Roc - Roc news

Webcast Slides

tHRive Team — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Slides presented on the 11 Jan 2012 tHRive HCM Forms webcast.

New tHRive HCM Forms Catalogue Published

tHRive — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

A revised catalogue of processes and forms has been published for tHRive HCM Forms. Over 30 forms are now pre-delivered with the full product making the task of removing HR paperwork and streamlining HR even easier.

ROC wins 2010 SAP UKI Partner of the Year – Line of Business Award

ROC UK — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

ROC recognised for its contributions in support of SAP ERP Human Capital Management application; Innovation key to ROC’s recent success with tHRive, its on-demand and on-premise usability suite

London, UK – 17th June 2011 – ROC Systems Consulting Limited today announced it has been awarded a 2010 SAP UKI Partner Award in the category ‘Partner of the Year – Line of Business’. Awards were presented by SAP UKI on May 26, 2011, at the Soho Hotel in London. Twelve awards were given to the top-performing SAP partners in UKI for outstanding contributions in revenue growth, marketing and customer service.

The Partner of the Year - Line of Business award specifically recognises ROC for its close working relationship with SAP in support of customer engagements involving the SAP® ERP Human Capital Management (SAP ERP HCM) application. The award was presented to ROC by Lizzy Squires, alliances director, SAP UKI.

“ROC is a significant and committed contributor to SAP’s line of business,” said Squires. “Over the last 18 months, ROC has launched its tHRive on-demand offering, which provides customers a flexible deployment of SAP ERP HCM, quick time-to-benefits realisation, and mobile capabilities.”

“We are extremely proud of this achievement,” said Jerry Chilvers, global CEO of ROC. “As an SAP services partner and an on-demand solution provider, we spend all of our time helping customers get the most from their implementations of the powerful SAP ERP HCM application, in ways that best suit the organisations’ needs. A lot of hard work has gone into creating our tHRive usability suite, which now underpins most of our self-service deployments, as every organisation knows how important it is to maximise the reach and adoption of SAP software. tHRive makes life easy for all users: HR administrators, line managers and employees. This award is a direct result of all the hard work that has been invested by our solution architects and consultants.

“We are looking forward to the next few years, as cloud availability and ease of adoption become increasingly important key factors in an organisation’s software decisions,” added Chilvers. “tHRive caters to these requirements, so we are well prepared to meet customers’ expectations. It’s an exciting time for SAP, ROC and our joint customers.”

ROC launches new tHRive SAP Performance & Goal Management Solution

The tHRive Team — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

ROC has launched the latest application from the tHRive Usability Suite; a highly intuitive web-based solution for Performance & Goal Management that replaces the need for costly, time consuming enhancement of SAP templates. Choose from a selection of pre-delivered appraisal forms or simply create your own. Engage your employees and improve productivity.

tHRive Self Service HCM for On Premise users has been launched

The tHRive Team — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

ROC launches tHRive Self Service HCM; a ready to run Self Service application leveraging the very latest SAP Webdynpro technology to simplify work-life for employees and managers. Intuitive usability ensures high user take up. Drive down your HR costs with tHRive Self Service HCM.

tHRive SAP HCM Usability Solutions now available to On Premise customers…

tHRive — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

After the successful launch last year of tHRive, ROC’s SAP HCM On Demand Platform, ROC has released a tHRive On Premise Usability Suite for existing SAP customers who also need to improve Usability for Employees, Line Managers and HR Administrators.

“It was becoming increasingly evident that the Usability and Adoption of Software were key challenges for existing On Premise SAP HCM users as well. There are many SAP customers who need to widen the reach of their SAP HCM footprint within the organisation” says Damian Williams, VP of tHRive On Premise Solutions. “The tHRive Usability components underpinning our SAP HCM On Demand platform are built in the latest version (EC6), it was a logical step to release tHRive as an On Premise Usability Suite. We are also seeing lots of interest for tHRive On Premise from organisations implementing SAP HCM for the first time as well, as they really need to maximise employee adoption in order to drive out the business benefits that support the investment case.”

“ROC has been implementing SAP HCM for more than 12 years now and in that time we have seen what works and what doesn’t.” says Williams. “SAP is great technology and version EC6 gives customers a real opportunity to embrace the whole organisation which has a huge positive effect on business performance. Filling in paper forms is time consuming and a thing of the past. And there is no need for employees, managers or administrators to struggle with technology. Our tHRive On Premise Usability Solutions address these issues right now for customers who already own the underlying SAP technology, for minimal investment”.

