Post Merger HR Systems Harmonization and Employee Migration

ENGAGEMENT

Following a major telecommunications merger, the companies faced a pressing challenge to meet an ambitious end-of-year deadline to consolidate payroll and benefits systems and migrate over 13,000 employees from one company’s HR system to the other. This was essential to achieving substantial cost savings targets. Over 40 HR applications were involved, requiring careful management to determine which needed to be maintained, migrated, or decommissioned based on their future relevance to HR processes. DayBlink Consulting was tasked with leading this critical initiative, overseeing solution design, creating aligned program timelines, maintaining cybersecurity standards, and developing detailed testing and organizational change management (OCM) plans. Under the guidance of DayBlink Consulting’s leadership, all key deadlines were successfully met, ensuring the project was completed without issues and all cost savings targets were achieved.

PROBLEM

During solution discovery and the initial project planning phase, it was estimated that it would take ~18 months to successfully consolidate the payroll and benefits systems of the two companies, and migrate the 13,000 employees into the systems. However, shortly after aligning to these timelines, it was decided this had to be completed before the end of the year, in less than half the originally estimated time, in order to achieve cost saving targets. This led to collapsed timelines across the board, which made it difficult to successfully test and implement everything on time.

SOLUTION

DayBlink Consulting collaborated with the program delivery team to optimize the original 18-month timeline, achieving the end-of-year deadline. The key technical advancement was the creation of an intermediary ‘Data Adapter,’ designed with Solution Architects to translate data between two companies’ HR systems. This solution became the project’s core, crucial to meeting the deadline. Additionally, DayBlink worked with cybersecurity teams to ensure all standards were upheld during the design and build of the ‘Data Adapter.’

DayBlink Consulting also worked closely with the testing teams to design efficient testing timelines. We assessed project risk and  requirements, identified critical phases, and prioritized tasks. By facilitating frequent communication and coordination, we ensured testing milestones were clear and achievable. This structured yet flexible approach kept everything on track, delivering quality results on time.

DayBlink Consulting developed comprehensive go-live execution and organizational change management (OCM) plans to ensure a smooth transition and stakeholder awareness. These plans detailed every step of the deployment process, addressing potential risks and outlining clear responsibilities. DayBlink also crafted communication strategies to inform all necessary individuals about the upcoming changes, ensuring everyone was prepared and aligned. This thorough preparation facilitated a successful implementation and minimized disruptions during the go-live phase.

DayBlink Consulting was at the center of everything to hit the strict end of year deadline. By optimizing timelines, helping design the crucial ‘Data Adapter,’ ensuring cybersecurity compliance, and coordinating testing and go-live plans, DayBlink ensured the project stayed on track and delivered high-quality results on time.

RESULT

Our solution ensured that all 13,000 employees were successfully migrated on time and the HR systems were seamlessly merged, despite the severely shortened timeline. Over 40 HR applications were either maintained, migrated, or decommissioned based on their relevance to ongoing HR processes. This comprehensive approach allowed our client to meet their end-of-year deadline and achieve the intended cost savings targets of over $1M per month.

Beyond the immediate goal of system consolidation, the project delivered several other significant benefits. It streamlined numerous manual processes that were previously time-consuming and enhanced employee satisfaction by reducing the administrative burden. The creation of the intermediary ‘Data Adapter’ became the core of the project, ensuring smooth data translation between the two companies’ HR systems and maintaining high data integrity throughout the process.

Our ongoing collaboration with the client focuses on leveraging the robust framework established during this project to support further HR and operational improvements. The successful migration and consolidation have set a new standard for future integrations, enabling the client to pursue additional automation and optimization initiatives confidently. The project not only met its objectives but also laid the groundwork for continued innovation and efficiency in the client’s HR operations.