Genesis Energy is a diversified New Zealand energy company selling electricity, reticulated natural gas and LPG through its retail brands of Genesis Energy and Energy Online. It is New Zealand’s largest energy retailer, with around 500,000 customers. The company generates electricity from a diverse portfolio of thermal and renewable generation assets located in different parts of the country.
Modernising human resources capability
Eighteen months after the implementation of SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central as its human resources (HR) master data system, Genesis realised it needed further HR capability. It opted to partner with DXC Technology to improve employee onboarding processes, reduce data duplication, and integrate its thirdparty recruitment application to its core HR system.
To achieve this, Genesis tasked DXC to implement SAP SuccessFactors Onboarding 2.0, becoming the first company in New Zealand to install the latest version of the solution. As part of the project, DXC designed and created three essential New Zealand compliance forms — two for KiwiSaver and one for the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) — to speed up core onboarding tasks.
In addition, the project team integrated Genesis’ external SnapHire Applicant Tracking System (ATS) into SAP SuccessFactors for an automated onboarding process. This was the first end-to-end integration of its kind in Australasia.
“We were operating a pseudo-onboarding system, which wasn’t ideal. We had no fool-proof mechanism to give new joiners the information they requested, nor could we obtain data easily from recruits.”
Ben Choo People Analytics and Systems Manager, Genesis Energy
Giving and receiving
Genesis struggled to induct new joiners comprehensively and uniformly without a dedicated onboarding application, says Ben Choo, People Analytics and Systems Manager, Genesis.
“We were operating a pseudoonboarding system, which wasn’t ideal,” he says. “We had no fool-proof mechanism to give new joiners the information they requested, nor could we obtain data easily from recruits.” Ben Choo says one of the critical prerequisites for the new onboarding system was the ability to do this before recruits stepped through the door on their first day.
Ben Choo says one of the critical prerequisites for the new onboarding system was the ability to do this before recruits stepped through the door on their first day.
“We wanted to be able to inform employees upfront about the benefits Genesis offers — such as health insurance and income protection insurance — because we knew from experience that these are top-of-mind for recruits,” he says. “If they are familiar with what we offer before they start, it makes for a much smoother onboarding process.”
Genesis also wanted to capture core HR data from new joiners in a systemised way. “If we could step new joiners through an online workflow before they started, it would cut down on emailing and administration followup in their first few weeks on the job,” says Ben.
Reducing the data input burden
Another issue Genesis faced was data duplication. All the information captured manually from new joiners for recruitment and onboarding purposes was rekeyed into the core HR system — a time-consuming and labour-intensive process.
“We capture data around nationality, ethnicity and birthplace in our SnapHire recruitment system. It was then copied across,” says Ben. “That process created room for error and duplication. It took too much time and effort to rekey all the data, so the risk was we ended up with incomplete or inconsistent data about our employees.”
Thanks to the integration of the ATS system with Genesis’ core HR system, information now flows directly through, and data enrichment is assured, says Ben.
“We no longer have to duplicate the data. Instead, when we create a new position in the HR system, we enter the position number, and all data from SnapHire is automatically taken across.”
Ben Choo says there has been a 50 percent reduction in time spent entering new starter information with 10 percent more data received (regarding ethnicity, birthplace and notice period).
“A lot of this data previously existed in multiple screens deep within the SnapHire system and wasn’t usually entered as part of the manual process. Now we don’t even have to think about it; all the data is automatically taken across to the core HR system.”
All aboard the new platform
Once new joiners sign their employment contract and are marked as “hired”, Ben says, they receive an email with a link to start the onboarding process.
“They enter the SuccessFactors platform, set up their password and then enter relevant personal information into the portal — such as birth date, nationality and emergency contacts. They then complete the necessary KiwiSaver and IRD declarations via online forms within the onboarding platform.”
The automated form filling using “click to sign” functionality has been a key improvement in the onboarding process, Ben says.
“DXC designed these three necessary payroll forms for us, as they are not standard to the SAP SuccessFactors product. Once the employee digitally signs the forms, they are auto-emailed to payroll,” he says.
“This automation alone has reduced the time payroll spends on IRD and KiwiSaver forms by around 30 percent. It cuts down admin chasing because previously, all the follow up was transacted via email. It is a big win for the payroll team because in most cases, they now have this information before the employee steps through the door.”
“We now have a robust HR data strategy and with systems in place, we can capture, maintain, and report on employee data in a more streamlined manner going forward.”
Nicola Richardson Chief People Officer, Genesis Energy
Faster service, better outcomes
Genesis now has a comprehensive HR solution that addresses the core needs of recruits. All new employees receive a complete onboarding experience that is uniform and repeatable for every new joiner.
“Creating an informative and robust onboarding experience was a key objective of this project,” says Nicola Richardson, Chief People Officer, Genesis Energy. “We achieved this by promoting self-service and building out integration between systems. This resulted in reduced time and effort spent on admin tasks by new starters, HR, and Payroll staff.
Genesis extends SAP SuccessFactors to manage on-premises COVID-19 testing
Genesis was also part of a New Zealand-wide pilot program training employees to use rapid antigen testing kits for COVID-19. Genesis built a custom metadata framework (MDF) using SAP SuccessFactors that enabled it to:
- Enter multiple test results
- Control read/write ability once results were recorded
- View when tests were done, but not the details of each test
- Report on data for its Safety and Wellness purposes
- Provide employees and contractors access to the framework via SuccessFactors mobile app
SAP’s SuccessFactors MDF enables customers to extend HR cloud functionality to create company-specific objects that support unique business processes.
In addition, Nicola says the configurable nature of SuccessFactors has allowed Genesis to be extremely agile with initiatives relating to employee data. Late last year this involved capturing AT HOP travel card numbers to facilitate the administration of a location-based public transport discount. Most recently, it has enabled participation in a very successful New Zealand pilot of rapid antigen testing for COVID-19 resulting in a nationwide rollout.
“We now have a robust HR data strategy and with systems in place, we can capture, maintain, and report on employee data in a more streamlined manner going forward.”