A number of customers are operational with both tHRive On Premise and tHRive On Demand solutions. ROC continues its global expansion from its European and US headquarters with Damian Williams moving to the Asia Pacific region where the ROC sees exciting growth opportunities.

To read the full press release click here

ROC Global Newsletter Oct/Nov 2010

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 10:16:07 +0000

Welcome to the latest edition of ROC News. We have a Usability theme running through this whole edition as we are seeing this play a significant part in client decision making as ease of adoption by employees becomes ever more critical.

With Usability in mind, ROC is really proud to announce the release of tHRive-mobile, which allows employees to access Self Services through mobile technology (currently iPhone). Readers can now download this app which includes an offline demo application as well as live access to one of ROC’s tHRive systems. The application is available to all SAP users.

ROC has also released the tHRive onPremise solution suite which addresses many of the issues faced by users of in-house SAP systems. There is a webcast running next week for readers interested in finding out more about one of the solution components - the HR Admin Console.

A new industry spotlight section has now been included and in this issue we focus on Food & Beverage and some of the challenges faced by companies in this sector. There is an update on SAP Visualization Solutions by Nakisa from our renowned Subject Matter Expert, Stephen Burr, and our Chairman, Les Hayman, is now a regular blogger on the HR scene (see below for details).

Finally, we are really proud to have made it into the Tech Track 100 list for a 2nd year running and would like to thank our customers for continuing to choose ROC as their SAP HCM solution provider.

Oh, and if you are at any of the SAP HCM events below, then please come by our booth and say hello…

Damian Williams

Founder, ROC

Tech Track 100

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0000

It is 10 years since the first Sunday Times Tech Track 100 revealed Britain’s fastest-growing private technology, telecoms and digital media companies. Since then, successive annual league tables have uncovered several firms that have gone on to become well-known brands and stock-market stars. The tables have also charted changing trends in the knowledge economy as broadband and 3G transform the way companies operate and consumers spend their time and money.

The financial website Moneysuper-market.com, semiconductor business Wolfson Microelectronics and online grocer Ocado are among 23 firms that have floated since appearing in the Tech Track 100. A further 139 have released wealth for their founders and backers through trade sales. For example, the online map provider Multimap was acquired by Microsoft for £24m in 2007; the anti-virus software group MessageLabs was snapped up by Symantec for £400m the following year; and the fashion retailer Net-a-Porter.com was acquired by the Swiss luxury-goods company Richemont for £350m in April.

Over the years, several sectors have stepped into the limelight thanks to technological breakthroughs and market trends. The inaugural Tech Track 100, originally slated for 2000, was postponed for 12 months after the dotcom bubble burst, wiping out thousands of start-ups. But in the following year, dotcoms were eclipsed by telecoms companies, thanks to the effects of deregulation in the 1990s. Since then, the emergence of internet shopping, online gaming, price-comparison websites and, this year, cloud computing, have all been reflected in the rankings.

Many of these companies have become household names. Bet365, at No31 in the league table, is appearing for the fourth time, as is the DVD rental service Lovefilm (No51). Charity fundraising website Just Giving (No 82) is listed for the second year running, while the price comparison web- site Cheapflights Media (No100) is listed for a record seventh consecutive year.

Many more on the tenth anniversary rankings are emerging brands that are transforming our everyday consumer experience. Shazam (No 36) allows people to identify tunes by using their mobile phone to capture the sound. The business is also driving traffic to online music stores, such as iTunes and Amazon, where it claims 8% of users go to download the song that has been identified.

Meanwhile, Skyscanner.net (No 21), one of several price-comparison websites in this year’s league table, is helping cost-conscious holidaymakers find flights, hotels and car hire. Opta Sports Data (No 85) collates and distributes results and other statistics from 30 sports in 70 countries for media outlets, including the BBC and News International, owner of The Sunday Times.

Entrepreneurs at the helm of this year’s Tech Track 100 companies are creating greater wealth and more jobs in the know- ledge economy than at almost any other time in the past decade. Their success is a testament, perhaps, to Britain’s world leading technology and design skills. Together, the 100 companies have combined sales of £2.8 billion, against £429m in 2001, although the league table criteria have changed slightly. As many larger businesses continue to shed jobs, the 2010 league table firms have added 10,564 in the past three years — some the result of acquisitions — bringing their combined workforce to 17,265 staff, compared with 5,270 ten years ago.
Tech Track 100 firms are not required to be in profit as many are backed by venture capital and business angels, but a full four- fifths of this year’s ventures have reported pre-tax profits in their latest accounts. Of the 10 most profitable firms, three are in the online gaming sector, including Bet 365, which recorded the largest profits, at £101m. The healthcare software business Datix (No 86) had the biggest profit margins, at 54%.

