“The last few years have seen significant changes,” comments Brett Parker, Managing Director, SAP Africa, referencing the move to digital and mobile as case in point. “What was once the exception has become the norm, placing huge pressure on organisations to adapt.”
The need to keep pace with this changing environment whilst simultaneously maintaining its leadership position saw Distell, Africa’s top producer of fine wines, spirits and other alcoholic beverages, embark on a series of initiatives. All the initiatives were geared toward the strengthening of ties across all stakeholders, complete with a refreshed corporate identity (CI), and a major focus lay in the delivery of an enhanced employee value proposition (EVP).
“As an employer, it is no longer enough to simply have a top or senior position to advertise,” says Neil Greybe, Program Manager for HR Transformation, Distell Group Limited. “What is fast becoming crucial is how the organisation is perceived amongst prospective candidates.” The importance of projecting a professional - and current - image cannot be underestimated. This is as key amongst prospective candidates as it is internally with existing employees.
“We pride ourselves on creating a work environment that fosters the development of great talent, in line with current trends and technology,” continues Greybe. This saw Distell embark on a workplace strategy journey, across seven countries, to deliver an enhanced EVP. “Our objectives were clear: to streamline recruiting and talent management processes; position ourselves as employer of choice both in South Africa and beyond; and ensuring the simple, transparent and auditable management of employee performance.”
Clear on its requirements, and the need for a cloud-based solution to allow for the quick and efficient deployment of global processes in future, Distell made the decision to implement SAP SuccessFactors, a global suite of cloud-based human capital management (HCM) software. “We reviewed several leading talent management solutions,” says Greybe. “However, its ease of use, fit-for-purpose functionality and seamless integration with Distell’s existing on-premise SAP software, made SAP SuccessFactors the obvious choice.”
With SAP SuccessFactors Performance and Goals, managers are now able to easily cascade goals, together with key performance indicators (KPIs), directly to their reports. This ensures absolute alignment between all parties with regards to company strategy and individual delivery in the meeting of broader company objectives.
“Performance management is never the most exciting activity,” continues Greybe. However, since implementation of the Performance and Goals module, adherence to internal performance management within Distell has been maintained at a very impressive 90%. Greybe says it is about more than that. “It allows employees to be seen, with their personal goals and aspirations accounted for and factored into their long-term career path. All parties can make comments and be part of the process. Far too often, performance management can be a top down approach. It is important to include employees in their own career, giving them a voice. SAP SuccessFactors Performance and Goals enables exactly that.”
The flexibility afforded by SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting allows for a much more professional look and feel, with absolute adherence to the recently refreshed CI. Managers are now able to post a generic job advertisement, customising it with relevant branding from corporate through to product specific.
It has also provided Distell with the capability to launch a recruitment portal. This has not only proved immensely popular amongst recruiters, but has led to a significant increase in the number of internal applicants. “This is vital,” stresses Greybe. “Today’s youth want a career path. They are hungry and ambitious. Gone are the days of remaining in the same position for 20 years. Being able to provide an easy, seamless and effective way for internal job mobility is key to retaining this vital talent pool.”
As part of its commitment to constant growth and improvement across all employee touch points, Distell is looking to expand on its existing infrastructure and EVP in the near future. “SAP SuccessFactors has exceeded all expectations,” comments Greybe. Consequently, Distell is looking to take it to the next level with the implementation of additional modules including SAP SuccessFactors Succession and Development, SAP SuccessFactors Learning and the SAP Jam social software platform.
“SAP SuccessFactors solutions allow us to recruit much more effectively and to track performance across the company. We’re in a great position to attract and retain talented professionals,” says Greybe. “We look forward to continuing this journey as we strive for even greater efficiencies and employee satisfaction.
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