How to relaunch an HRIS project and drive user adoption: a client’s story

Arago: What was the starting point for your HRIS project?

Blandine Tchegninou: “Our portfolio was built through acquisitions: today we have five operating sites in three countries. Each site managed HR in its own Excel files, with its own rules. Our growth led us to rethink our organisation. More than a new tool, we saw an opportunity to structure our HR processes better.”

How did you give the project fresh momentum?

“We chose to step back and take stock. We wanted to understand what could be improved and find the best way to move forward with confidence. So we launched a new tender with a clear ambition: to find a partner able to deliver tangible functionality quickly, on a standard foundation, while helping our teams become self-sufficient.”

What was the turning point internally?

“The performance module. Core HR is a database: it isn't visible to employees or senior management. With the performance review, leadership saw our platform for the first time.”

Why do you talk about a platform rather than a tool?

“Because it tells a story: the employee's journey. Employees set their objectives with their manager. If they lack the skills to achieve them, that feeds into their training plan. We actually renamed it MyPath internally: my career path within the group. It's a space for dialogue between employees, their managers and leadership.”

What was the challenge most specific to your industry?

“Managing rotations. Between short-term contracts, long rotations and expatriation, there are a lot of rules. It took us three iterations to translate them into the system. Today, timesheets are pre-filled based on each rotation: only exceptions need to be entered. It's a huge time-saver for HR and managers.”

In practical terms, which HR processes does your platform cover today, and what's next?

“Today, MyPath covers most of our day-to-day HR. Employee data sits in SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central, objectives and reviews in the Performance & Goals module. Compensation campaigns, which have finally moved off Excel, are managed in the Compensation module. Absences and timesheets are in Time Off and Time Tracking. The next step is to complete the journey at both ends: recruitment with SmartRecruiters, which is getting under way, then onboarding to better welcome new employees. Succession planning will follow, to identify and prepare future holders of our key positions. By 2028, payroll will also extend to our other countries.”

How do you avoid becoming dependent on your provider once you're live?

“From the outset, I was clear with Arago's run team: I didn't just want our tickets resolved. I wanted to understand how. So each resolution comes with a mini training session. When the issue comes up again, we handle it ourselves.”

What's the next step?

“Data quality. We want our data to stop being static information and become an analytical tool: anticipating departures, fatigue and gaps in the key skills our business needs. AI is already here. We're preparing for it by learning from companies that are further ahead on the subject.”

Any advice for an HR department getting started?

“There's a proverb I like: if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together. I'd add: with the right team.”

Why did you choose Arago?

“Arago was one of the few partners able to demonstrate an end-to-end implementation of every SAP SuccessFactors module, with references in industry. Above all, your approach was standardised, designed to deliver useful functionality quickly and make us self-sufficient. On standard processes such as absences, we got the advice we needed, and we follow it.”

How would you sum up the collaboration?

“We worked with real experts on every module. But it was the team's patience and flexibility that made the difference: we sometimes revisited elements two or three weeks before a go-live. On topics specific to our industry, the exercise was inevitably more complex, as there were no proven practices to draw on. All in all, a genuinely rewarding experience, both professionally and personally.”