This year’s No 1 company, PKR, is another web-based betting business, reflecting consumers’ growing appetite for home entertainment. The company, which operates a 3D poker table allowing players to create their own avatars, was launched six years ago by Jez San, who also founded the games developer Argonaut at the age of 16. Some 100,000 people a month in Europe, Canada and Australia are said to be signing up to the site, powering sales growth of 356% a year from £347,000 in 2006 to £33m in 2009, with good profits.

But perhaps the most notable trend to emerge this year is a sharp rise in the number of companies that provide out- sourced computer services, including cloud computing and managed hosting. Sixteen firms cite this as their main activity, with a further five offering it alongside their main products and services. After businesses slashed their IT budgets during the downturn, many are now opting to outsource server capacity and share IT infrastructure. For example, DediPower (No 41) provides Virgin and Sony with hosting services, while 850 firms have turned to Adapt (No 42) for computer services. Microsoft’s Scott Dodds assesses the rise of cloud computing on page 3. Internet and network service providers account for a further 15 firms.

A broad category of digital media and entertainment companies — including online gaming firms — have also performed strongly this year, with 14 slots on the league table. For example, Monu- mental Games (No 6) develops games that can be played online by thousands of partic- ipants at the same time. BDO’s Julian Frost looks at how technology is shaping con- sumer behaviour on page 6.
Venture-capital, business-angel or private-equity investors have backed 37 of this year’s companies. Encouragingly, six firms raised funding in the 12 months to July, double the number that secured backing in last year’s table. These include Cybit (No 94), a GPS tracking business that was taken private by the American private equity house Francisco Partners in January. On page 4, Sean Duffy of Barclays Corporate evaluates the prospects of bank funding for high-growth firms.

Over the past decade, the Tech Track 100 has showcased the strength and depth of Britain’s knowledge economy. The quality of this year’s fast-growing technology, telecoms and media firms bodes well for Britain’s future.

NSW State Budget 2010 - Highlights

Kade Anthony — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Building a better future for NSW families

The NSW Budget is already back in surplus – two years earlier than forecast
$1.1 billion Budget turnaround in 2009-10
Budget surpluses worth a combined $3.15 billion over the next four years, an average of around $800 million a year
The NSW economy has recorded a massive $11.5 billion turnaround in the past year, with Gross State Product forecasts improving by 3 per cent compared to last year’s Budget.

Building a strong balance sheet for NSW

NSW Budget forecasts:

2009-10 -$101 million SURPLUS

2010-11 -$773 million SURPLUS

2011-12 -$885 million SURPLUS

2012-13 -$863 million SURPLUS

2013-14 -$628 million SURPLUS

Building better services for NSW families

The NSW Government’s investment in services and infrastructure includes:

HEALTH - $16.4 billion

EDUCATION - $14.4 billion

TRANSPORT - $7 billion

ROADS - 4.7 billion

POLICE - $2.8 billion

HUMAN SERVICES - $5.7 billion

EMERGENCY SERVICES - $972 million

Building for the future: NSW Home Builder’s Bonus

Australian-first zero stamp duty for off-the-plan purchases of new homes – saving up to $22,490 for families and investors who buy a house or apartment worth up to $600,000 in the pre-construction stage
25 per cent stamp duty cut on newly-constructed homes, saving up to $5,623
First home buyers receive up to $29,490 in benefits if they buy off-the-plan in the pre-construction stage
Australian-first zero stamp duty for over-65 “empty-nesters” who sell the family home and down-size to a newly-constructed home worth up to $600,000.

Building for NSW business

$180 million in new tax cuts in 2010-11
Abolition of the insurance protection tax from 1 July 2011
$654 million in new tax cuts in the four years to 2013-14
Double cut to payroll tax, contributing to saving NSW businesses $4 billion on payroll tax over the six years to 2013-14
Payroll tax cut due in January 2011 to be brought forward to 1 July 2010
Payroll tax will be cut again on 1 January 2011 to 5.45 per cent
The NSW Government has cut the payroll tax rate four times in two years.

