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Twice a year, SAP SuccessFactors releases a major update. These releases enhance security, add new features, and improve the software’s functionality. Yet, despite the benefits, many businesses fail to deploy updates – they are satisfied with the current state of their solution or determined to avoid downtime.

The problem is, if you are not embracing biannual release updates, your organisation is missing out on potentially game-changing features. With a robust SAP change and release management plan, you can maximise your ROI and mitigate the risks associated with downtime.

Here’s what you need to know about SAP SuccessFactors software updates.

What Are SAP SuccessFactors Update Releases?

Like other software, SAP SuccessFactors releases regular updates that enhance security and improve functionality.

Some are smaller scale. Patch updates, for example, respond to bugs and defects and do not lead to downtime. You can expect patches during SAP SuccessFactors scheduled maintenance weeks. If a critical application issue occurs or a new threat leads to a significant vulnerability, SAP may release unscheduled ‘hot fixes.’

Other update releases are major and take about seven-hours-plus to deploy. Before 2020, major updates were released four times a year. However, SAP has rolled this back to biannual updates in response to customer feedback. Now, you can expect a major release in the first and second half of the year during the contractual maintenance windows.

Your SAP SuccessFactors solution is inaccessible during deployment, and your jobs and reports will be put on pause.

Before go-live, SAP SuccessFactors gives you a five-week preview period during which you can check out and test the new enhancements and functionalities. From there, you can decide whether to implement new features universally or optionally:

• Universal features are automatically applied across your system.
• Optional features require administrative permission, which can be granted in Admin Tools or Support.

Why Update Your SAP SuccessFactors Solution?

Running a business is no easy task, and you are likely balancing deadlines, juggling priorities, and trying to keep your staff and customers happy in the process. Software updates can fast slide to the bottom of your to-do list – how can you start to think about the next update release from SAP when you haven’t yet implemented features from previous releases?

SAP SuccessFactors updates are disruptive and can have far-reaching effects on your workflows and business systems. Plus, you’ll need to give your team the time and space to wrap their head around what’s new. Despite this, you shouldn’t let new releases gather dust.

New updates come with new features. If you don’t embrace updated functionalities, your SAP SuccessFactors solution will fast become outdated, and that means depriving your organisation of value – value that you are paying for.

Update releases leverage new technologies and innovations to solve problems and improve the end user’s experience. Updates could fast-track you toward your strategic business and HR goals, render time-consuming tasks less resource-intensive, and ultimately save you money.

In short, if you want to squeeze the most value out of your SAP SuccessFactors investment, take advantage of major update releases.

How to Leverage SAP SuccessFactors Update Cycles to Maximise ROI

Define Your SAP Change and Release Management Plan

A formal SAP change and release management plan is critical to maximising your update’s ROI. For one, you won’t be caught off-guard when release time rolls around, which means you’re less likely to shelf updates for some undecided time in the future. Staff can prepare for downtime, too, minimising the impact of disruption and keeping your clients happy. Plus, with predetermined roles and an airtight schedule, teams can work through updates, testing, and the aftermath of deployment like clockwork, resulting in less confusion and more action.

Here are three tips you can use to streamline your change and release management plan:

• Prioritise communication with end-users. They should know exactly when to expect downtime. If possible, localise time zones in your internal communications. You don’t need daylight savings throwing a spanner in the works.
• Acknowledge that scheduled jobs and reports will pause and restart after the update is complete.
• Make sure that mission-critical tasks and items are not scheduled or due at the same time as the release. SAP aims to minimise disruption by deploying updates on Friday night and Saturday morning, but this will depend on your location.

What’s more, with a release management plan, you can align your SAP SuccessFactors updates with other software updates across your organisation. By executing as many updates as possible at the same time, you can reduce overall downtime.

Decide Which Features Your Organisation Will Benefit From

Maximising ROI doesn’t necessarily mean enabling every new feature the minute it’s released. Perhaps your organisational goals don’t align with some of the new functionalities, or maybe your team is in the thick of a high-priority project and doesn’t have the capacity to investigate new enhancements.

