SAP HCM Newsticker Portal: Efficient Employee Communication in the Era of Covid-19

In these stormy times, Covid-19 continues to hold companies in Germany firmly in its thrall. Many employees no longer report to company offices; instead, they are working from their home offices. With the SAP HCM add-on “Newsticker Portal,” valantic is helping its customers effectively communicate company information, recommendations for action, employer confirmations, and much more to their own employees.

In addition to the economic challenges for companies, many HR departments are also facing the task of not leaving their employees uninformed: they have to supply them promptly with important information. Here, the foremost concern is employees who don’t have access to the company network and who are thus cut off from the usual flow of information.

Information that is normally available to employees on a bulletin board or via other channels is suddenly inaccessible from the home office. The concern is to supply these employees with the appropriate information efficiently and cost-effectively – a task that has caused headaches for many HR departments under current circumstances.

Adequate distribution to employees in many different places requires not just appropriate logistics and costs for printing and postage; it also entails a whole lot of administrative work.

Inform employees with the HCM Newsticker Portal

Here’s the way out of this dilemma: The HCM Newsticker Portal from the valantic HCM Inside product family is a web-based add-on for SAP HCM systems. With it, companies make all the documents and information they so urgently need available to their employees quickly and without unnecessary effort. This includes the employer confirmations that are required to apply for emergency child care, for example. But it also includes newsletters from management, Corona guidelines, and information from the Executive Board; all of this can be delivered easily and nearly without delay to the recipients in their home offices.

The benefits are clear: Employees can access all required information, documents, and certifications easily. Security is not neglected since all access is encrypted. Users register themselves with a self-onboarding service. Employees then retrieve the necessary documents directly and no longer have to request them from the HR department. This quickly saves the company money since less work is required for logistics and other processes. Project contracts have no minimum term and can be terminated each month. Projects can be done for a fixed price. For detailed information about the HCM Newsticker Portal, click here.

Add-on with HCM Payslip

It’s a widely known fact that the best is the enemy of the good. And so the approach described above can be improved and expanded. SAP user companies can use the HCM Newsticker Portal along with the valantic product HCM Payslip. With the expanded solution, employees can access the documents they need more easily. This can be done via e-mail or online via the HCM Payslip web portal. In addition to Corona-relevant documents, salary tax certifications, time cards, and other documents are available there.

Of course security comes first. That’s why access to the documents is encrypted with the high security standard AES 256. Both the PDF documents themselves and the corresponding ZIP files are encrypted. This protects users’ sensitive data from unauthorized access. And, of course, all of this is GDPR-compliant. In short: Employees in the HR department can breathe easy since their work is much easier thanks to digital documents with HCM Payslip.

Lower costs and less work

HCM Payslip offers many benefits as compared to sending important documents to employees in their home offices through the conventional mail. Costs are lower and there is less work. In addition, the whole set-up can be connected easily to an archive system such as e-Akte or enterprise content management systems (ECM). The existing data in the SAP HCM systems can still be used.

With a self-onboarding service, employees can register by themselves without having to contact the HR department during this process. Two-factor authentication ensures high data security. Access to the portal is possible at any time via mobile end user devices such as smartphones and tablets. The user interface adjusts automatically to the end user device.

This way, employees in the home office have unrestricted access to all important documents and information. And the company is well-positioned and prepared for the time when the storm clears and employees stream back out of their home offices.