Reference no: EM132222883

Meddevco (name changed) is a large multinational corporation that operates in the medical devices sector. The firm employs around 33,000 people in five divisions and has operations in 120 countries. 66% of the multinational’s revenue is generated from products which are less than two years old and 80% of employees are working on products that are less than two years old. These figures illustrate the highly competitive and fast paced nature of the medical devices sector. This sector is also characterized by high levels of regulatory control and a need to comply with industry norms. Meddevco is headquartered in the United States and Switzerland. The information needs of a firm of this size are substantial and it would be next to impossible to collect, store and analyze HR related information without the use of a fully integrated global HRIS. Moreover, the diversity of the workforce, the multiplicity of skills required in the different divisions and product lines, and the pressure of compliance necessitate a perfectly orchestrated T&D effort. Needless to say that HRIS T&D applications play a major role in managing the T&D function. Meddevco uses a HRIS by PeopleSoft (now Oracle) to manage the majority of its global HR processes, including e-recruitment and performance appraisals. With regard to data entry into the system, the corporation operates a strict ‘no customization unless legally required’ policy to ensure data compatibility across the system. In the US, most HR services are centralized in a HR Shared Services Center. The corporation has a dedicated HRIS Center in Europe and negotiations are ongoing to implement a European HR Shared Services Model. The company uses a number of different payroll systems in Europe for compliance reasons. All employees in the corporation have access to a company intranet called My Meddevco, which also includes a learning portal that provides access to online training programs, which employees can utilize at work and at home. The intranet also includes a knowledgebase and detailed company information including a full listing of all employees and their job titles and location. Employee transfers and promotions are also listed. A number of years ago, the corporation made the decision not to use the Training Module included in PeopleSoft and opted for a training management system called SABA to coordinate and manage training initiatives, for example, the recent roll-out and training for the use of SAP (an ERP system) for production facilities was managed through SABA. In addition, Meddevco has recently commenced using the Talent Management Module included in PeopleSoft to identify and track high performing employees for promotion. Every employee is required to complete an online Talent Profile, which is similar to an online CV and which can be updated by the employee. The combination of systems and applications and the careful analysis of HR information contained therein allow the organization to develop and implement a global T&D strategy. However, the firm also faces some challenges arising from the use of these systems. As the organization largely grew through acquisition, a number of legacy systems still co-exist with the global HRIS among some of its subsidiaries. Data compatibility issues also derive from the use of SABA, which is not part of PeopleSoft. In addition, the firm is also using SAP and it is questionable whether Oracle (the owner of PeopleSoft) will support data exchanges with a system supplied by its chief competitor. Furthermore, because Meddevco did not involve the workforce in the implementation process of the Talent Management system, employees are reluctant do complete their Talent Profiles. Moreover, the need to customize the HRIS locally to comply with national legislation in its subsidiaries further complicate the collection and transfer of data within the global HRIS.

1. What should Meddevco have done to avoid some of their problems?

2. How could Meddevco now solve the problems created by not involving employees during the implementation of the HRIS?

3. What else should Meddevco do now to improve the operation of their system?