Crown Commercial Service (CCS) was using separate finance and HR systems that were outdated, inefficient, limited in scope, and difficult to maintain. The finance and HR teams at CCS were spending up to three days a month simply reconciling data between their respective systems.
It took them a lot of manual work to agree final figures. Establishing headcount and budgets was time-consuming, and they had to deal with expense claims and absence reports submitted manually on paper forms.
Our finance and HR specialists were focused on administration rather than adding strategic value to the organization.
Delivery Manager
A single system for finance and HR.
CCS wanted to achieve more from its new software. It didn’t want to just replace old applications—it planned to transform its finance and HR functions underpinned by a modern, collaborative system that would provide one true version of data.
This would mean that senior leaders, as well as finance and HR specialists, could access accurate information to inform business planning and decision-making.
The ease of use and breadth of functionality demonstrated by our systems were also significant factors for CCS. It was important for CCS to replace its legacy finance and HR applications with a software as a service (SaaS) system that would be easier to maintain and expand in line with changing user requirements.
Empowering employees and adding value.
We have helped CCS transform the way its finance and HR specialists operate, replacing paper-based processes with self-service applications for recording absences and claiming expenses.
When implementing Workday, CCS reviewed and streamlined its finance and HR processes, using standard reports within the system and developing new custom reports and dashboards where necessary. Today, the finance and HR teams can focus on adding strategic value rather than managing transactions and reconciling data.
“Self-service was a key part of our change requirements,” says John Seery, delivery manager at CCS. “Our line managers are now responsible for recording sick leave and approving expenses. All of this was supported by the implementation of Workday.”
We wanted one system that joined together our finance and HR functions. That’s why we chose Workday.
Finance Director
A unified data core.
CCS has improved the quality of decision-making by having a single source of truth for managers and the leadership team. Finance and HR specialists no longer spend time reconciling data – they can discuss and resolve issues within the system.
Reports showing cost-center managers relevant real-time budget information are a huge time saver. On average, finance business partners spent three days a month preparing briefing packs for cost-center managers, who can now review live reports online. That equates to a saving of 216 days a year across six finance business partners.
Calculating end-of-year performance and reward reports is also much easier, says Seery. “We can simply drag and drop people’s names into a nine-box matrix and then compare performance between individuals and peer groups.”
Focus on the future.
CCS is just at the beginning of unlocking the functionality of Workday. It has already launched a new onboarding and learning hub, which offers online courses for employee wellbeing, cyber security, and business skills.
It also plans to manage recruitment through Workday. CCS has collaborated with our accredited software and services partner Kainos to accommodate the anonymized candidate information required by the Civil Service Commission.
Other exciting additions include the introduction of Workday Assistant, a chatbot that will enable voice commands to be used.
Our senior leadership team and cost-center managers can make faster decisions because they have accurate real-time data to hand.
Delivery Manager