TNT supports strategic HR processes with IT

Citation

van der Pool, H. and Reffeltrath, R. (2009), "TNT supports strategic HR processes with IT", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 8 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/shr.2009.37208cab.002

TNT supports strategic HR processes with IT

Article Type: e-HR From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 8, Issue 3

How technology is changing the way HR works

TNT provides businesses and consumers worldwide with an extensive range of services for mail and express delivery. Headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and with over 161,500 staff, TNT serves more than 200 countries.

The company is organized into country units, each operating as an autonomous business. In 2007 we decided that management development was a key priority for our HR strategy and we needed a clearer view of the population across our business. With our company focus “to instil pride in our people”, the HR and executive teams carried out a companywide management development review of over 300 senior management staff.

During the review it was time consuming to collect data from the different TNT divisions because our business units operated with different data categories and definitions, making it difficult to make comparisons and align roles. During this process, we identified the need for a web-based software solution to collect and manipulate data more easily and consistently across all our divisions and support critical management development and career and succession planning activities.

The right HR solution

In January 2008, a project team of 11 people was formed, comprising executives from the business, IT and corporate HR departments, headed by Han van der Pool, management development manager. Roland Reffeltrath from Reffel Advies, an independent HR/IT consultancy, provided expertise during the project. Following a review of our processes, and our business and information needs, the functional requirements of the software solution were identified. The team highlighted the importance of finding a solution that would provide comprehensive reporting capabilities and had the ability to manage performance management and learning and development in the future.

Following recommendations from other large organizations that were already customers, Cezanne Software was selected as a benchmark supplier of specialist succession, career and talent management solutions. Our key selection criteria – user-friendly interface, functionality, ability to be implemented quickly and competitive price – were all met by Cezanne’s succession and career planning software.

Up and running after three months

In just three months the entire information tool was configured and implemented and the system was modified to meet our specific business needs. Customized training was also developed. The system, called Succession Talent Application (STA), is currently used by 20 HR executives across TNT. The application is hosted by Cezanne Software on a software as a service basis. This is where the application is maintained by Cezanne Software on its own IT infrastructure, with maintenance and the helpdesk provided by our IT solution provider partner, Reffel Advies. We at TNT simply access the system via a secure logon process. We do not have to worry about managing the system; we can just focus on achieving our management development and succession and career planning objectives. Also, any future upgrade will happen automatically, reducing our total cost of ownership.

Initially, local TNT managers were not convinced that they should adapt their ways of working to the new procedures. However, increasingly people are finding that the system is making their work much easier and faster. The quality and quantity of data is increasing and data accuracy has improved. Users and management are giving positive feedback on the system already and we plan to extend it in the future as the talent pool that we manage in the system will continue to increase. We will also look to set up a seamless interface with our central HR application.

Total visibility over key talent on a global basis

One of the key reasons for the choice of solution is the ability for the HR team to run complex searches across our whole management population. It is important for us to offer international career opportunities to our valued executives, and for the business also to benefit from internal changes. Since moving one person in the business creates other opportunities for people to grow and develop their career, it also helps to improve staff retention. Since implementing the new solution, anecdotal evidence shows that staff retention has improved. We can get an overview in minutes of all employees who are internationally mobile and have had a consistent high performance rating over the previous three years. This enables us to manage international career planning as well as support our diversity policy, which embraces the company’s focus on social responsibility.

We can also measure second level succession planning by looking at succession ratings of candidates and this gives us a long-term view. Since implementing the system in 2008, we have developed six comprehensive reports that support our management review. Without introducing the software to the business we would not have achieved so much, so quickly, and look forward to evolving the system in line with our business needs. There is no doubt that STA supports our strategic HR objectives and processes, directly benefiting our business.

Han van der Pool and Roland Reffeltrath

About the authors

Han van der Pool is management development manager at TNT Group head office in the Netherlands He is a guest lecturer at multiple Dutch and International training institutes and events. He received his Masters Psychology at University of Amsterdam in 1981. After graduation he worked as senior trainer at a large Dutch public health company, Nationale Kruisvereniging. He has also worked as a management consultant at KSG-Berenschot, as director of HR development at Royal Ahold and as learning consultant at Heineken International. Han van der Pool can be contacted at: han.van.der.pool@tnt.com

Roland Reffeltrath is an independent HR-IT consultant, specializing in management development and performance management. Roland Reffeltrath can be contacted at: roland.reffeltrath@reffel-advies.nl