SAP HCM Reviews

I'm an SAP reseller and an implementation partner and provide Application Management Support Partner. Earlier, I was an HR Leader and  CHRO for nearly 18 years of mt 33 years in HR. I left my CHRO role to start this company and offer a superior and unique experience  and level of implementation.

We offer a superior and intuitive understanding of SAP SuccessFactors and bring our functional and mulcticultural experience to bear on each implementation. 

SAP SuccessFactors' Human Capital Management module is now referred to as HXM – Human Experience Management, is all about enhancing the employee experience. So, SAP SuccessFactors, HCM, and HXM can be used interchangeably.

We primarily work with SAP SuccessFactors. The use cases include the entire hire-to-retire cycle management within an organization.

Imagine SAP SuccessFactors (HXM), the human experience management software, as the equivalent of the business ERP for employees and HR. It's an ERP for managing your most valuable asset – People, which is why effective talent management is crucial!

A better user interface and greater AI integration are crucial. Which is now a part of the road map ahead.

Integration isn't an issue anymore; they've solved that. The current integration is fairly seamless. 

I have used this solution since 2014, first as a user and then as an integrator and implementation partner. 

The stability is the same for any number of users, from one to a hundred thousand. It's a cloud product, so it doesn't differentiate.

Once configured, the processes simply work.

The ability to scale is outstanding, easily a nine out of ten. It's very suitable for large, multi-geography companies but also very suitable for medium companies with multi-geography operations. 

For smaller companies, it depends on their size and ambition. Now, SAP has various solutions that can work even for smaller organizations. So, the size limitation isn't a factor anymore. It's more about your organization's complexity and geographic spread. 

Even a small company with, say, 1,000-2,000 employees operating in Europe, the US, and Southeast Asia or Middle East and Africa needs globally compliant software. In such a case, you require software that is compliant globally. So, the old factor of size is irrelevant. 

The geographic spread and complexity of the organization determine usability.

SAP engineering support is top notch. However, client support for maintenance is though the SAP partner ecosystem which, over the years have enormously increased their capabilities. So, the customer experience depends on the partner's capabilities.

Positive

The deployment and set up is  a very structured process. The complexity depends on the organization's processes, not the SAP SuccessFactors Platform.

SAP HCM, was on-premise, but SAP SuccessFactors are cloud-based. Legacy systems can still be used, but all new deployments will happen in the cloud.

I have done both as a CHRO working with the implementation partner teams and now as a SAP Partner we do the implementation viz., BluTech Talent Plus LLP for other organisations.

The pricing is around the middle, at a five out of ten. But it depends on the number of licenses. More licenses mean lower per-user costs.

There are many other options to consider, such as Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM and Workday among others.

SAP is No.1 at the global level. I remember reading that it has even been adopted by Microsoft and Google suggesting greater deployment of SAP in the future and perhaps greater integration(?).

SAP has room for improvement, so a 7 out of 10 seems fair at this stage with the revolutionary aspects and expectations that use of Generative AI will bring. SAP needs to improve UI/UX and integrate more (G) AI.

I leveraged it for four end-to-end projects. There were a few different use cases, largely around human capital itself. 

1. The first was around 2009-2010 for a real estate company. They wanted HCM for their employees and contracted agents.  
2. The second was around 2016-2017 for a pharmaceutical company in Australia. They wanted to replace their other SCM tool with SAP HCM. Earlier, it was called SAP HRM; then it became HCM. 
3. We also worked on other HCM projects, like for a materials company. They provide materials on demand to companies like aviation/aircraft manufacturers. They had over 10,000 employees and contractors and implemented HCM to optimize their manpower utilization.
4. We also worked with Automobile company, along with their IT arm.

The last project ended in November 2023. Since then, I have no HCM-related projects.

The compliance management functionality is quite good. 

Compliance management has two aspects: internal compliance and external compliance, such as laws of the land. 

Internally, you can define rules like allowing a hybrid work culture (after the COVID era), which wasn't always the case before. 

Earlier, attendance was based on punching cards, but now it can include working from home. You can define these rules and configurations to capture this information. 

For external compliance, it allows you to generate reports and offers out-of-the-box support. That's about it.

For payroll management, we have the flexibility to define wage types, which allows us to effectively define different pay scales and allowances. 

Additionally, we can merge rules to accommodate leaves and policies, like determining holiday entitlements versus leaves taken, and whether it's within the limit. 

If it's within the limit, the full salary is allowed. Otherwise, based on the rule, the amount is deducted before releasing the final amount. This is done through Infotypes. By defining these details, we can accurately calculate summaries and other relevant information.

