Abstract
Serono S.A., a large Swiss biotech company with dozens of locations throughout the world, had implemented a bold initiative to train its work-force so that it could hire and promote from within as it entered new lines of business. In so doing, Serono elevated human resources from a largely administrative function to a key player in the company’s corporate strategy. The program was successful; nevertheless, Serono decided that it needed an IT system to automate compensation and performance management for its global operations, allowing HR to focus even more tightly on strategic work. The company selected a software vendor and brought together a multinational team to oversee the successful deployment. Looking back on the process, Serono recommends that companies considering a similar IT project set a realistic but meaningful one-year goal for the initial roll-out, make sure the team isn’t dominated by people from headquarters, and select a platform that’s flexible enough to incorporate changes to local laws and overall strategy.
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