SD Worx sought a software tool to efficiently implement salary raises for 7,000 employees across 18 countries. With Youbo's assistance, the HR service provider managed to shorten the compensation cycle from several months to merely three weeks. People Director Pieter-Jan Boden from SD Worx testifies: "Rewarding is now the positive process it was always meant to be."
The compensation process, or "comp" for short, is complex at SD Worx. The multinational operates in several countries, each with its own legislation. Each year, managers and HR expended significant energy to grant salary increases.
The process was organized in Excel, having a separate sheet for each country. Using formulas predefined by HR, the managers granted salary increases based on the evaluation of the performance of the employees in their team. The document was then categorized by hierarchical level.
Splitting and reassembling these documents often posed challenges. Formulas got mangled; budgets were exceeded. Pieter-Jan Boden: ‘Data quality suffered. Correcting errors manually in one country is feasible, but in an international context, it becomes an enormous task. Sensitive data must also be better protected.'
In different countries, compensation processes occur at varied times: in Belgium in April, in the United Kingdom in June, in Norway in July. "This made it difficult to synchronize and manage. Even in terms of GDPR compliance, using Excel was not foolproof, even though HR secured the documents with passwords. Passwords can be passed around.
As a leading HR company, SD Worx wants to use the most advanced tool for HR processes. Instead of a holistic software solution, SD Worx chooses to integrate the best tool for a specific job into their digital landscape. Hence, they began searching for flexible, scalable software to grant salary increases efficiently and securely.
Rewarding employees should be a positive journey rather than an energy-consuming process. The goal was to ease the workload for HR and give managers more time to focus on evaluating and improving their team's performance. Less administration, more substance.
Pieter-Jan Boden: ‘The first tool we tested was too static. It couldn't capture the country-specific legislation around indexation or our comprehensive policy. Since HR is our core business, we have extensive rewards rules.'
SD Worx tried out the Youbo tool for granting salary increases to the Belgian employee population. 'The tool met expectations due to its flexibility. It is very intuitive. With the push of a button, managers grant a salary increase. As the budget is updated each time it's distributed, adhering to the budget becomes easier. Both HR and the managers distributing the budgets know in real-time how the budget is faring.’
The Belgian test case was so successful that SD Worx will use Youbo for the salary increases of all 7000 employees starting 2024. This will alleviate the workload for HR. Managers will then autonomously decide on the salary increases for their teams.
Pieter-Jan Boden speaks of significant time savings. "Now, the process takes us barely three weeks, down from more than two months. Consequently, managers have more time to converse with employees about their performance."
Youbo greatly simplifies HR's tasks. "Previously, HR would realize at the end of the process when merging documents that the budget had been exceeded. Adjusting that was time-consuming and stressful, especially close to the deadline."
According to Pieter-Jan Boden, the tool stimulates communication between management teams. "The tool allows managers to pose questions to colleagues. For instance, a manager might request a higher budget from HR due to having many high performers that year or propose a 3% salary increase instead of 5% if deemed more appropriate. Such feedback is valuable. Using Excel often limits such consultations due to its complexity."
Youbo offers enhanced control over data. "In an online tool, fewer manual actions mean reduced error risks. The data is better protected. Every manager can access exactly what they need for team evaluations. Additionally, the tool offers insights, such as tracking historical salary trends or distributions by categories like gender or age."
Pieter-Jan Boden believes Youbo boosts goodwill among managers. "By making budgets transparent, managers have a clearer understanding of where they stand. More control and transparency result in better comprehension."
Pieter-Jan Boden: “The Youbo team collaborates closely with us. They grasp our processes and introduce innovative ideas, even ones we hadn't considered. For instance, the group overview at the team level in Youbo. Visual insights into evaluations and allocations greatly aid the process. The dashboard features further attest to Youbo's dedication. They consistently go the extra mile.”
“The Youbo team is solution-oriented. They navigate challenges effectively. In any digital process, unforeseen needs and issues arise. It's imperative to partner with a team that seeks effective solutions. Collaborating with Youbo has been exemplary in this regard. We share a common objective: realizing the optimal solution.”
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