Case Study
Unified HR Processes for 11,000 Employees
How bbw Group uses the aconso Digital Personnel File and Automated Document Creation to bring all of its companies onto one common standard.
HR Document Management
One system for 520 locations
bbw Group brings together twelve companies that share a single focus: education at every stage of life – from career guidance courses in schools and vocational training for young adults to everyday support for older people.
A central HR department in Munich defines the processes, and HR administrators on site carry them out. To make sure twelve companies don’t end up solving the same tasks in twelve different ways, bbw Group has relied on the Digital Personnel File from aconso since 2008. Today, it is complemented by Automated Document Creation and the Admin Center, which lets the team manage the system independently.
Company
- Education network of twelve companies
- 11,000 employees
- 520 locations in Germany and abroad
Challenges
- Paper files kept centrally in Munich
- Access needed at hundreds of decentralized locations
- Document templates scattered across numerous storage locations
Solution
- Digital Personnel File
- Automated Document Creation
- Admin Center for system management
Decentralized work, centrally enabled
The starting point was typical of distributed organizations: the personnel files were kept centrally in Munich, while managers were spread across 18 locations in Bavaria and numerous branch and satellite offices. Every time someone needed to see a file – whether a manager or an employee wanting to view their own – it meant sending paper through the post. That made the decision for the Digital Personnel File an easy one. Not as an archiving project, but as the foundation that makes decentralized work possible in the first place.
“We have a central HR department where we define the processes. At the same time, we have decentralized HR teams on site who need to carry out those processes consistently,” says the Head of HR at bbw Group. After the initial rollout, more modules followed: first cross-file search, then Document Creation, and most recently the move to the cloud, including single sign-on and the new Admin Center for managing the aconso system independently.
Digital Personnel File
One source instead of five storage locations
The real value comes down to a handful of tasks performed over and over again. Documents for more than 11,000 employees are dragged and dropped straight into the right document type in each file. A preview shows the content before a file is even opened. Full-text search finds documents even when the exact file name is unknown. And follow-up reminders keep deadlines on track – essential for fixed-term contracts and training programmes across all companies.
Automated Document Creation
“Probably the biggest benefit”
Automated Document Creation delivers the biggest impact. Standard letters used to be scattered across network drives and local Word folders, with every HR administrator keeping their own version. Today, information letters, allowance letters, supplementary agreements, contract cover letters and exit documents are all created in one place. Master data is pulled automatically from SAP, and each company’s corporate design is stored in the system: every letter leaves the printer with the right logo, and pre-printed letterhead is a thing of the past.
Documents that have been started are saved as active tasks, so work can pick up exactly where it left off after an interruption. Employment contracts are next: instead of a separate file for every scenario – fixed-term, permanent, different forms of address, different companies – a single template with a guided input form will soon do the job. “The biggest benefit of all,” as the HR administration team puts it.
Self-Service in the Admin Center
Making changes in-house instead of outsourcing them
With the aconso Admin Center, the bbw Group manages technical settings on its own: creating new document types, fine-tuning roles and permissions, and updating signatures and logos whenever there is a change in management. “We want to be able to do things ourselves — rather than depend on external consultants to do them for us,” says the Head of HR.
During the ongoing rollout at another subsidiary, the team was able to add three to four new document types at short notice, while carrying over the existing tab structure unchanged. Access rights, which determine who can view which files, are synchronized nightly from SAP. Another improvement that hundreds of users notice in their day-to-day work: single sign-on replaces the separate login.
Who should make the switch
“I would recommend the products from aconso to organizations that are decentralized, bring together different companies and want to standardize their processes,” says the Head of HR. The key, she explains, is to set standards without the individual companies losing their identity – and to have documents available wherever the work actually happens.
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More customer stories
“The digitalization of confidential records is a fundamental requirement for the Group-wide HR restructuring. It enables us to carry out remote processing and we can optimize all the HR processes simultaneously.”
“Working with aconso has proven effective. The system is accessible to all, and our employees can easily access files via their mobile phones.”
“Although HR work usually involves a great deal of paper, thanks to digitalization, we have been able to significantly reduce our paper consumption and in turn help protect the enviroment.”
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