Between ambition and reality: What’s holding HR back today
HR is expected to act strategically, drive transformation, attract and retain talent – all while ensuring smooth administrative operations. It’s a massive balancing act between stability and innovation, one that’s nearly impossible to master with outdated systems and fragmented data landscapes.
Three key challenges stand out in particular. Katharina Lindenbaum, HCM Expert at sovanta, has summarized them for us in this blog post – and explains how SAP can become the driving force of change in HR.
1. Fragmented system landscapes and technological legacy
HR departments often find themselves managing complex, grown IT environments with SAP HCM on-premise, individual cloud systems, and various isolated solutions. These systems are often poorly integrated, resulting in manual data transfers, incorrect information, and a poor User Experience – leading to inefficient and unclear processes.
Adding to this challenge, the approaching end of maintenance for SAP HCM on-premise and the growing complexity of solutions require companies to define a clear HR IT architecture and an actionable transformation roadmap.
2. Data chaos instead of people intelligence
Data is the key to strategic decision-making – especially in HR. But when information about employees, skills, potential, and development paths sits in silos, HR remains blind to the most critical questions: Where are we missing skills? Where can we develop talent further? What will our workforce look like in five years?
3. Inefficient administration
HR teams are often masters at responding to countless employee requests manually and individually – instead of relying on lean, strategically designed, and digitalized processes. Many small operational tasks consume enormous resources that are then missing for strategic work. The potential of process digitalization and automation to increase efficiency is often far from fully realized.
The solution: SAP as the foundation – HR as a driver of change
SAP offers a comprehensive HR portfolio that provides the foundation to address the modern challenges of human resources. The key lies in intelligently connecting stable core processes with innovative technologies. SAP provides the technological foundation – and together with a specialized partner like sovanta, that foundation comes to life.
With SAP SuccessFactors, H4S4, and the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), SAP provides a technology platform that not only enables efficiency but, more importantly, empowers HR to truly fulfill its new strategic role.
The foundation: Stable and efficient core processes
Without clean HR core processes (e.g., master data, time management, payroll, recruiting, and talent management), every transformation remains fragile. SAP SuccessFactors and H4S4 create a reliable foundation – scalable, standardized, and cloud-ready.
The innovation layer: SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) as an accelerator
SAP BTP is the key to tailoring HR processes and creating competitive advantages:
- End-to-end process automation
By automating administrative processes such as parental leave requests, working time changes, or works council notifications with SAP Build Process Automation, companies can unlock efficiency potential and reduce manual workload – much of it already available as self-services. - Excellent User Experience
With SAP Build Work Zone, a central and personalized entry point for all employees can be created. Intuitive, mobile-friendly self-services increase satisfaction and reduce the burden on HR. In addition, Qualtrics makes it possible to systematically capture and improve the Employee Experience. Instead of an annual survey, a continuous feedback loop can be established, allowing for timely insights and immediate action. - AI-powered HR
On the BTP, various AI-supported solutions can be realized – such as the sovanta GenAI DocumentChat, intelligent chatbots for employee inquiries, or automated analysis of application documents and certificates. Companies can leverage prebuilt SAP AI Business Services or securely connect their own generative AI models to SuccessFactors data to make processes more efficient. - Flexible extensions
Thanks to low-code/no-code capabilities on SAP BTP, tailored extensions for SuccessFactors or H4S4 can be developed without altering the core systems – following the “Clean Core” approach.
People Analytics: Turning data into true insights
With SAP Datasphere, SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC), and the SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC), People Analytics can reach a new strategic level – especially in combination with SAP SuccessFactors and SAP BTP. This enables real-time insights and data-driven decision-making tools.
The strategic framework: A tailored HCM roadmap
Today, HR can more than ever become the strategic heart of the organization – but only with a clear plan across technology, culture, and processes. A successful transformation requires vision and a solid strategy.
sovanta supports organizations in developing a customized HCM roadmap for their target HR IT architecture. Together, we define a clear blueprint for your HR IT landscape – through 2030 and beyond.
Conclusion: Technology is the tool – your roadmap is the plan
The expectations placed on HR are high – and rightly so. No other department holds as much potential to shape transformation and secure the company’s future. But to fulfill this role, HR needs the right tools, structures, and partners.
A strategically designed HR IT architecture is the key to transforming HR from an operational function into a true strategic force. As a specialized partner with deep SAP and HR expertise – particularly on the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) – sovanta accompanies organizations on this journey. We help manage complexity and build an HR IT landscape that doesn’t just work – but inspires employees, managers, and HR teams alike.
Now is the time to seize this opportunity. Let’s talk about how we can support you.
