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for articles excerpted from the 1st Quarter 2000 Edition
of Insight, the newsletter from Genesys Customer Service:

Business Intelligence Unlocks Wealth of Information

Genesys can help you "mine"
your collected HR data
resulting in meaningful reports

ROI Quickly Realized with
Web-based Self-service

Study shows annual savings
of 25-30% with payback in
as few as 12 to 18 months

NewsBriefs

PEO HRMS recieves high score,
rapid implementation of FULLSource,
Ladner contributes to HR book

Client Referral Program

Could your fellow HR and payroll
professionals benefit from
Genesys' products and services?

Business Intelligence —
Getting more from your HR data

There is a lot of confusion these days surrounding data management terminology. At one time, a large-scale storage area for data was referred to as an Information Center. Time passed and Information Centers gave way to Data Warehouses. And now we find that Data Warehouses are broken into Data Marts. We don’t analyze data anymore -- we mine it. Frequently, we find ourselves wondering what the difference is among these terms — is there a difference between a warehouse and a mart?

Although there is no consistent and universally accepted terminology, there is general consensus that data warehouses and data marts exist to help organizations make better-informed decisions. And, there is general agreement on the distinction between the two as described here.

Data warehouses are traditionally developed via a top-down approach. Corporate IT, servicing the highest levels of management, determines what data is needed to formulate business decisions at that level. Data warehouses most often incorporate disparate data from throughout the organization covering accounting, manufacturing, human resources, and more. The data contained in a warehouse is frequently formulated and stored at the detail level.

Data marts, on the other hand, are typically developed through a bottom-up approach to cover the needs of a single department or workgroup. Data marts may be the result of a grassroots effort in a single corporate function. For example, human resources may undertake a project to put a data repository together dedicated to helping them make better-informed decisions. This repository would be referred to as a human resources data mart. Data marts typically contain data that has been summarized.

There is debate among experts as to which approach is the more judicious. With a top-down design -- one storage location will mean just one point of reporting. On the other hand, a top-down repository may only touch upon each workgroup’s needs and not provide the depth or breadth of information required. A large Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) may consist of terabytes of data and be unwieldy for some purposes. In this case, a single workgroup data mart may provide a more easily maintainable alternative.

Once the data needed is gathered in either a warehouse or mart, appropriate tools are needed to help turn this data into information. Tools that are involved in this process fall into the general category referred to today as Business Intelligence (BI). Back in the days of the Information Center, the Center often included not just the repository but resources dedicated to producing specialized reports to get the data out in a meaningful way. Today, with the advent of sophisticated and easy-to-use report writers and query tools, much of the "mining" can actually be put into the hands of the end users themselves.

As was announced at the 19th Annual Genesys conference and in recent communications, Genesys now provides customers with a tool for producing extracts that are ready for immediate access by virtually any industry-standard reporting tool. Genesys has partnerships with two leading providers of Business Intelligence tools. The Genesys BI partners are Seagate® who markets Crystal Reports® and Cognos® who markets the Impromptu® reporting tool. In the case of both Seagate and Cognos products, users can produce reports in a variety of formats including HTML for ease of making them available to fellow users on an intranet and to make the reports interactive in nature.

And, the Genesys extracts can be used to build the foundation for your own human resources data mart.

In addition, there are tools available that go several steps beyond the traditional columnar report. One such tool is PowerPlay® from Genesys’ partner, Cognos. Genesys conducted extensive research and opted to partner with Cognos because they are a market leader in the Business Intelligence market and they offer PowerPlay, a very robust On-line Analytical Processing (OLAP) tool. (Genesys joined the Cognos partner program as a Certified Solution Provider on February 8, 2000.)

OLAP tools, such as PowerPlay, differ from traditional report writers in a number of ways. First, the tool analyzes data that has been placed in a predefined multidimensional database. The consuming organization defines up front what measurements and criteria are most critical for making informed decisions and are most likely to be requested on an ad hoc basis. The tool then enables users to perform multidimensional analysis and extensive drill down on the key business criteria defined. The results of the analysis are presented as both text and graphics.

It is probably clear from what this article has covered that the areas of data management and Business Intelligence continue to experience rapid growth. Most experts agree that the key aspect in implementing a Business Intelligence strategy for your organization is in the up front planning. Your organization needs to define the frequently asked questions and the measurements that are most likely to be of strategic interest. OLAP tools will only be as effective as the data earmarked for the data mart or multidimensional database on which it resides.