The limitation of HCM compared to new-era human capital management solutions is the cost. While those solutions offer similar features at a lower price, they are not typically used by large enterprises. 

However, for small and medium enterprises, the HCM licensing and maintenance costs are quite high. There are numerous solutions like Zoho and Odoo that offer subscription models at a much lower cost, even as low as $10. This significantly impacts SAP's market share, especially among smaller businesses.

The high cost is the main reason why it's not widely adopted by smaller businesses. Currently, it's largely used by big enterprises, and only a small percentage of SAP users actually utilize HCM, even though they might be using other SAP modules. The small organizations are not keen on using it. 

I have been using it for three to four years now.

The on-premises part sometimes faces issues and gets on the slower side, which could be due to server sizing. 

If the server isn't scaled up as the load increases, it can affect stability. However, overall, the functionality and stability are okay. It's not on the negative side.

It is scalable. There are enhancement points, so we have the flexibility to scale up. However, every enhancement comes with certain limitations. 

You can't scale to something unexpected, but all practical needs can be brought within the framework. It's scalable enough.

For SuccessFactors, which is cloud-based, there is a limitation. You can't change everything. It provides scalability up to 30%.

The customer service and support are satisfactory, but the ecosystem part needs some revisiting. 

If the ecosystem isn't aware of all available features, it's hard to sell to new customers. For example, if you've added ten features but I, as a channel partner, know only two, I'll keep selling only those two. If a customer asks about the other eight, I'll either call it customization or reach out to you. This gives the wrong impression. If there are ten features, it should be known that there are ten, not just two. So, they need to work on their ecosystem.

Neutral

I have worked with a few of the competitors, including Zoho.

HCM itself isn't installed anymore, as it's now SuccessFactors. That's pretty easy. Earlier, HCM required an implementation cycle, not just deployment. Now, with SuccessFactors, it's fast and deployed out of the box. However, SuccessFactors has limitations due to being cloud-based, so customization is limited.

Additionally, the consultants offering SuccessFactors or HCM on a subscription model tend to sell what they know rather than the full capabilities of the tool. So even if the product offers ten features, they might only talk about two and assume the rest require customization. There's a lack of awareness about the full potential.

SAP HCM requires a full-blown implementation cycle: installation, configuration to your policies, and then usage. This takes about a year.

The newer version, SuccessFactors, is quicker. It takes three to four months, or six months, with practical delays. This is because SuccessFactors is cloud-based and only requires enabling from SAP's side. Your server or cloud is ready, so you just create your tenant.

The older HCM implementation and configuration took longer due to setting up servers.

In a nutshell, if it is HCM, it usually takes around six to nine months. SuccessFactors, however, takes less time—typically three to six months. The difference is that SuccessFactors is cloud-based, while HCM is on-premises.

The resources required for the deployment depend not on the tool but on the dimension/size of the enterprise and where you're delivering it. 

For example, if all information can be gathered from one office, the process is faster. But, if you need to visit multiple offices, like in a company with branches in 180 countries, the process is much more complex. 

Even within one country, like India, a company with 35 different offices and a minimum of 1,000 employees per office would require more time.

On average, for one HCM implementation, you need two functional experts (one senior, one junior or midrange), two technical experts, one project manager, one basis expert, and one testing person. 

So, six to seven people can do an HCM implementation. Similarly, six to seven people would be required for SuccessFactors, which is cloud-based. This is just an average estimate.

For a larger part of the SAP products, ROI comes on average within three to five years. So that's okay.

From my perspective, it's fairly in the range.

It is costly but feature-rich. 

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

I would recommend using it. Our biggest plus is its integration with finance. The second point is that it is scalable. 

We can add as many different policies or rules as we might need internally in any enterprise. There are always a number of those.

It provides some reports that are AI-enabled and others that are process-based. These reports give us detailed insights into where we stand as a group and where we can look for improvements. These features are quite user-friendly.

We use the product for analytics, employee experience, and talent management.

The platform is beneficial in terms of managing data points. Additionally, it gives a lot of insights, helping us with people analytics. The employee experience features allowed us to derive new inputs for management.

SAP HCM has valuable features for analytics data management. The employee experience feature is another good functionality that allows us to note down feedback. It provides ease of utilization and efficient integration with stand-alone products and works well in delivering reports. It has a better mobile application compared to others.

The product's learning and development features could be better, including new exclusive LMS tools. Additionally, the data analytics feature could have more depth, similar to Workday.

I have been using SAP HCM for about eight to ten years.

Stability-wise, the platform works well.

It is a scalable product. The number of users varies for different organizations. I have been a part of a company with over 20,000 users. On the other hand, there was a company with only 200 users. I have worked with a different range of employees.