Building NSW infrastructure

The biggest infrastructure building program in NSW history continues with a $62.2 billion infrastructure investment over the next four years, supporting 155,000 jobs a year
$16.6 billion infrastructure building program in 2010-11
$22.3 billion over the next four years for the Metropolitan Transport Plan, including the start of work on the $4.5 billion Western Express, 400 growth buses, and the Dulwich Hill light rail
A defence industry investment package worth up to $75 million supporting up to 1500 new jobs and hi-tech industries
$152.1 million upgrade of the Sydney Opera House – the biggest upgrade in the icon’s history, improving public safety and security at Australia’s No 1 tourist destination
Ongoing construction of the $980.5 million new Royal North Shore Hospital, the largest health infrastructure project in NSW history, and the announcement of a $91.8 million clinical services building also at Royal North Shore Hospital
$166 million to ensure police are equipped with the latest technology and are working in world-class facilities, including delivering seven new police stations this year, expanding the use of cutting-edge DNA technology, delivering a new $10.7 million twin-engine police helicopter, 25 additional mobile police commands and more vehicles with Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology
More than $2 billion to upgrade NSW schools and TAFEs including new halls, gyms, classrooms, toilets and science labs.

ROC Global Newsletter May 2010

Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to May's Newsletter. There is so much happening in the world of SAP HCM that I am struggling to fit it all in.

The most exciting news is that ROC has launched tHRive, a Global SAP HR On Demand Solution. With 30 years of SAP at its core, our Global HR Framework underpinning the processes, Usability Enhancements based on the latest SAP Portal functionality as well as Executive Dashboards it is no wonder that interest is so high. Global compliance is now available - as a service!

Government confirms previously announced tax changes will go ahead

Kade Anthony — Wed, 12 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The Government confirmed their commitment to some previously announced tax measures:

Reducing the standard company tax rate to 29% from 1 July 2013 then 28% from 1 July 2014.
Reducing the small business company tax rate to 28% from 1 July 2012.
Allowing small businesses to immediately write off assets valued at under $5,000 and other assets in a single 30% rate depreciation pool.

50% savings discount for interest income from 1 July 2011

The Government plans to provide a 50% tax discount on up to $1,000 of interest earned by individuals, including interest earned on deposits held in authorised deposit taking institutions, bonds, debentures and annuities.

Currently there are higher levels of tax applying to interest income, compared to other forms of investment income. The discount will be available for interest income earned directly as well as indirectly, such as via a trust or managed investment scheme, and is expected to benefit around 5.7 million taxpayers in 2011-12.

Example

To generate $1,000 of interest a taxpayer would need savings of $16,667 assuming a 6% interest rate. As there is no preservation or holding period requirement included in this measure, the 50% savings discount provides an alternative shorter-term savings mechanism, particularly for those affected by super contributions caps.

Simplifying your tax return - standard tax deduction from 1 July 2012

The Government plans to introduce a standard deduction for work-related expenses and the cost of managing tax affairs. The standard deduction will be $500 for the 2012/13 financial year, and then $1,000 for the 2013/14 and subsequent financial years.

This standard deduction would be available regardless of whether relevant expenditure was actually incurred. For example, a person who completes their own tax return would be able to claim a deduction for their own efforts. The standard deduction will translate into a $157.50 saving for a person on a 30% marginal tax rate in the first year of the measure and a $315 saving in subsequent years.

Where a person’s deductible expenses exceed the standard deduction amount, they will be able to claim the higher expenses instead of the standard deduction.

Personal tax rate reductions legislated from 1 July 2010

As announced in the 2008 budget, the personal income tax thresholds for the 2010- 2011 year will be as follows:

Income threshold Tax rate

$0 - $6,000 0%

$6,001 - $37,000 15%

$37,001 - $80,000 30%

$80,001 - $180,000 37%

$180,000+ 45%

These personal tax rates differ from the tax rates for 2009-2010 in that the income threshold for the 30% tax rate has been increased from $35,000 to $37,000 and the 38% tax rate has been reduced to 37%

Overview of the Federal Budget 2010

Kade Anthony — Wed, 12 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has handed down his third Budget promising to return the Budget to surplus in three years. The fiscally conservative Budget reconfirmed the recent announcements by Treasurer Swan in response to the Henry Taxation Review.

In addition there were a number of changes to taxation, superannuation and social security benefits. These changes include lower tax on bank savings with a 50 per cent discount on up to $1000 of interest income, standard deductions for tax returns and childcare rebate capped to 2008-09 level of $7500 per child.