Always read the ‘Release Details’ document from SAP SuccessFactors, which contains essential information about upcoming updates. You can find out more about releases via the SAP SuccessFactors Release Information portal, too.

If you are unsure how your business could integrate new releases, browse the process library documents for SAP SuccessFactors solutions. This library gives you access to industry best practices, process summaries, use cases, process flows, and more. Using this information, you can determine whether your organisation is leveraging the full potential of its HR solution and, if not, what to do about it.

Always Undertake Pre-Release Testing

SAP allows you to enable and test upcoming changes within a preview environment five weeks before the production upgrade is executed – take advantage of this and iron out any kinks before go-live.

Get More Out of Your SAP SuccessFactors Solution

Implementing updates can prove challenging when you and your team are focused on the day-to-day running of your business. But with the right support, you can take advantage of new features, functionalities, and enhancements with minimal downtime. Better yet, you can maximise ROI by scheduling software updates to occur simultaneously.

Get in touch with our team today if you are ready to level up how you use your SAP SuccessFactors platform.

If your company has decided to go with SAP SuccessFactors for your human capital management (HCM) solution, you’ve made an excellent choice. As a one-stop shop where you can manage everything from recruitment to succession and everything in between, SAP SuccessFactors has everything you need to find and engage the top talent in your industry.

But now it’s time to choose an SAP SuccessFactors Implementation Partner. Your choice of a partner can make the difference between a successful implementation and abject failure.

Set your eyes on course for success when you follow a few easy tips to help you find an implementation partner whose goals fit your own.

Check for SAP Certifications

SAP certifications form the foundation of trust between a company and an implementation partner. SAP makes your decision easier by rewarding partners with three certified consultants and three satisfactory client references with a ‘Recognised Expertise’ designation.

SAP awards implementation partners at the company level this designation for excellence in any of four modules, which include:

• Recruiting and Onboarding Solutions
• Talent Solutions
• Learning Solutions
• Employee Central and Payroll Solutions

Individuals, on the other hand, can earn certifications at either the Associate or Professional level. To qualify for an Associate certification, a person must have taken and passed an SAP SuccessFactors course on a specific module.

To earn certification at the Professional level, the consultant must have completed training in their chosen module at the Associate level and led three SAP SuccessFactors projects during the past three years.

The consultant’s client must verify that the applicant’s projects were successful. Additionally, the applicant must stay current on certification and delta assessments to make sure that their training is up to date, including the latest SAP features, for their chosen module.

Look at Potential Partners’ Depth of Experience

Like the proverbial nail that fell out of a horse’s shoe and gave rise to events that turned the tide of an entire war, single points of failure can increase your risk of overall failure significantly.

Ask your prospective partners whether they have multiple consultants with certifications and a solid record of success in each SuccessFactors module. Additionally, since SAP modules share data and connect with each other, does every member of your potential partner’s team understand how to take the best advantage of that process?

Assess Your Prospective Partner’s Cloud Mindset

As a 2014 SAP blog post pointed out, many SAP SuccessFactors partners have difficulty adjusting to working in the cloud. That fact hasn’t changed, even though cloud-based solutions are becoming more common.

Unfortunately, some providers still think in terms of on-premises solutions. Getting up to speed with the capabilities and deployment of cloud solutions makes a partner a better choice for a company that’s focused on the future.

But that’s not all. Without a cloud mindset that thinks, “How can I expedite the implementation process by moving most of the process into the virtual realm?” your partner won’t be able to bring the full power of the cloud to bear on your implementation.

Make sure that your interviews cover your prospective partner’s cloud experience. If their corporate resume includes mostly on-premises implementations, move on to the next candidate. You need a leading-edge partner to optimise your SuccessFactors solution for the 21^st century.

Ask Yourself, “Will My SAP Implementation Partner Be a Good Cultural Fit?”

Capability is one thing, but can you form a successful working relationship with your prospective partner? A SuccessFactors implementation isn’t a one-off happening.

Your SAP provider may be working with your teams on an ongoing basis – tweaking your solution to your every need, helping you scale when you’re ready, and adding new capabilities. And don’t forget the support you’ll need along the way.