We are using Workday. It works better regarding certain analytics features in integral databases than SAP HCM.

We took assistance from consultants to implement the product in a few companies. At the same time, we implemented it ourselves in one of the companies.

In my earlier organization, we comprehensively analyzed the ROI after implementing SAP HCM. The results showcased substantial progress and benefits over the years. We were able to bring a lot of insights to business leaders through efficient reports and dashboard functionalities.

We purchase the product's yearly license.

SAP HCM's personal administration feature greatly impacts the organization's record-keeping process. It eliminated a lot of unnecessary manual work effectively. It is a good product; advise others to go for it if they have an essential budget.

I rate it an eight out of ten.

My primary use case for the solution was managing employee data and handling all payroll-related operations. It included managing employees from their entry into the company until their exit and resolving any errors within the system.

The product significantly improved our organization by automating many processes, which reduced paperwork and provided clearer, more accurate goals and competencies. 

The most valuable feature of the SAP HCM solution was its integration with SuccessFactors, particularly the Performance Management feature. This integration allowed for effective employee performance and payroll data management.

The product could be improved in terms of cost. Additionally, having a reliable support partner who thoroughly understands our needs and can promptly address issues would enhance the overall user experience.

I have worked with the SAP HCM solution for five years.

The product is stable. 

The solution is scalable. 

Our experience with customer service and support was moderate. While the support provided by the vendor was helpful to some extent, some areas required improvement in terms of understanding our specific needs and providing timely solutions.

Neutral

We are planning to switch to a local program due to financial constraints.

The initial setup was straightforward. We followed the guide and translated our company's needs into the system, making the process smooth and manageable.

We implemented the solution with the assistance of a vendor team.

The product is expensive. 

SAP HCM is a powerful program that can greatly benefit organizations with its comprehensive features and integrations. However, companies should be mindful of the costs and ensure they have the necessary support infrastructure.

I rate it a nine. 

We use SAP HCM for recruitment and payment modeling features.

It is a valuable product that helps our company organize payment structure, recruitment, and talent management.

The platform is simple to use and has a user-friendly dashboard and integration features.

The product's license is very expensive.

I have been working with SAP HCM for seven years.

It is a stable platform. I rate the stability an eight.

Our organization has 300 SAP HCM users working from the finance, administration, HR, and engineering departments. I rate the scalability a seven or eight. It is a scalable product.

The technical support team is responsive.

Neutral

We also use SAP S/4HANA, a business suite product from SAP. It enables financial, controlling, and material management.

I am a technical expert, and thus, it is very simple to install for me. They have documentation to refer to. However, configuring HR processes, including reporting and workflow features, can be challenging. The deployment depends on the number of employees. It takes around three to six months to complete the process. We have a team of three technical executives. One resource can maintain the product. SAP also provides support to each customer for maintaining the application. They release updates every year.

The product generates a return on investment with the capability to develop and manage the talent in the company. It helps with detecting talent, employee rotation, and managing resources. We can make a decision on employee retention using SAP HCM.

It is an expensive platform. The pricing depends upon the specific model and number of user accounts included in a bundle. The licenses for 1000 users might be less expensive than licenses for 100 users. We have to pay around 20% of the license cost for maintenance and support services for two years.

I recommend SAP HCM to others. It is a very useful application that can centralize the management system. We can integrate it with S/4HANA for financial features.

I rate it an eight out of ten. I would not rate it a nine as it requires specific change management and deployment training. It is a new application, and users need to familiarize themselves with the functionality.

Payroll is always the central area the tool focuses on. It needs to ensure things are flowing, employees are paid on time, and there are no issues related to location, pay, or hiring. SAP HCM helps observe all the work, from hiring to paying paychecks every month. It's a system that depends on the data you input. You don't want to work with bad data and expect miracles. If the data isn't clean, it's more work.

What can be improved in SAP HCM depends on the industry it serves. The system's navigation could be simplified for users. The flow and integration between parts, like core HR, payroll, and recruiting, must be communicated properly. Users should focus on how doing things correctly from the start will improve things in the long run rather than feeling overwhelmed by tasks.

About stability, if companies think about the things I mentioned from the start, it'll be better. It's much better to have SAP help than to manipulate the data themselves. You can't put bad data in and expect the vendor to fix it. They might say it's too bad and you'll need more steps to fix it. Some organizations don't take these decisions seriously because they think vendors want to sell products. They might use one or two modules and expect others to work fine, too, depending on the correct data in the modules they already use.

I think this solution's scalability is good, but it depends on the organization. Scalability depends on what the company wants and what it's working with.

The tool's deployment depends on the type of data, where the source data is, how accurate it is, and whether there are any duplications to eliminate. This process requires data mapping and cleanup ahead of time.

