Esterline Technologies is made up of 13,000 employees living in 19 countries, working in 10 different time zones, speaking eight standard languages and operating as 100+ legal entities. Its primary product offering includes parts for the aerospace industry and, on occasion, parts for nuclear submarines. Its massive size, various entities, global business and high maintenance customer base makes Esterline Technologies a difficult company to transform into one HR. At the same time, all of these attributes exhibit the essential need to begin an HR transformation process.

As the PeopleSoft contract expiration date approached, Shahbaz Alibaig, Esterline Technologies’ Senior Director of HR Operations, and his team set out to find a solution with paperless processes, self-service, visibility of talent, updated technology, a talent management system, and an LMS. Before long, they landed on Oracle HCM Cloud.

To implement their new system, they made moves based on a 5S Playbook.

1.Simplify

Wherever possible, the Esterline team simplified processes. For example, the corporate team saw a need to simplify performance ratings. Instead of developing a corporate system and then forcing every other regional entity to move to this new system, the HR team invited business leaders from all over the world to one location for three days. First, Shahbaz invited each leader to share their current performance management system. Next, they reviewed best practices from other companies. Lastly, they picked the best ingredients from everything and came to a unanimous agreement for one new system. This joint meeting simplified the process, implementation, and buy-in from key leaders.

2.Standardize

The HR team chose to harmonize key processes. This involved creating standard docs across the entire organization. Once standardized, the team translated docs into all eight languages.

3.Systemize

Formerly, 90% of processes involved paper. With the new system, the HR team sought to increase systemization and digitize key repeatable tasks.

4.Structure

Successful global companies implement local alignment and accountability. Seeing a need for regional leaders who understand the system and technology, Esterline developed HRIS specialists. These employees currently serve as an extension of the corporate HR team, working as local change agents.

5.Support

Shahbaz’s team built two tiers of support for their new system. The first tier included key leaders from corporate, and the second tier of support came from the structured HRIS team.

Knowing the toughest piece of moving to Oracle HCM Cloud would be change management, the implementation team developed an approach with four primary steps.

Change Management

• Partner with the local entity’s HR team before, during and after the process. This takes place through phone calls, in-person training and a regular cadence of communication.
• When buy-in stalls, refer to the change as a beta or pilot project.
• Pilot programs in areas and with HR teams that meet the GWC criteria: Get It, Want It, and have the Capacity to manage the change.
• Keep the project agile. Divide tasks into short phases of work and frequently assess and adapt plans.

Today, Esterline Technologies has successfully implemented five Oracle HCM modules with the hopes of adding two more in the coming year. Looking back, Shahbaz describes eight best practices for others looking to make the change to a modern, centralized HR system.

Best Practices

• Know your objectives and set realistic expectations early.
• Watch scope creep.
• Follow a governance model.
• Focus on change management.
• Communicate!
• Manage detractors.
• Plan for integrations.
• Plan for patches and releases.

To hear about these best practices before beginning your HR transformation process—and be entertained by a short clip from The Office while you’re at it—catch the full presentation here.

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