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CASE 05UK WATER UTILITYSAP SUCCESSFACTORS
An HR transformation the workforce actually adopted.
SAP SuccessFactors would change how every employee and manager worked. This is how structured change management — impact assessment, role-based enablement and communications in step with delivery — turned a system go-live into sustainable new ways of working.
DELIVERED
ENGAGEMENT
Change Management Programme Leadership — HR Transformation & Organisational Readiness
SECTOR
Leading UK water utility
PLATFORM
SAP SuccessFactors — full solution suite
OUR ROLE
Change Management Programme Lead — Business Change & Organisational Readiness
01 — CLIENT CHALLENGE
A leading UK water utility was undertaking a major HR transformation through SAP SuccessFactors — modernising HR services, improving employee experience and establishing an efficient, data-driven HR operating model.
The organisation recognised that successful adoption would depend on a structured change management approach aligning people, processes and technology from the outset. KT Transformation Advisory was engaged to lead Business Change and Organisational Readiness.
WELL BEYOND A TECHNOLOGY PROJECT
— New processes, responsibilities and ways of working for employees across the organisation— Business continuity to protect throughout delivery— Adoption — not deployment — as the true measure of success
02 — PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES
i.
Understand the impacts
The organisational impacts of implementing SAP SuccessFactors, mapped and agreed.
ii.
Manage the change
Business change defined and managed across all affected user groups.
iii.
Enable the workforce
A comprehensive training and enablement strategy aligned to business needs.
iv.
Keep readiness in step
Business readiness evolving alongside the implementation programme, not after it.
v.
Land the adoption
Successful user adoption with minimal operational disruption.
The ultimate goal: not simply to deploy a new HR system, but to enable sustainable behavioural change and embed new ways of working across the organisation.
03 — OUR APPROACH
1
Assessing organisational change impacts
A comprehensive Change Impact Assessment — run with senior HR leadership, business SMEs and the implementation partner — examined how SuccessFactors would affect:
HR OPERATING PROCESSESEMPLOYEE & MANAGER RESPONSIBILITIESWAYS OF WORKINGORGANISATIONAL ROLESDECISION-MAKINGUSER EXPERIENCESPOLICIES & PROCEDURES
A clear picture of where change would occur, who would be impacted, and the support each group needed to adopt successfully.
2
Engaging stakeholders across the business
Working closely with the Chief Human Resources Officer, HR executives, technology workstream leads and functional SMEs to validate impacts and align business with technology:
— Building shared ownership of the transformation— Confirming business process changes— Validating organisational impacts— Identifying business risks— Prioritising adoption activities
Change decisions reflected both technical design and operational realities.
3
Designing the business readiness strategy
With impacts agreed, a structured readiness programme prepared employees for the future operating model — readiness planning, stakeholder engagement, communications planning, training needs analysis, learning strategy, adoption planning and readiness checkpoints.
Enablement wasn't a standalone activity — it was integrated into the transformation journey, so employees got the right support at the right time.
4
A role-based training and enablement programme
With the implementation partner and internal L&D teams, a comprehensive curriculum was built from the Change Impact Assessment — tailored to each audience, across the full solution:
EMPLOYEE CENTRALTALENT ACQUISITIONTALENT MANAGEMENTWORKFORCE ANALYTICS
System knowledge combined with process understanding — how to use the technology, and how roles and responsibilities would evolve.
5
Aligning change with programme delivery
Business enablement evolved alongside System Integration Testing and User Acceptance Testing — lessons from testing continuously improved communications, learning materials and training content.
Readiness reflected the final system configuration, not early design assumptions — significantly increasing adoption and reducing post-go-live support.
6
Delivering effective communications
A structured communications framework, tailored to each stakeholder group under one consistent organisational narrative, ensured:
— Employees understood why the change was happening— Business leaders could reinforce key messages within their teams— Expectations stayed aligned, with regular progress updates— Users knew where to find support, training and guidance
7
Supporting readiness through to adoption
Organisational readiness was monitored with HR leadership, the implementation partner and business teams as the programme moved through design, testing and deployment:
— Readiness assessments— Stakeholder feedback— Training effectiveness reviews— Adoption planning— Business engagement— Continuous refinement of enablement materials
04 — OUR ROLE
Engaged as Change Management Programme Lead — the strategic link between executive sponsors, HR leadership, business users and the implementation partner, keeping organisational change in step with the technology implementation.
— Change Management strategy— Leading the Change Impact Assessment— Stakeholder engagement and alignment— Business readiness planning— Training needs analysis— Learning and enablement strategy— Communications planning— Collaboration with HR leadership and partners— Aligning change activities with SIT and UAT— Monitoring readiness throughout delivery
05 — OUTCOMES
A workforce that was informed, prepared and confident.
✓Comprehensive Change Management framework aligned to programme objectives
✓Enterprise-wide Change Impact Assessment completed across all major HR processes
✓Role-based curriculum across Employee Central, Talent Acquisition, Talent Management and Workforce Analytics
✓Readiness activities integrated with testing — learning materials matched the evolving solution
✓Stronger stakeholder engagement and communication throughout the programme
✓Improved organisational readiness with minimal disruption to day-to-day operations
✓Successful adoption of new HR processes and technology across the organisation
06 — BUSINESS IMPACT
Technology transformation only delivers lasting value when people are prepared to embrace change.
Structured change management, targeted enablement and continuous collaboration between HR, business leaders and technology teams carried the organisation to a new HR operating model — with business continuity and employee engagement maintained throughout.
The investment in SAP SuccessFactors translated into sustainable organisational change, stronger adoption and long-term business value.