Swedish technology company Saab AB is a leading defence and security company , mainly based in its home country of Sweden but with operations in multiple countries across the world.
Some years ago, Saab was facing some significant challenges relating to the systems landscape across its HR operations. According to Merin Dalmo, the company’s Head of People Digital Solutions, “We had a single system in place that hadn’t stood the test of time. Many disparate integrations were in place, there was insufficient harmonisation, we had no overview, and self-service opportunities for managers were very restricted. Above all, there was also limited potential for any improvement to take place.”
Going with the transformation trailblazer.
So the search began for a new solution which, in Merin’s words, “would help us keep up to speed in the rapidly developing transformation of HR, especially in digitising our processes. We particularly needed more transparency and the ability to harmonise across different business areas and countries. And we had to ensure that the new solution was properly future-proof, with a clear development path and the ability to support Saab’s own transformation.”
After a detailed RFP process, Workday emerged as the solution of choice, thanks as Merin says to its reputation and track record “as a trailblazer within HR transformation, automation, and digitalization. It made us all feel comfortable about making an investment with the future in mind.”
The biggest gain with Workday is having everything in the same Human Capital Management suite, enabling us to keep the end-to-end experience in one place.
Merin Dalmo, Head of People Digital Solutions
Time to focus on adding value.
Progress was rapid following Workday’s initial deployment at Saab. As Merin Dalmo recalls, “We experienced many immediate benefits, such as no longer having to carry out merit or performance-related processes on paper. We also had full control over data, meaning we could carry out all analysis and reporting tasks much more quickly and effectively.”
These gains were far from being alone. “Another massive advantage was the way in which managers – who are our biggest customers – could now directly participate in the processes affecting their employees. In addition, it meant that we no longer had to worry about upgrades, as you do with a traditional on-premises solution. This has given us all the time we need to focus on value-adding areas like digitization and automation.”
Overall, Merin feels the biggest single gain to result from Workday has been the ability it brings to centralise so many different disciplines and functions on the same Human Capital Management suite. “It’s enabled us to create a truly end-to-end experience for our people, particularly as we add new elements such as the Peakon Employee Voice continuous listening platform and the Prism Analytics platform.
“These clearly show how we can advance from being a largely transactional HR function to one that’s more data-driven and therefore more intelligent,” she adds.
Easier, more qualitative decision-making for every manager.
Such advances have had a growing positive impact on day-to-day working practices across the group. Two key examples that Merin Dalmo articulates are the heightened efficiency experienced by members of the HR team, and the better decision-making that’s been enabled for managers throughout the business.
As she says, “Our HR Business Partners certainly now have a great system for supporting managers across the organisation, while access to data and advanced tools is making decision-making both more qualitative and easier for managers at every level.
“We are also working to continue raising adoption levels among managers by involving them in projects such as redesigning our basic benefits packages and continually giving them reasons to visit Workday, including new dashboards and reports.”
In terms of impact on the working lives of employees, Merin reflects that it was the introduction of Workday Learning in 2021 that made all the difference. “That’s when we reached the entire workforce, driving change management through methods ranging from webinars, new instruction materials, and training sessions.”
We have a roadmap. We have a plan. We know which areas to target. And now we also have a lot of tools to help that journey.
Merin Dalmo, Head of People Digital Solutions
A future driven by automation and intelligent processes.
Looking ahead, Merin Dalmo is very excited by the fast-growing potential of AI to be integrated into more and more essential processes. “There are enormous advantages to be had as AI gets more and more widespread and easily used in different areas,” she says.
“For example, when recruiting it’s no longer acceptable to have up to 15 steps to go through, especially if you’re a manager with 20 different vacancies to fill. I can see AI playing a key role in areas like filtering job announcements, candidate profiling and more, that will really streamline the process. I’ve seen what Workday is capable of, and I’m very optimistic we’ll have such opportunities very soon.”
As she targets further gains in automation and intelligent processes across Saab, Merin has some straightforward advice for other companies considering a Workday deployment. “Be bold, be smart, and think out of the box,” she says. “To get the best value out of a modern system, it needs to ‘hurt’ a little on the way. But remember this: it’s easier to take those tough change-management decisions early in the process than to try changing the way of doing things later on.”