Polpharma, one of Central and Eastern Europe’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturers, has reimagined its HR operations with Workday. Headquartered in Starogard Gdański, the company employs thousands of people across Poland and abroad, covering a wide range of business areas including production, R&D, sales, and support.
The foundation for a connected future.
Before 2016, Polpharma’s HR processes relied heavily on spreadsheets, emails, and disconnected tools. “When I joined Polpharma more than 10 years ago, I was responsible for preparing data and reports from the whole group,” recalls Ewelina Bogdal, Head of HR Systems. “We didn’t have any central database, so I had to send Excel files to partners in other countries to collect information on headcount and absences. It was very time-consuming.”
This fragmented approach made processes such as recruitment, compensation reviews, and reporting slow and prone to errors. As the organization expanded, it needed a unified platform to manage its diverse workforce, support compliance with regulations such as GDPR and the upcoming EU Pay Transparency Directive, and enable more data-driven HR decisions.
Building a unified HR platform.
The idea of implementing a single HR system for the entire group materialized in 2016, when Polpharma selected Workday after evaluating several global and local vendors. “The maturity of the system was the biggest advantage,” says Bogdal. “For example, the organizational structure was amazing compared to other solutions, and our CEO was immediately impressed.”
The implementation brought together key solutions including Workday Human Capital Management, Recruiting, Compensation, and Workday Adaptive Planning, transforming how HR supports the business. “My role combines system ownership and strategic alignment,” Bogdal explains. “I see myself as a translator between business and HR to IT. Workday helps me turn business needs into system solutions that support these needs.”
Processes that previously required months of manual coordination are now completed much faster. One of the biggest changes came in the merit process. “Before Workday, salary reviews were prepared manually in Excel files, sent by email, and collected again,” says Bogdal. “Now, the process takes about six weeks including all approvals. Everything is ready on time, and we can pay new salary amounts to employees as planned. It’s amazing for us.”
Recruiting has also become more efficient. Dedicated recruiters now manage hiring through an integrated process, while HR Business Partners focus on strategic workforce planning and development. “It’s a completely different situation than a few years ago,” Bogdal notes.
With Workday, we’ve moved from manual coordination to streamlined, data-driven processes that let HR focus on what matters most, supporting our people.
Head of HR Systems
Supporting compliance and agility.
Operating in multiple countries, Polpharma must balance local legal requirements with global consistency. “One of the best examples of complexity in Poland is managing absences,” says Bogdal. “If we can handle absence management here, we can handle it anywhere in the world.”
Workday also helps the company ensure compliance with GDPR. “Workday is very helpful with GDPR,” she says. “We have processes to automatically purge candidate data and ensure full compliance with the regulations.”
Polpharma has been using Workday Adaptive Planning for about five years, transforming how the company manages its budgeting process. “In the past, we also prepared many Excel files, which meant more manual work,” Bogdal explains. “Now all the data comes directly from Workday, everything is in one system, and if Controlling wants to change anything, recalculations take minutes instead of days.”
Workday brings everything together, from compliance to planning, so we can manage complex local requirements with global consistency and make faster, smarter decisions across the business.
Head of HR Systems
Empowering growth through innovation.
The business continues to grow rapidly, acquiring new companies and expanding into new markets. The organization is rolling out Workday to their businesses in Spain, Switzerland, Germany, and a newly acquired company in Poland, ensuring consistent HR processes and visibility across all entities.
Employee development remains a key pillar of the company’s HR strategy. Polpharma is considering implementing new features, like Workday Career Hub and Skills Cloud to enhance career growth and internal mobility, and Workday Peakon Employee Voice to strengthen engagement.
While AI is not yet in use, the team is closely observing Workday’s developments in this area. “In the future, we plan to use AI, especially for career development, to show possible opportunities for employees,” says Bogdal.
Reflecting on the transformation, she concludes, “The greatest satisfaction comes from seeing how digital tools make our people’s daily work easier. It’s not just technology, it’s real employee support.”
The greatest value of Workday is how it connects all our people and processes across countries, creating consistency, visibility, and new opportunities for growth.
Head of HR Systems