SQLI—HR Retail solution

In a retail environment, effective human resources (HR) management is incredibly important. Staff turnover tends to be significantly higher in retail compared to other industries as more short-term workers are hired temporarily for big sales or seasonal shopping. Each store must have a clear view of its staffing levels so that any problems or shortfalls can be addressed as quickly as possible. Many large retailers have deployed a SAP HR module to streamline their numerous processes. This is typically a centralized operation that’s managed at the retailer’s headquarters.

To give HR control back to the store managers, SQLI has developed a solution that provides instant access to SAP-stored HR data through a user-friendly, touchscreen interface deployed on the store’s existing cash tills, eliminating the need for additional IT investment.

SQLI was asked by its retail client base to investigate their HR processes and make recommendations on how to increase efficiencies. The reliance on SAP meant that HR data entry and processes were centralized, and staff needed training to access and work in SAP. Many retailers recognized that this took direct control away from the store managers whose responsibility it was to hire and manage local staff. SQLI identified several specific challenges:

• Because most stores only operate a simple touchscreen cash till, handing the HR matters back to the store managers can be complex. An intuitive interface that doesn’t require extensive training or additional IT investment is critical.
• If data is entered directly from within the stores, it needs to be verified before it enters the SAP workflow to avoid any errors.
• From a legal and insurance perspective, HR data inaccuracy can have severe consequences; this is especially true for payrolls, hiring contracts, and holidays.

A successful solution needs to be extremely user-friendly, simple, and ergonomically designed in order for store staff to adopt it and benefit from it.

SQLI developed a lightweight application that provides full integration with SAP using Adobe LiveCycle Data Services and the Adobe Flash Platform. The solution is directly deployed on in-store touchscreen cash tills and comprises five key modules:

• Agenda—Keeps track of employee schedules, vacations, maternity leave, and so forth
  Employees—Holds personal data and messages, keeps track of vacation entitlement, and prints documents
• Schedule—Keeps track of every employee’s working hours and prints a weekly store staffing schedule
• Pay preparation—Tracks complete hours worked per employee and provides an overview of monthly hours and pay
• Instant hire—Enables a full HR dossier to be completed in less than five minutes that includes live verifications with banks, existing data, and so forth—more than 400 business rules are transparently managed in the process
  

Thanks to SQLI’s Flex Accelerator Pack for SAP, this solution is entirely flexible and repeatable in different retail scenarios.

Retail organizations that have implemented the SQLI HR Retail solution have identified some immediate benefits:

• Process time is drastically reduced. In some cases, the time it takes to process a new employee has shrunk from 1.5 months to less than a week.
• The pressure on headquarters is alleviated as more HR tasks are performed in-store.
• Store managers are enjoying the increased control they have over their own HR processes.
• HR information is more complete, and it is available in real time, while the complex processes are hidden.
• The robust and manageable architecture is flexible and integrates easily into the existing in-store cash tills with no need for additional IT investments.
• User acceptance is high since the interface is so easy to use and has an excellent response time.
• Consistency across the store network leads to efficient and effective HR processes.
  

In addition, as fewer HR processes are now paper-based, companies save on printing and postal costs. SQLI retail clients are also exploring other applications of the solution, such as cross-store inventory checks, employee transfers to different stores to load-balance the staffing schedule, and the ability to advertise job vacancies internally throughout the store network. These functionalities can be built into the solution architecture and delivered as additional modules.

Solution benefits

• Reduces new employee processing time from 1.5 months to less than 1 week
• Increases control over HR processes for store managers
• Offers a repeatable architecture with great expansion potential
• Reduces TCO and improves ROI through re-use of the infrastructure
• Reduces use of paper and postage