OREANDA-NEWS. August 06, 2015. As a leading-edge provider of smart irrigation solutions, Netafim helps farmers in over 100 countries increase crop yields while consuming as little precious water as possible. Behind every season’s bounty of fresh fruits and vegetables are Netafim’s 4,000 employees – seasonal workers, agronomists, scientists, engineers and technical managers.

Headquartered in Israel, Netafim needed a better way to manage its diverse worker population across 31 countries. Netafim turned to SuccessFactors Employee Central, Performance & Goals and Compensation solutions to globalize human resources (HR) in one system, streamlining important processes and fostering a stronger common culture.

Centralized, global employee database

With 29 legal entities worldwide, Netafim needed an HR system that was both global and easily localized. The software also had to accommodate users of SAP and non-SAP software. Netafim’s management team liked the idea of a cloud solution to hold all core employee data because it would be quick to implement and easy for employees to access. It was equally important to link any new HR systems to Netafim’s existing on-premise SAP ERP software, building on the company’s past technology investments.

“SuccessFactors had the best recommendations,” said Eran Benyamini, Head of Business Applications at Netafim. “Also, we knew that because SuccessFactors was an SAP company, the migration and integration with our existing SAP ERP application would work.”

The benefits of standardization

By uniting HR processes and employee data on one platform, Netafim is fostering a consistent corporate culture – regardless of where employees are located. From an organizational perspective, Netafim can quickly cascade company-wide goals and CEO messages to teams everywhere. For HR and other business users, aligning commonly-used terms like “student vs. intern” or “temporary” vs. “seasonal” has simplified accurate recordkeeping, allowing everyone to use the same onboarding software tools for new hires regardless of where they are located.

“SuccessFactors Employee Central standardized our HR terminology and created ‘One Netafim.’ We speak the same language, use the same org charts and classify employees in the same way,” said Benyamini.

In addition, the ability to integrate data across SuccessFactors Employee Central, Performance & Goals and Compensation solutions is saving time and boosting productivity. Managers have one accurate view of constantly changing information for better, faster decision-making. “Previously, if anything was changed in one HR system, it has to be manually edited in all others,” said Laura Naveh, HRIS Manager at Netafim. “Today, if someone leaves the company, changes their profile or moves to another department, that change is transparent everywhere.”

Having achieved a 90 percent participation rate among employees for performance management, Netafim plans to roll out SuccessFactors Compensation in Israel and eight other countries. The software will allow the company to sync compensation plans, moving beyond previously disconnected performance cycles and regional budgets. Naveh said automating compensation workflow will reduce dependence on email and back-end manual processes, thereby decreasing errors. “Plus, by having an executive review during the process, rather than after, we will create even more transparency, which is very important.”

Metrics to attract another precious resource: talent

Using data from SuccessFactors, Netafim will be able to track activities like management changes, the number of new-hires and internal mobility rates for employees. The company plans to capture and use this information to make Netafim a more attractive workplace. Naveh said that by measuring HR activity trends, the company will be able to prioritize what needs improvement and to make better decisions.

Just as farmers worldwide rely on Netafim’s advanced technologies to irrigate their crops, the company depends on SuccessFactors solutions to support its own precious resource – the talent that powers its global operation.