Optimisation of Outsourcing Partnership at DHL
”Over the years, we have had many proposals for where and how HR creates value on the bottom line. Getting the payroll process under control is the absolute best and most noticeable example. Ensuring processes, structure and an "engine room", which is running, is the straight way to keeping the money in the business and paying them to the right people, at the right time, and in the right amounts. ...The time when our wage payments were delayed and we did not know if we had received reimbursement of absence due to sickness or maternity leave, is long gone. To be in 100% control of the cash flow related to payroll puts us in a better position to invest in our managers and employees - and thus in the development and progress of DHL".
Maria Hamm, Head of HR Processes Europe, DHL Global Forwarding & Freight, DHL Management Switzerland Ltd.
Challenge
In 2008, DHL and the outsourcing supplier, Zalaris, launched the joint payroll project, payroll process end-to-end. The purpose of the project was to enhance the cooperation between the two parties and to uncover areas for improvement and define and implement solutions with a view to enhancing the efficiency and quality of the overall payroll process. To ensure a specialised and professional project management, it was decided to involve the consultancy firm, Advizion, as external consultant on the project and mediator between the two parties.
Solution
In only 11 months, the joint efforts of Advizion, DHL and Zalaris resulted in the reversal of a conflict-ridden customer/supplier relationship, which was about to be discontinued, into a partnership with focus on development and quality. This has resulted in:
- One HR function, which creates value on the bottom line across five companies
- Payroll processes that comply with the highest standards within the field
- Communication and common understanding which contribute to a high quality level
