Ryakhovskaya. “We’re not digitalizing processes just for the sake of ‘going digital,’ but to change people’s mindsets and behaviors. Engagement with performance and goals management has increased thanks to the use of digital technologies, including 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions. It’s only when employees understand the value of the technology that we begin to see the benefits.”

The strategy has also reduced the time spent on performance management tasks by 50 percent on average for employees and managers alike. Metinvest expects to save US$2 million over the next five years as a result of the current implementation project.

Building a Brighter Future

51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors Performance & Goals has laid the groundwork for a fully digital employee experience at Metinvest in the near future — a key competitive advantage when it comes to recruiting millennials.

“Replacing manual processes with a mobile app is a game changer,” Ryakhovskaya says. “Millennials aren’t interested in performing routine, repetitive tasks. They expect a frictionless digital experience — and that’s exactly what we can now deliver. A digital culture enabled by 51ˇçÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions will increase our employer branding and help us secure the bright young talent we need to fill the jobs of tomorrow.”