Focusing on a function to further performance

Case Description
The company
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) traces its origins back to 1849 and offers auditing, accounting, and
assurance services. The firm provides services up and down the organizational hierarchy from strategic
consulting for financial valuation reporting to tactical human resources performance assessments, to
operational forensics. The firm also provides professional services across a range of value areas such as
business intelligence, logistics benchmarking, and information security. PwC also has expertise across
sectors such as automotive, hospitality and leisure, entertainment and media, technology, financial
services, real estate, transportation and logistics, and retail.

Throughout its existence, PwC has focused significant attention on demonstrating their thought leadership
in multiple domains. PwC produces numerous market trend
analysis reports for their clients and at times allows public
access to the same. For instance, in PwC’s 17 th Annual Global
CEO survey (2014) the firm incorporated a heavy focus on
human resource (HR) challenges. In that survey they found
that although 93% of CEOs reported that their firms have
serious talent management challenges to face “in the near
future” a surprising 61% indicated that they have not taken
strategic first steps to address those challenges. The same
report found that only 34% of CEOs felt that their HR
capabilities were well-prepared for those challenges. And the
issue was not reserved to one particular country or region (as
can be seen in the right).

One Client’s challenge

One PwC client, a leading global financial services firm with approximately 20 million customers and more
than 10,000 employees worldwide, found that its human capital management (HCM) system could not
keep pace with the complex needs of its rapidly growing global business. Compensation was a particular
concern for the firm, whose performance-based culture distributes compensation based on an employee’s
contribution to firm success. The existing proprietary HCM system was not designed to measure these
results on a global basis, nor could it support a multicurrency employee compensation approach. The client
firm knew that updating the existing compensation tool would require costly and time consuming coding
changes—and ultimately prove inadequate anyway. The firm’s leadership felt they had two choices: either
take precious time to build a new solution from scratch, or purchase a new, and likely expensive, HCM
system that would meet its needs for the next 10 years.

PwC’s Advisory solution

When the financial services firm engaged PwC to help it plan and implement a solution, a third option was
presented that would enable them to maximize the investment in the existing core HCM system while
quickly gaining state-of-the-art functionality. Working closely with Oracle’s HCM professionals, PwC
developed a project plan to implement particular HCM modules using a “coexistence” approach.
Coexistence enabled the firm to add Oracle’s Fusion HCM Compensation and Talent Management modules
to its existing core HCM system using standardized application integration interfaces. PwC helped design a
roadmap, resolve project issues inherent in an early adopter program, and redesign and improve the
appropriate HR business processes. Throughout the implementation, PwC worked with the firm’s
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PwC case (continued)
managers to facilitate training and deliver a seamless transfer of knowledge to business users. The
financial services firm was among the first to implement this particular HCM system coexistence approach,
and PwC provided documentation on business requirements, configurations, business process gap analysis,
as well as baseline test scripts and scenarios. PwC co-authored (with the firm’s business transformation
experts) the major process change justifications. Initially, PwC, Oracle, and the client firm deployed pilot
Compensation Management and Talent Management modules to a targeted employee population that
included multiple business units and international employees. Once lessons learned were identified and
disseminated, the new integrated HCM modules were implemented for the remainder of the firm’s
employees across the globe.

Impact on client’s business

The client firm has realized the following benefits:
 Up to a 70 percent reduction in time spent on compensation review process. The process now
takes only three to six weeks, down from 10 weeks previously.
 Ability to more efficiently meet global compensation requirements and ability to streamline
performance ratings and compensation processes.
 Empowered managers to make the right compensation decisions based on key information from
embedded dashboards and analytics.
 Increased system integration, automation, and workflow to yield process efficiencies and reduce
manual processes.
 83 percent of pilot participants agreed to advocate for the tool.
 Entering fourth successful cycle of compensation since implementation.

Based on the success of the pilot program for compensation, the firm engaged PwC to implement
additional performance management and goal management modules. Previously, the firm used a 42-point
numeric rating scale for its performance reviews. As the scale was so large, employees lacked visibility into
what their rating meant relative to their peers, and how their rating scores overtime affected their personal
career. PwC worked with the firm to streamline this process and incorporate a five-point scale with
qualitative indicators to let them know if they were meeting or exceeding expectations. The new goal
management system allowed the employees to digitally maintain and update their goals throughout the
year, cultivating a culture of proactive personal development and self-growth. The client firm is planning to
move all of its HR processes to the cloud by implementing the rest of the Oracle’s HCM suite of
applications. 

While the success of efforts like the above were pleasing to PwC leadership, trends toward more freelance,
contract-based talent acquisition, more flexible work arrangements, and increasing workforce diversity
would present new challenges and opportunities for clients in the future. What HCM systems could be
designed and implemented to help clients - and their talented professionals thrive and adapt - in the
future?

Sources:
1. Corporate Website, http://www.pwc.com
2. Johnson, Sheryl , PwC (January 2014) “A global return for human resources”
3. PwC 17th Annual Global CEO Survey (2014)
4. Bloomberg Business Snapshots, “Company Overview of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP” (accessed
February 17, 2015)

[Case Questions immediately below]

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PwC case (continued)

Case Questions
1. Describe the value proposition for PwC, including the variety of services it provides and its
primary value discipline/strategic focus (two multi-part lists).
2. Describe six information problems (two at each level) that would help justify the client firm’s
expense of PwC HR-related professional services. (Reminder: include explicit treatment of the
challenge of addressing the information requirement / answering the question sustainably).
3. Describe the HCM systems capabilities that addressed the client firm’s tactical and operational
information problems.
4. Describe the two additional features of an HCM system that could better position the client firm
to face the challenges and maximize on the opportunities referenced at the end of the case?

This case study is based upon corporate material from PwC “A global return for human resources” Page 3 of 3