Superannuation

Government confirms that the matching rate for the co-contribution scheme will stay the same.
The super guarantee rate will increase from 9% to 12%, commencing 1 July 2013.
The super guarantee maximum eligibility age to 75 from 70 providing an incentive for older workers to stay in the workforce.
A 15% low income earners Government contribution capped at $500 will be introduced, effectively refunding contributions tax on up to $3,330 of concessional contributions. o
Reform of First Home Saver Accounts (FHSA) - savings in an FHSA can be paid into an approved mortgage after the end of a minimum qualifying period, rather than requiring it to be paid to a superannuation account.

Taxation

There will be lower tax on savings, with the first $1000 in interest discounted at a rate of 50%.
The standard company tax rate will reduce to 29% from 1 July 2013, then 28% from 1 July 2014.
The small business company tax rate will reduce to 28% from 1 July 2012.
The government has introduced a standard tax deduction to simplify your tax return.
Tax rate reductions announced ion 2008 budget will go ahead.

Social security

The Government had already extended the Family Tax Benefit –A to cover children aged 16-20 who do not have a Year 12 or equivalent qualification, and who participate in full-time education or training, or part-time education or training in combination with other approved activities. From 1 July 2010 part-time education or training will now not be sufficient.
The Child Care Rebate will be capped at $7,500 per child (2008/09 level) from the current annual cap of $7,778 per child.

Henry Review response

The Government has confirmed their commitment to some previously announced superannuation and taxation measures.

ARCO Award

Damian Williams — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000

ECMOD was founded back in 1990 and is the most highly regarded annual conference for executives engaged in the catalogue & home shopping sector through online and multi-channel retailing. Last night Arco won the Outstanding Website Innovation and Performance Award in the B2B sector.

Their website which is based upon Broadvision technology & is integrated into a SAP landscape has been developed and continually enhanced by a dedicated ROC team over the last 5 years.

“I am sure you will join me in congratulating Iain Millar and his team for this outstanding achievement and well deserved recognition of the developments they have achieved with the excellent support of ROC” Arco Sales & Marketing Director

So many congratulations to Stephen, Malcolm, Tom and Ian from ROC and to Iain of Arco and his team for this outstanding achievement and well deserved recognition of the developments they have achieved

Thanks

Damian

ROC Global Newsletter Jan/Feb 2010

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the latest issue of ROC’s Newsletter. With the dawn of the new decade, many organizations are once again looking at the value they are getting from their IT budgets. At ROC, we are assisting our clients maximize their return on this investment and position themselves to deliver outstanding HR service to their employees. From helping build a strategic roadmap to applications support, ROC is adding value to their SAP investment. In each issue of our Newsletter we share some of these highlights.

In February's Newsletter, we focus on Analytics, SAP WSO (the new Workforce Scheduling & Optimization solution from SAP, powered by Click Software) as well as the latest release of SAP TVN. I am also really proud to see that Sandy Eastman, CEO of ROC ANZ has been named as one of the top ten most influential people in ANZ region. Sandy has helped literally hundreds of organizations make the most of their SAP HCM solutions and she deserves this recognition. Finally, in the interest of refining our newsletter to meet more of your needs we have included a reader feedback section at the end.

Poland: e-declarations in SAP

Ryszard Wysocki — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

ROC Poland has a new solution, e-Deklaracje, allowing SAP customers to send tax forms PIT-11, PIT-8C & PIT-40 electronically to the Ministry of Finance, saving time and effort.

Southwark County Council & SpinifexIT Payroll Reporting Tools

Damian Williams — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Says Lynn Farrell, SAP HR & Payroll Manager of London Borough of Southwark: “We are really excited with the opportunity that the deployment of SpinifexIT Payroll Reporting tools presents to us at Southwark County Council. Finally, there is a product that can bridge the gap between SAP’s Ad-hoc Query and Business Intelligence (BI)”

“Without having to go to the incredible expense of a full blown BI project, we and our users are now able to extract management information simply and efficiently without the need for IT involvement - ROC and SpinifexIT have provided us with a step change in SAP HR/Payroll Reporting”.

ROC Global Newsletter Nov/Dec 09

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

November has been a busy month and with December already upon us we have combined the last two issues of the year to bring you a packed Christmas edition. This issue is all about Performance Management with links to a recent article published by ROC on the importance of Performance Management in today’s economic climate. On ROC TV we have a recording of October's webcast with guest speakers from Towers Perrin and a customer that
implemented Performance Management in under 2 months.

In tune with the festive period we have included a case study on Hasbro Inc., a worldwide leader in children’s and family leisure time products and services, who will no doubt be very busy at this time of year. With ROC's help, Hasbro implemented a global
Compensation Management solution to simplify the annual pay review process.

