Fintech company sees 80% time-saving with Cezanne HR
Open GI, an industry leader of advanced insurance software solutions for MGAs, Brokers and Insurers, needed to replace its HR system. Their existing software was proving to be far too manual, taking up valuable time and rarely delivering the insight that its team needed. Instead of helping the company move forward, it was holding it back.
The Open GI HR team decided they needed to move to an online, streamlined HR system that the whole workforce could benefit from.
Sluggish to simplicity
At the time Open GI had 350 employees across three offices but had an appetite for growth which saw it grow to 540 members of staff across six offices (including two international offices in Krakow and Skopje) by August 2017. This meant that Open GI required an HR system that would host all employees on a single, easy to use platform but could accommodate local differences – and would be delivered as Software as a Service (SaaS). The team also required a platform that was easily scalable and could deliver public holiday and annual leave calculations in a multi-currency offering.
Other key criteria included better reporting, employee and line manager self-service, and the flexibility to add modules in the future. “We wanted to be sure that we were investing in a solution that was sophisticated enough for our current needs, would grow with us and that we could get to grips with relatively quickly”, explains Natalie Brotherton, HR Manager at Open GI.
Open GI’s old HR software was clunky to use, required far too much manual data input, and often couldn’t produce the reports that the team required. In short, it was costing the HR team – and the wider business – too much time and money.
After a competitive pitch of three HR systems, Cezanne HR was selected as Open GI’s chosen HR system.
Working together
Open GI initially implemented Cezanne HR’s core HRIS (People), together with the integrated modules for absence management and online recruitment.
As part of the service provided to Open GI, Cezanne HR assisted with data upload and initial system configuration, and also delivered tailored training courses.
This meant Open GI was able to get up and running quickly and capitalise on the full range of features available in the system. “Having Cezanne HR’s support to hand is a huge benefit. As most companies do, we wanted a bit of hand-holding in the first year or so, so we could utilise all aspects of the platform” Natalie explains.
“The support we have received from the Cezanne HR team is fantastic. Cezanne HR provides us with quick responses and helps us to find the solution quickly.”
“Cezanne HR’s user groups are great as the team listens to our suggestions and implements them into the system quickly. The Cezanne HR team is open to feedback and change, and wants to continue adapting and improving for its customers.”
Cezanne HR regularly releases new features based on customer feedback. The new form builder tool, an enhancement to the core People system, has been very popular with Open GI. “We found it really straight-forward to get started with, and are now using it extensively,” reports Natalie.
Digital transformation
The Cezanne HR system has revolutionised the way Open GI operates, saving time across the business.
For example, in the past, it would take HR nearly a day a month to input holidays and other types of leave, which didn’t even include the time it took employees and their managers to complete and submit the relevant paperwork. Reporting was just as difficult. The HR team had to look at sicknesses manually, working out how many sick days any one particular employee had already taken.
Open GI employees can now request holidays or log other absences through the app—empowering employees to take control of their own schedules and personal planning, and automatically routing requests to the right person for sign off. Line managers have complete visibility over their teams, and the HR team can now produce accurate reports at the click of a button.
Other aspects of HR administration have been streamlined too. Whereas it used to take Open GI’s HR team two or more hours to complete a simple task, with Cezanne HR they can now complete the same tasks in a fifth of the time.
“Alongside saving us tons of time, Cezanne HR has everything we need from an HR platform”, Natalie continued. “There’s so much more that we want to do with it, and we know that the team will take our requirements into consideration and will help us to get the most out of our platform. Our next step is to implement the Onboarding and Performance modules, and to work with the Cezanne HR team to utilise these modules as much as we can.”