For that reason – like any other ongoing business relationship – your chosen partner should fit in well with your company culture. Bring some of your other employees in on the interview process so that you can get a better sense of whether a potential partner will be a good fit with your company culture.

Determine If the Prospective Partner Focuses on Educating Its Customer’ Teams

During the interview process, ask each prospective partner how important it is for them to empower your teams with the knowledge and skills to manage the solution going forward. Ask them to provide evidence (and client testimonials) that they focus on knowledge transfer from their teams to yours.

If their conversation revolves around their company, you can bet that they’re probably not focused on your needs. They’ll be likely to work for their own long-term benefit (and bragging rights) rather than your own.

On the other hand, if the partner’s representative focuses on your needs and shows you how they’ve empowered their other clients’ teams to maximise the benefits they get from their solution, put them on your shortlist. They’ll likely look out for your teams’ success, too.

Look at Your Resourcing Requirements for the Project

What benefits do you want to get out of your SuccessFactors implementation? Whether it’s global experience and capabilities, experience in serving clients from your industry, or extensive support, you need to learn whether a potential SAP partner can meet those resourcing needs.

Choosing a partner with niche experience can bring a rich range of benefits to your partnership. If they have specific industry experience that can help you get the most out of SuccessFactors, they might be a better option than a partner without any knowledge of the day-to-day challenges you face.

Even more importantly, you need to meet their consultants personally. Are they on the same wavelength as you in terms of their willingness to work with your teams and deliver the resources you need?

Look at a Potential Provider’s Ability to Customise Your Solution

Even though you selected SAP SuccessFactors, there isn’t only one way to implement the solution. SAP Activate is the gold standard methodology for SAP SuccessFactors implementations. However, how it is used can significantly differ from partner to partner, project to project. Some important questions you should ask your potential partner are

• Do they have a best practice template solution?
• Do they use accelerators? These can include a template solution, test scripts, integration frameworks and more.
• What does the partner expect your team to do? For example, their standard could require a customer to have their own test manager. Do you have one? If not, how does that impact the price and timing?
• Can the partner be flexible on the delivery model to align with your business? Yes, they can implement the module in ten weeks, but do you have the resource availability to keep up? What about your endorsement cycles internally? Does it allow you enough time?

Make sure that the implementation partner you choose understands your needs and will deploy only what you need. However, your needs could change – so choose a provider that can fortify your solution in the future.

Ensure That Your Partner Can Provide Proper Governance

Don’t make the mistake that so many companies make – looking only at the solution. In addition to focusing on the solution itself and how your partner can optimise it for your needs, look at a potential partner’s governance capabilities.

During your interviews, ask what your partner can do to mitigate risk, manager, and user issues. Do they have the capability or desire to work with you on escalations? Will one of their representatives be willing to sit on your steering committee to advise you on proper governance?

With all the sensitive data human resources and payroll departments handle, robust security is a must. Additionally, when you combine that risk with that of remote workers and bring-your-own-device policies, you need a partner with the experience to provide robust governance and teach your teams proper security protocols.

Put an SAP Expert in Your Corner

The Discovery Consulting team has helped companies in a broad range of industries find, hire, and inspire world-class teams with customised SAP SuccessFactors solutions. Get in touch with us today to learn how we can help you steer your company into the future.

Workplaces have changed significantly over the past 18 months. Flexible arrangements and remote teams have empowered employees and organisations to persevere – even thrive – through tumultuous and uncertain times.

However, as work becomes more fragmented, businesses are grappling with more than the logistical challenges of a hybrid workforce. How leaders nurture staff productivity and engagement has shifted, and new technologies are pioneering post-pandemic employee satisfaction. One such technology is the new SAP Work Zone for HR.

What is SAP Work Zone for HR?

SAP Work Zone for HR is not just for HR staff – it delivers a one-stop, intelligently personalised, and highly intuitive employee experience for every member of an enterprise. In short, its online portal makes working simpler, leading to increased engagement, higher productivity, and improved retention.

