Automating HR correspondence

Flexible performance

In 2011, the modules being used by ZF Friedrichshafen AG for SAP E-Recruiting and form management in HR were being stretched to their limits. Rigid applications and the need for programming expertise prompted a move to automate its HR correspondence.

Now, ZF Friedrichshafen’s HR administrators are using the AQDB application successfully to manage both individual and mass correspondence for its more than 40,000 employees in German-speaking countries. AQDB standardizes document templates and makes it possible not only to create HR correspondence for individual employees, but also process mass documents for large numbers of recipients.

Clear structures and workflows

Around 10 locations within the ZF Friedrichshafen group were involved, each with its own processes and document templates which needed to be optimized and synchronized across these different sites. ZF Friedrichshafen wanted to be able to organize documents for all its employees and issue them both as individual letters and in broad communications. It was also looking to move all of its applicant correspondence in e-recruiting to a standard correspondence management system that would leverage the SAP E-Recruiting module. Achieving this synergy required a vision, a defined objective, and collaborative effort.

Harmonizing HR

Today, ZF Friedrichshafen is profiting from its one-time investment in defining and synchronizing its generally binding text modules—for each situation, there is just one template for all locations. Text modules are managed centrally rather than in the 20 or so places in which they are used; this includes any changes made to them, which are then replicated across the other relevant areas at ZF Friedrichshafen. In other words, this is not just an IT solution, but a technical catalyst for the harmonization and optimization of HR processes throughout the corporate group.

A simple solution

The benefits of AQDB to ZF Friedrichshafen include:

• Adjustments no longer require programming expertise.
• It is quicker to introduce new colleagues to the HR team.
• There is direct access to accurate and up-to-date versions of all the data, text modules, and correspondence needed from the system.
• After being scanned, personnel documents marked with barcodes are automatically entered into the electronic personnel files (EPA) of the respective employees.
• Every HR employee has defined roles and authorizations so that they only see the data they need and sensitive data is protected.
• Easy to manage communications with employees and governmental authorities.

Invaluable support

AQDB has reduced ZF Friedrichshafen’s document error rate to nearly zero. Ultimately, this is why the system has resonated so well with the IT specialists and senior executives at the company. Its HR administrators believe the Accenture correspondence management system has made their work easier. According to Florian Schmitt, Head of HR Systems/Technical Team, ZF Friedrichshafen, “Once you make a change, you can use it everywhere. The ease-of-use is a dream come true!”

Why AQDB?

Accenture Quick Document Builder supports full integration into SAP and SAP SuccessFactors’ infrastructures. The user-friendly interfaces it provides for different roles means that it is quick and easy for employees to start creating and customizing documents, templates, text modules, and related rules on their own, while mapping to the latest information from an HR system.