SAP : EDF Energy Reduces HR Costs By 25% With SAP SuccessFactors

As the largest provider of low-carbon electricity in the U.K., EDF Energy has rallied its 13,500 employees and 6,000 contractors around a centralized human resources (HR) experience on SAP SuccessFactors that addresses the company's two main challenges: supplying energy in a fiercely competitive market while modernizing infrastructure.

Its employees work across 10 main locations and 11 power stations in the U.K., providing energy and services to about 5.5 million homes and businesses. However, having grown through acquisitions, the company was left with disconnected, difficult to use HR systems. I sat down with Ian Hammond, Future HR Projects Director at EDF Energy, who shared his company's story at the recent SuccessConnect Berlin event.

'In order to achieve our mission of meeting the evolving energy needs of the U.K., we're adapting quickly so we can succeed in this highly competitive sector,' said Hammond. 'We need an agile, innovative, inspired workforce that's prepared to tackle whatever challenges the future may bring. That's why we've centralized our people experience using the full SAP SuccessFactors HCM suite.'

People-Centered HR Reduces Costs by 25 percent

EDF Energy brought in SAP SuccessFactors to align employee goals and performance firmly behind the company's mission. Standardizing processes and putting employee information on a single platform has reduced HR costs by 25 percent.

'We are a people-centered business, and to meet our challenges, we needed people-centered HR to help us attract, develop and retain the right employees who can provide the greatest value to the company,' said Hammond.

Concrete Business Benefits

Both managers and employees find tremendous value from the centralized HR system. Fifty percent of employees logged into the system within the first two days, and now every employee is regularly using system.

'Having all of the data about their direct reports at their fingertips allows managers to work closely with them, making better recruitment and development decisions that ultimately achieve our mission,' said Hammond. 'At the same time, employees have immediate access to their own information, and can complete their tasks quickly and easily.'

Innovation in Sync with Energy Industry

One of the biggest business benefits of SAP SuccessFactors is how it helps EDF Energy stay ahead of the curve in a fast-changing industry. This included standardizing over 60 HR processes, and vastly simplifying its approach to performance management.

'We need to adapt quickly for continuous innovation,' said Hammond. 'SAP SuccessFactors has freed up our employees to spend more time achieving our business objectives, rather than wasting time on inefficient HR processes. It's helped us to identify talent and improve our approach to performance management.'

Moving from on-premise SAP ERP HCM to the cloud-based SAP SuccessFactors solution has delivered the scalability and flexibility EDF Energy required for future growth in a dynamic market.

'The U.K. energy industry is a highly competitive, regulated market, making it difficult for large, established brands like EDF Energy to compete against new challengers,' said Hammond. 'Our HR team needed to make sure the company was prepared to meet these challenges. With this software, we are building the workforce we need to be successful in the future.'

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