The setup process usually takes about six weeks to six months, sometimes up to nine months, depending on the size of the project. It might take four months for one or two modules. However, you should plan for nine months because of potential resource constraints, budget issues, hiring consultants, and considering how many on-site resources the company has to support the project while doing their daily work.

Maintenance can be complicated. It depends on whether the company wants to do it themselves or have the vendor (like SAP) handle it. If SAP handles it, they support working with clients to ensure everything flows properly. If the company does it themselves, they might make manipulations that aren't right and make things worse. This often happens because they don't understand the delivered functionality within the system.

It all depends on how stable and standardized the company's processes are. If they make the workflow work properly, things can be easier. But if they manipulate data and expect things to work out on their own, they'll see a lot of issues. It's even more complicated when two people are doing one job, and security issues can occur.

If you do things the right way, you'll see results in six to seven months. If not, it could take a year or two, and things still won't be right.

The cost depends on the size of the organization. Compared to others, I'd say Oracle is number one, followed by Workday and SAP HCM.

I've only done one or two projects lately with SAP HCM. The use cases depend on the company, what it's implementing, and what issues it deals with daily. They also vary based on the modules it's working with. There's no generic situation.

How SAP HCM supports an organization's HR needs depends on where they want to go with the information, how they want to grow, and their budget requirements. I usually use a specific version within the core HR space. The impact depends on the project and the organization's size. The impact isn't big for small companies with few employees because they can use the standard functionality. However, the impact is huge for organizations with over 5,000 employees.

People often worry about the learning curve when switching from a system they're used to. They get curious about how much improvement they'll see rather than focusing on learning and seeing the results.

You need to be prepared to use the solution. You don't need to be a professional, but you shouldn't overthink it or worry that you won't be able to do it just because it's new. Many people get carried away in that process and lose track.

People often hesitate to learn and worry about different tasks. Instead of going from A to Z, they look for shortcuts, which don't work in all environments. You must go through the learning process to understand the system properly and get the necessary information. People often look for shortcuts, which isn't the right way.

I rate the overall solution a seven out of ten. 

With SAP HCM, I can handle HR administration and management tasks for both employees and HR. Additionally, SAP offers a specific module for human resource planning and management.

The valuable features of SAP HCM include managing employee data from hiring to retirement. It handles settings for new hires and stores employee information. 

HCM could improve compatibility, making it more accessible via web applications and graphical interfaces. Additionally, pricing could be more competitive compared to SuccessFactors.

I have been using SAP HCM for a couple of years.

The number of end users of HCM varies based on the size of the company. Companies with thousands of employees, like some big names, use HCM. Over the past few years, there has been a trend of companies transitioning from the SCM module to also using the HCM module.

SAP support for answering questions is generally fast, knowledgeable, and customer-friendly. They cover all modules and aspects of businesses, providing end-to-end solutions and addressing basic organizational needs effectively. I would rate the support as an eight out of ten.

Positive

Licensing with SAP involves negotiation to determine costs and benefits. Return on investment depends on how effectively the company negotiates with SAP for reasonable pricing.

People often face challenges when starting with SAP due to a lack of understanding of how it works. However, with time, they realize its benefits and find it to be a good fit for their business needs.

SAP supports organizations in complying with global chart regulations, but some users find their support lacking in reliability. When encountering issues, users may experience delays and difficulty finding solutions through the SAP support portal.

SAP HCM brings value through new innovations like SuccessFactors. Consultants emphasize transitioning from on-premises to cloud-based applications.

Overall, I would rate SAP HCM as an eight out of ten.

With SAP HCM, decision-making is very helpful. Every data that's related to our employees is stored in the solution. We are an organization of over 2,000 employees, and the solution has helped to maintain a database for everyone.

All our employee data, like performance and payroll, is managed through SAP HCM.

SAP HCM's long and tedious transactions can be improved.

We have been working with SAP HCM since 2004.

We have never faced any stability issues with SAP HCM. We have an on-premises system and never faced any server issues or technical glitches.

SAP HCM is a scalable solution.

SAP HCM's technical support was on point. I appreciate that every data we wanted, every help, reconfiguration, or customization we wanted in the system, happened as soon as the request was made.

Positive

The system is now becoming outdated because it involves all the transactions and is very detail-oriented. We want to move towards the cloud solution they're offering.

The solution's maintenance happens weekly for us because we have a lot of customizations done in the system. We're directly in contact with the SAP facilitation team, and they do it for us, the local partners in Pakistan.

Before choosing SAP HCM, users should consider the transaction time, how the data is being configured, and how the data or report generation comes out for them.

Overall, I rate SAP HCM an eight out of ten.