HR Path is a global human resources specialist offering comprehensive services ranging from strategic thinking to the deployment of integrated tools in the field of human resources. With over 1000 employees and offices in 18 countries, they provide implementation services, application support, and specialized products for SuccessFactors, SAP® HCM and Workday.
This week, we had the pleasure of getting to know Franck Pinel, HR Path’s Director of Consulting. Franck has been with the organization since 2012, and prior to HR Path, worked in various different consulting roles that gives him broad experience in HR technologies.
HR Path continues to outperform other SAP and Workday partners in overall customer satisfaction. So, what is HR Path doing differently?
When asked what makes customers so happy with their overall relationship, the HR Path team attributes this high customer satisfaction to their in-depth relationship with their customers. HR Path has an 8.92 average customer satisfaction score, as opposed to the industry standard of 7.7 out of 10. Learn more about how Raven Intel measures each consulting partner here.
Another key factor here is HR Path’s scoping accuracy.
“Change orders are the exception rather than the norm—we don’t look at change orders as part of our growth plan. We accurately scope projects and typically present a fixed scope plan that we don’t deviate from,” says Franck.
A few other key factors noted by Franck are the consultants, communication skills and technical expertise. “We specialize with integrations and we are the best at testing—we have our own testing system,” added Franck.
Do not rush through the planning phases of your project. Make sure you understand the conversion process. Trust your partner, they have done this before and are making recommendations designed for you.
– Retail company in North America with 5-10k employees
What does the ideal HR Path customer look like?
HR Path works with customers of all sizes and various industries. Their typical customer has a global footprint with multiple locations and languages are often a good fit to work with HR Path, as their 1,000+ consultants across the globe provide support in North America, Latin America EMEA, and Asia Pacific.
Raven Intel’s customer reviews for HR Path include feedback from a wide variety of industries, such as:
How does HR Path approach challenges during implementation?
Franck said that each customer that comes to HR Path has a unique implementation and situation, so the challenges and solutions required are also unique to the customer. Each implementation is crafted to solve that customer’s problem.
“We have the chance to develop a specific methodology to modernize and manage each customer’s project,” says Franck.
This customized approach has allowed HR Path to be 23% more likely to deliver on-budget and 31% more likely to deliver on-time.
HR Path offers “pre-packaged” solutions, where they offer both fixed-price implementations and have prepared packaged solutions to the common problems that are often experienced. This, Franck says, allows them to accelerate the implementation and continue pushing forward, despite challenges that may occur.
“We had a great team, global group and dedication. This was THE core HR project of our global organization, thus lots of support and momentum. The consulting company was flexible and attentive, yet also spoke up when we tried to go around best practice (we encouraged them to keep us “in the best practice lane”). – Global Agriculture, forestry & fishing company with 20-50k employees
How does HR Path recruit the “right” project managers and consultants?
HR Path recruits for two very different skills in their project managers and consultants – HR experience (on the customer side) or technical skills.
“It’s not easy to find consultants because we are doing HR and technology. It’s not something that you study at school, so we really look for two parts: we could take someone who is mostly technical, with a lot of functional skill but no language on the other side or on the other hand,” said Franck. “We are also looking for those who come from the HR or the business/customer side, or we were dealing with customer activities. I think that 90-95% of our employees on a project have HR technology experience before joining the team.”
Finding the right team members also helps to keep HR Path’s customer satisfaction rates high and consulting teams consistent. According to data collected by Raven Intel, 46.2% of projects are reviewed having no change in team at all and 53.8% note a slight change. None of the Raven Intel verified reviews note a significant change, which is a big difference from the overall SAP and Workday peer partner industry.
“It’s all about the people and the fact that our consultants are senior and experienced – truly the best in the industry. From a technical perspective, we have certifications in every module, but our people know HR and that’s what makes them stand out,” says Franck.
Over 500+ of HR Path’s consultants are HCM certified.
What should HCM customers know about HR Path?
What some SAP SuccessFactors and Workday customers may not know about HR Path is that their team offers more than just specialized implementation support. HR Path provides various types of business consulting activities, communication support and change management support.
“So, it’s not only doing the end-user training, but it’s also about working on the communication plan and how we can help transform the organization. We will support the HR team however they need and suggest some support activities.”
Franck noted that most of their competitors don’t typically take the route of focusing on their smaller companies, so this focus and support from HR Path helps them stand out and provide the utmost customer service.
“I think that’s where we could be of real interest for them and to become part of their support organization,” Pinel added.
It is very beneficial having a consultant evolved who is very knowledgeable of not only the system but also the business aspect of the implementation. Simply having a configurations specialist sometimes does not help the client make the right long term decisions. The consultants should be able to help the client through reviewing policies and keeping the long term road map in mind. – Wholesale company in North America with 1-5k employees
What does HR Path see as the future of implementation?
Franck noted that future implementations and advanced cloud technologies will play a role in customized SAAS implementations.
“Customers will either already have their implementations established in the cloud or will be ready to move onto it. We need to work on the integration, work in the integration on the cloud, or maybe to develop some specific application,” adds Franck.
HR Path’s Future Goals
Franck noted that HR Path is looking to further develop their service offering and continue expanding globally.
“Our strength does not only lie in the implementation of SAP SuccessFactors, but we want to promote our expertise with other vendors such as Oracle, Workday, Cornerstone or Talentsoft, and apply the “Advise to Run” strategy that we have successfully used in other markets. Our objective is to help companies for which human capital is essential in their digital transformation to contribute to the performance of their human resources,” said Franck.
About Raven Intel
Raven is an independent 3rd party providing candid project reviews. Raven also provides at-a-glance information about certifications, firm profile data and keeps all information standard and consistent. It gives Consulting partners the ability to manage their own listing information and consistently tracks Key Performance Indicators that are not published by software vendors.
In addition, it provides a way for customers to endorse the work of their partner and share with others their tips for success. Raven allows customers to see a more comprehensive list of options available, ask for references and get additional cost comparisons for project work. (See: “10 Questions You Should Ask a Potential Consulting Partner” for initial research findings.)