Those who were present at the 19th Conference in September of 1999 may have had the opportunity to witness an HR OLAP success story firsthand. Rolf Boehme of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation presented a session titled, "Intelligent New Business Tools for HR". In this session, Rolf shared the HR Decision Support successes achieved at CMHC through the application of multidimensional databases and Cognos’ PowerPlay product. One example Rolf provided in which CMHC’s decisions are better informed was in the area of employee performance appraisals. Through the effective use of these tools, CMHC can now compare the number of performance reviews that are complete, not complete, or pending by region and a total for the organization along with statistics comparing this time period to prior time periods. This capability saves CMHC a great deal of manual effort that was required at one time prior to this initiative. The employee appraisal analysis is just one of the areas that Rolf’s organization has automated through OLAP.

You may find that developing a Business Intelligence initiative is something you’d like to do but you may lack the knowledge and resources to get started. In this case, Genesys Professional Services is available to assist you in the planning of such projects.

For more information on Seagate’s products, visit their web site at http://www.seagatesoftware.com. For more information on Cognos, visit their web site at http://www.cognos.com. If you’re interested in talking with Genesys about applying Business Intelligence to your Genesys installation, contact your sales representative or send e-mail to solutions@genesysHCM.com.

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Return on Investment Study: Self-service

According to a recent Hunter Group study, web-based methods have recently surpassed IVR as the self-service vehicle of choice. There are a number of reasons for the widespread movement toward the web for self-service. IVR, well suited to multiple-choice type selections, is not well suited for delivery of text-based information or for gathering textual data from employees.

However, there are many organizations that are just beginning to look at self-service for their employees and managers. The reasons for this are as varied as the organizations involved. Most organizations are taking a phased approach to rolling out web-based self-service, focusing first on the employee communications area — providing the HR policy manual on-line, posting jobs, and other non-interactive tasks. This function is being followed by rollout of benefits management and personal data update — the latter two are lagging as they are interactive in nature and thought more difficult to accomplish.

The self-service industry study reports that 90% of those organizations that have implemented self-service view it as successful. In follow-up interviews, organizations reported that key factors for ensuring their success included: frequent communication with the end-user community, taking the up front time to develop a vision for the future, and rethinking old processes.

There are many very good reasons for exploring an organization-wide self-service initiative. Not the least of these reasons is cost savings. The self-service study reports that those organizations that have implemented web-based self-service are realizing annual savings of between 25% and 30% once payback has been achieved. As well, respondents to the Hunter Group survey are reporting that payback is in as few as 12 to 18 months.

By eliminating process steps and forms, reductions in administrative costs are achieved at the same time that employee communication is improved. To give a concrete illustrative example, the chart below shows where dramatic cost savings can be achieved through automated, web-based self-service.

Task Manual Cost Self Service Cost % Saved
Change Home Address $10.00 $2.00 80%
Employee Change Action $12.00 $4.00 67%
View Benefit Profile $6.00 $.50 92%
Provide Current 401(k) Statement $50.00 $.60 99%
Access Policy Handbook $4.00 $1.00 75%
View W-4 Information $3.00 $.50 83%

Source: Hunter Group 1999 study on self-service

Genesys has applied these industry averages to our own self-service product, WEBServe, with very positive results.

In an example ROI case, a 3000-employee organization can expect that on average each employee will require a blend of 3 different actions that would be automated by the new self-service system. We then calculated both initial and on-going costs of implementing WEBServe including acquisition and maintenance of hardware to host the application.

The results are that this organization will achieve payback in 12.7 months — at the favorable end of the industry curve. Thereafter, the organization can expect cost savings of $35.00 per employee per year or approximately $105,000 per year. Not only will this organization save money, but they will also be improving employee communication and freeing HR resources for other critical projects.

Results for your organization may be better than those results shown here. Genesys would be pleased to perform an ROI analysis tailored to your circumstances. To request it, contact your Genesys sales representative or send e-mail to solutions@genesysHCM.com.

For information about the Hunter Group study, visit their web site at www.hunter-group.com.

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Genesys Client Referral Program

Genesys regularly invests in numerous and varied marketing initiatives with the goal of introducing our products and services to new organizations. We attend over 15 high-profile events throughout the year. We produce mailings on a regular basis. And, Genesys advertises in a number of magazines and journals each month. We are always seeking new and innovative approaches for reaching an even broader audience. One of the ways for communicating in the industry that we’ve not previously explored in any depth is through you, our valued customers.

Undoubtedly, you come in contact with peers who may benefit from a product or service that Genesys offers as you attend industry forums and networking associations. Up until now, we have not established a method by which we could formally communicate with you on this valuable information. The goal of the Client Referral Program will be to do just that.

We’re asking that you be an additional set of ears and eyes as you communicate with fellow HR and payroll professionals. If you believe you have a lead to pass along to Genesys, we encourage you to do so. In turn, Genesys will be sure to keep you informed of progress as well as recognize your contribution at the annual Genesys conference.

You can begin sending referrals to Genesys today by calling your Genesys sales manager or by sending e-mail to solutions@genesysHCM.com.

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NewsBriefs

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