Through SAP Work Zone for HR, employees gain convenient access to applications, processes, and communication tools relevant to their position and duties. The unified entry point saves time by delivering smart recommendations and contextual guidance and eliminating the need to log in to several applications.

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Three timely benefits of SAP’s new internal online portal

Benefit 1: Empowering the intelligent enterprise

Not long ago, the idea of workforce automation sent shockwaves of terror through employees who feared for their job security. Organisations were reluctant, too, believing the adoption of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) would only serve to complicate workplace processes.

But as digitisation has accelerated, thanks in part to the pandemic, attitudes have flipped. Intelligence has become the modern-day enterprise’s competitive edge, fuelling both engagement and productivity.

SAP Work Zone for HR can further empower the intelligent enterprise with time- and resource-saving capabilities that minimise friction and maximise action. For one, employees are saved from the time-consuming task of finding, connecting, and logging into content and applications across disconnected systems. The unified entry point is accessible via a single sign-on, giving team members quick and easy access to the software and information they need to execute their core duties.

Of course, a single sign-on dashboard is only practical if employees have access beyond the four walls of their office; SAP Work Zone for HR is available on any device via the online portal.

Once logged in, employees are guided through a series of personalised context-based experiences that streamline processes – even those that stretch across departments. Simplified workflows reduce distraction and stress to foster engagement and a sense of personal accomplishment. Engaged employees are more productive and can lead to over 20 per cent increases in profits.

Benefit 2: Supporting communication and collaborate

Watercooler discussion and other moments of organic communication are less common in the remote world, but research suggests collaboration is key to unlocking teams’ peak performance. In one study, participants primed to collaborate worked on a given task for 64 per cent longer than individual peers working alone. Collaborating participants also reported higher engagement and success rates and lower levels of fatigue.

SAP Work Zone for HR empowers office and deskless employees – as well as contractors and consultants – to communicate and collaborate seamlessly and in real-time. Team leaders can build a communication practice that aligns with the company’s culture while ensuring every staff member has access to relevant, up-to-date information. HR can even send out enterprise-wide notifications without calling on the IT department, again saving time and ensuring the prompt delivery of essential information.

When it comes to intelligent software, customisation is critical. SAP Work Zone enables employees to create project- and team-specific workspaces and communities where they can share ideas, ask questions, and collaborate on tasks.

Benefit 3: Building workforce agility

In the new normal, successful workforces are agile workforces. According to research by McKinsey & Company, agile workplaces experience a 20 to 30 per cent boost in employee engagement and an up-to-30 per cent hike in customer experience. Still, more than one in four executives believe their organisation is not agile enough to survive future market shifts.

Employee learning is crucial to building workforce agility, and SAP Work Zone for HR helps make it easier. By providing fast access to dynamic learning resources and knowledge-sharing spaces, Work Zone pushes staff to grow their skillset and explore new perspectives.

What’s more, as marketplaces change, organisations are face-to-face critical skills gaps. SAP Work Zone for HR streamlines on- and off-boarding, minimising the time and financial resources required to train new staff.

Have questions? Reach out today

The genius of SAP Work Zone for HR is its employee-centric approach. Designed to boost engagement and productivity through seamless day-to-day experiences, the software allows team members to ‘get into the flow’ fast – and stay there.

If you have questions about this powerful new SAP product and its implementation, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly team today. We’d be happy to provide personalised advice.

Are you interested in implementing Stories in People Analytics but trying to understand what benefits it might bring you? Have you thought about embracing Human Experience Management (HXM) and been told that Stories in People Analytics will help you along the path? Do you just like watching someone being frank and totally honest about SAP SuccessFactors solutions and not selling any sales bs?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you may be interested in this video that Chris Paine, Discovery Consulting’s self-proclaimed Chief HR Geek and SAP Mentor made for the Mastering SAP Africa Conference recently held online by Eventful People.

In this video, which is a live recording of the conference presentation, Chris explains his vision of how Stories in People Analytics could become a revolutionary change in the way information is presented to employees but tempers his excitement with acknowledging some of the restrictions of the solution as it is today.

Or watch the video on YouTube here.