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The SuccessFactors rollout at Lechwerke (LEW) was carried out together with SAP partner TeamWork. The LEW Group operates as a regional energy supplier in Bavaria and parts of Baden-Württemberg.

During the rollout of the learning suite, which took about nine months, LEW paid special attention to including the needs of internal customers and stakeholders in addition to expectations from IT and HR.

Employee representatives were also involved from the outset. In addition, the introductory phase was also used to realign and standardize internal HR development processes alongside the technical implementation.

"The basis of our corporate success stands and falls with the know-how carriers - our employees. Through SAP SuccessFactors, we have created greater transparency and usability for the use of our extensive development offering.

As a result, we are greatly increasing flexible and autonomous learning for our employees and managers."

explains Michael Eichenlaub, Head of Human Resources Development, Lechwerke.

The project team consisted of two SAP HR experts and three representatives from HR Development. Implementation in a "DevOps team" took place in parallel with line work.

LEW opted for an approach with agile elements. The biggest challenge was the transformation of the previous architecture and logic of the predecessor system to the new SAP SuccessFactors solution.

The openness of everyone involved in the project allowed the team to adapt well to the logic of the new system and let go of parts of the established processes.

One of the biggest benefits for the HR department at LEW is the automation of some standard processes, which frees up resources they can use for other issues. Due to the better usability, the employee has a much better view of the internal training offer.

Proactive notifications for the user support him individually in learning on his own responsibility. The seamless integration of e-learning into the system rounds off the modern picture for the end user.

Mobile devices are not yet used in the "Learning" module, but this is planned for the near future in the so-called back log. In the "Recruiting" module, usability on mobile devices is already being used successfully.

LEW used the introduction of SAP SuccessFactors Learning to pave the way for the hybrid SAP system landscape. This required the close involvement of those responsible for information security and data protection, as well as the technical connection of cloud solutions to the LEW Group's on-premises systems.

The paradigm shift of using a SaaS solution has changed the way we work at this point: away from operating and maintaining systems on our own to using and providing services from the cloud.

The talent hybrid architecture at LEW was designed so that on-premises and cloud services were connected via a common middleware (in this case: SAP Process Integration) and necessary data is exchanged via it.

In some cases, the connection is also refined by individual in-house developments that ensure the process flow (e.g., connection to the central digital personnel file).

"With the introduction of SuccessFactors, we have succeeded in combining the advantages of an innovative and intuitive cloud solution with the existing stable processes of our on-premises HCM landscape, while offering our employees a modern, mobile and yet secure platform."

explained Peter Nachtmann, Head of SAP Systems, Lechwerke (LEW).