The Value of Executive Commitment & Sponsorship

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1 The Value of Executive Commitment & Sponsorship What s this all about? SuccessFactors has reached a critical mass of engaged customers where together we can truly validate best practices. This series of whitepapers and supporting materials is delivered from the voice of those that have successfully navigated the path from defining their business challenges to implementing a solution and realizing real results. For just under a month we hosted a survey on our online Customer Community where hundreds of our customers shared their Secret Sauce of Project Management success. Customers of all sizes and industries rated the importance of several steps while providing advice to their colleagues on the benefits of doing each step well while identifying the risks of not doing them well. This is their story on building Executive Commitment & Sponsorship. How important is Executive Commitment & Sponsorship? 4.85/5 Importance Rating (1= Not Needed, 3= Nice to Have, 5 = Need to Have) Ranking and Scores by Segment Overall Ranking Mega Enterprise SMB Weighted Ave Score Executive Commitment & Sponsorship (Ranking) Executive Commitment & Sponsorship (Scores) You can t get much more important than 4.85/5! If this was a test score it would be on our refrigerator ;-) What s interesting about this is the scoring is consistent across all size companies, all industries, and all geographic locations. For those who are concerned about gaining the commitment of their executives on this project, here are a few sage points of advice from those who know best, our most successful customers. If you d like help gaining Executive Commitment in your organization make sure to view the support resources on the Customer Community or contact your SuccessFactors representative.

2 What is Executive Commitment and Sponsorship? Executive Commitment and Sponsorship is about change and the visible communication of the change across the business. The inspiration to make a corporate-wide change typically comes from one of two sources. For about half of our customers their projects started with an executive mandate to strategically- Align individuals with the corporate strategy and Pay for Performance Identify High Potential future leaders and Start a Succession Planning process Develop these future leaders for their current positions and other potential career paths Find the best external talent needed to drive future business direction Even when there is an executive level mandate, companies still must learn how to maximize the value of their initiatives. Not only is it important to educate oneself on what products the market has to offer, it is important to truly analyze one s business for all the opportunities there are to improve. Finding a partner that has the capability to thoroughly explore your companies business challenges, introduce you to applicable industry research, and prescribe the best solution for your needs is key to achieving the business results that your executives expect. For the other half of our customers, where the initiative started with a visionary leader in HR, the organizational education process is even more important because the impact to the business is the key to getting the attention of the executive suite for their commitment. This is where guidance from SuccessFactors personnel combined with the peer network and research archives on our on-line Customer Community can help ensure you and your initiative is set up for success. Key take aways of Executive Commitment and Sponsorship Be persistent- It may take consistent effort to interest executives that may not see the need for change. Make sure to educate the executive committee by bringing the subject up frequently and leaving behind materials they can read when they have time. Align project and company goals- Linking project goals to the business goals will ensure you keep the executives attention on making the project successful. There are always competing priorities across the business as well, so aligning with line of business goals can help drive adoption in large employee populations. Explore all options- Once your Executives want to explore what the impact to the business is, make sure to introduce a SuccessFactors thought leader early so all the options can be explored. Waiting to introduce SuccessFactors until the final approval meeting can leave a few doors open that will delay or postpone the project. Prevent Flavor of the Month - Executives should communicate their expectations of everyone through measurable goals, and be accountable for them as well as they lead by example. Otherwise the initiative is at risk of being another HR Flavor of the Month, where no-one takes it seriously and nothing gets done. This further erodes HR s credibility because the projected results may be less than anticipated. Know your audience- Everyone learns at their own pace so make sure you spend extra time with those executives that may need a little extra help. Be patient with all learners because real change management takes time and incremental effort to change corporate behavior. Hold executives accountable- Document what Executive Support and Sponsorship means to your organization and get their agreement to it, so you can hold them accountable for delivering when other distractions have their attention.

3 Advice our customers would like to pass on about the Benefits of having Executive Commitment and Sponsorship Mega Customers ( employees) Suggest- Detail what "strong Executive Commitment" looks like prior to trying to gain it. It is too easy for executives to "support" something at the time of approval, and then contradict the support later. Keep them appraised of the detail in brief updates throughout the project and reinforce what their "support and sponsorship" looks like each step of the way. (43000 employees) Engagement and support are critical for the continued support of business units and lower level managers as well as finance support. Having them involved on a regular basis, with key notes/updates sent from them on a monthly/quarterly basis have proven very valuable. ( employees) PM/Talent processes are too often perceived as admin duties imposed by HR. Strong executive commitment and sponsorship is the only way to gain recognition of PM/talent as a BUSINESS process. Success requires champions and role models at high levels of leadership so the greatest number of employees has direct experience with success. Also, engaging business leaders is critical in identifying and prioritizing key business needs and outcomes in order to forestall scope creep. ( employees) Enterprise Customers ( ) Suggest- The first benefit is that the executives will not be so hesitant to pay for and implement the tools. Secondly, they will be the champions for change in your organization because not only are they supporting the tool, but will also be hands on with their goals and performance management... leadership from the top is essential. If they do not support the project, it simply will not succeed to the level it is intended for. This tool has the ability to change and enhance the entire culture of your organization. (9000 employees) Strong Executive Commitment and Sponsorship is extremely critical for successful roll-out and ongoing utilization of the system. We included our CEO in the initial communications plan. The first communication that went to all employees about the new Performance and Talent Management system was from the CEO. Our CEO and entire executive team attended training sessions on how to use the system (in the classroom along with other employees). Each of our executive team members uses the system and expects all employees do the same. This is an extremely strong message. We rolled out the system August 2006, since that time we have had 97% + participation on Performance Goals, Self Appraisals, Managers' Appraisal, and Individual Development Plans (IDP). Along with effective communications and training, strong Executive Commitment and Sponsorships made the successful difference for our company in implementing this large-scale change effort. (3400 employees)

4 Small & Medium Business (SMB) Customers (<1500 employees) Suggest- It is essential to gain Executive Commitment and Sponsorship for the success of your program. One way to secure support is to identify a champion and help him or her understand how SuccessFactors will directly impact his or her group and the overall organization. And be sure to "speak finance" in your discussions. This is not about how good it will feel or how much better organized people will be - it's about driving accountability, enhancing effectiveness and improving communication related to goal alignment and achievement, which will result in improved performance (which equates to $$$). (1000 employees) Executives have many projects and issues competing for their time and attention. It is really essential to show the management team that we are committed to improving our process quality and efficiency thru the SuccessFactors software. When executives are excited about the possibilities and enhancements for our company, our commitment becomes contagious for the Managers, and they implement the new system quickly, efficiently, and enthusiastically. (440 employees) For a small to mid-sized organization like our own, our executives encounter many of the staff on a daily basis. Executives and staff interact in the elevator and common areas which tend to breed more informal discussions. This means that executive commitment only starts with a formal statement or memorandum. In our organization, if part of the executive team isn't committed, the lack of commitment is often pretty immediately transparent. In other words, if our leaders don't walk the walk or talk the talk, the remaining staff won't buy-in either. (500 employees) It is critical within an organization that there be strong Executive Commitment not only in verbal support but in actions. A consistent, systematic approach is very different for many organizational cultures. Therefore, in order to shift the entire culture's thinking and actions successfully the "words" and verbal support must become a way of life imbedded in much of the organizational messages. In addition, mid level management needs to see Executives move beyond the words and lead by example. (1500 employees) We found that it may be frustrating at times to build momentum for the initiative with HR as the messenger. The process for building organizational understanding for what the system does and why, and having Executive communicate their expectations ended up improving the outcome. The time spent at the onset will build trust and confidence in the system and our department, as system experts. (1400 employees)

5 Advice our customers want to pass on regarding the Risk of NOT having Executive Commitment and Sponsorship Mega Customers ( employees) Suggest- Without strong sponsorship, designing and implementing PM/talent processes and tools is impossible - insert your favorite metaphor for frustration and chaos. Make sure it's clear that if you have middling support, they'll have middling success. Take the time to clarify expectations from both sides, and adjust the scope of implementation accordingly. ( employees) It is difficult to be successful without strong commitment from the top. The more you understand about top executives' goals and objectives for Talent Management, the better you equipped you'll be to present solutions that management will stand behind. (54000 employees) Enterprise Customers ( ) Suggest- Lack of commitment means you haven't made the link to business objectives and business success. (4500 employees) Priorities change quickly in the corporate world. What was "a priority" can quickly take a back seat when other pressures arise. Having a senior exec as a sponsor ties that person to the completion of the implementation as well as the future success of the process. (5200 employees) If the execs are not committed and fully engaged in the process, this will cascade instead of the goals. It will trickle down to lower level managers and their commitment will be diluted and ultimately impact employees. The Success Factors program is designed to strengthen organizations by strengthening employee performance, and if the execs don't buy in and execute where they are needed, middle managers will know or sense it, and they won't take their obligation to develop their team members as seriously as they should. (1800 employees) Small & Medium Business (SMB) Customers (<1500 employees) Suggest- Be prepared for a long haul. I have been trying to introduce performance management in to our organization for 5 years and it has taken a change of president and some senior people to actually make forward movement. However, the sustained effort is really worth it when you find leaders who are so relieved that at last they know clearly what is expected of them. Have patience and be persistent because it is worth it. [Purchased SuccessFactors 1 year ago] (500 employees) Without the appropriate support, this becomes an initiative flagged as just another "flavor of the month" that costs time and money without the value that is intended or necessary. A Performance Management system and practice that isn't aligned with organizational goals nor has Executive Commitment will fail. (1500 employees)

6 What are you trying to achieve by using the system? We found that rethinking how we will best adopt the system to fit our culture, opened the door to discussions on our culture and management styles and even the way performance itself is managed, and should be managed, in the future. The time spent preparing and building consensus paves the way for synergistic improvements and lasting value. Without that ground swell of optimism and opportunity, the work of training and implementation would sap the energy and cloud the vision your Executives have entrusted to you, to affect the improvements promised. Bully this thing through and you will have an automated system that barely reaches it's potential and perhaps more damaging, doesn't help your people or your bottom line; and the real bonus, your name is linked to all that. (1400 employees) Although you need a strong champion, I wouldn't expect every executive team member is going to be on board from the start. Some people don't like processes or new technologies -- so you need to acknowledge where all of the exec team members are at the start and then work to get them each engaged in the project at their own pace. (800 employees) How do I learn how to make sure my project is successful? Help yourself- You can access the growing list of supporting How To materials for this and other steps through our customer community at Come meet us- Interact with SuccessFactors customers directly through a regional SuccessFactors or industry event. Check for upcoming events. Get to know us- SuccessFactors representatives will have access to this information as well. If you are not already working with one and would like to, please rbarcik@successfactors.com or call R.T. Barcik at (650) and we will connect you with the appropriate person.