Finally, I would like to wish you all a Happy Christmas and a prosperous year in 2010 wherever you are in the world.

ROC Global Newsletter October 09

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the October edition of ROC’s monthly Newsletter. We are delighted that so many of you have commented positively on our new format, and look forward to living up to your expectations in this and future issues. This month’s edition has a heavy focus on the SAP HCM Processes & Forms Technology (powered by Adobe) including a White Paper, links to the last webcast that was run and details of an accelerated approach to implementation.

We have also included details on ROC India, our new offshore centre that is helping drive down implementation costs for our customers. We hope you agree that there are a lot of exciting things happening at ROC at the moment. We are delighted that The Sunday Times has recognized this and has included ROC in its annual Tech Track survey of fast growth organizations.

I look forward to meeting many of you as the SAP World Tour hits New York City later this month where I will address the HCM stream on the changing face of the HR department.

With Best Wishes,

ROC Global Newsletter September 09

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to September’s edition of ROC News, the newsletter designed to keep you in the picture of what’s happening around the world at ROC and all things SAP HCM. September’s issue has a Talent Management theme with links to our last webinar on Succession Planning and a client Case Study on SAP TVN, along with information on future events, webinars and much more…..

With Best Wishes,

ROC reports rapid global growth.

Vicky Burr — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Company expands footprint and revenue towards goal of becoming largest global SAP HCM consultancy. ROC, the leading global SAP HCM consultancy, has announced exceptional financial growth for 2008 expanding revenues to approximately £10 million a year. The company has also expanded its global footprint across all major geographies boasting over 250 percent year-on-year growth, against an industry standard believed to be around 20-25 percent. The company has achieved this without taking on debt or drawing on VC investment.

Throughout 2008 ROC has seen a rapid expansion in its global footprint, including the addition of three more strategic countries: Benelux, South Africa and Australia & New Zealand. ROC now has an employee base of over 300 Business Transformation and SAP HCM experts across the globe, which is set to continue growing during 2009.

Les Hayman, chairman of ROC and ex-CEO of SAP EMEA commented: “Our ongoing partnership programme has been central to ROC’s success this year. Our global clients are now able to access ROC’s knowledge and expertise in every major geography around the world. This allows us to create globally joined-up SAP thinking for large enterprises, whilst spreading ROC’s in-depth SAP understanding to locally operating players. 2009 will provide many possibilities for ROC to continue its growth, seeking out new areas for expansion and taking advantage of every new opportunity.”

ROC Global CEO, Jerry Chilvers, said, “It is great to see our business succeeding despite the economic challenges. I’m very proud of the ROC team’s performance over the past 12 months and am confident we can continue and expand upon our successes throughout 2009. Our rapid growth is a testament to ROC’s strong business strategy and reinforces our commitment to become the largest global SAP HCM consultancy.”

Case study (UK): Premier Foods

Vicky Burr — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

ROC helps Premier Foods standardise HR processes and systems across the business.

Introduction

As the largest food manufacture in the UK, Premier Foods is a company which houses ‘Great British Brands’ like Mr Kipling, Hovis, Oxo and Branston. Back in 2005, with a staff of 4500 people and a turnover of £700 million, the company was a much smaller concern than it is today. In the last three years, Premier Foods has embarked on a vigorous growth strategy, acquiring businesses like Campbell’s and Rank Hovis McDougall (RHM). The company now stands at around 18,000 employees with annual turnover in excess of £2.5 billion.

Challenge

Premier Foods’ acquisitive strategy signalled the need for technological standardisation across the business. The solution has been an initiative called the Fusion programme, which has focused on implementing an SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, including the Human Capital Management (HCM) modules.

Aligning the HR function has been a key element of the Fusion programme. The companies Premier Foods has acquired include bakeries, canned goods manufacturers and mills, all of which operate different HR, time management and payroll systems. These disparate systems mean that the company has had limited visibility into its HR processes, to the extent that it has even proved difficult to extrapolate headcount.

As Mark Vickery, CIO of Premier Foods explains, “There was a mixed bag in terms of HR processes and systems in operation across the business. Whereas the original Premier Foods business had automated payroll and time management capabilities, other businesses used paper based processes. The challenge has been to standardise the systems across the business and conduct a significant change management programme. We have employees who have never had to use clock in machines, for example.”

In terms of HR policy, there have been as would be expected, many differences that need to be reviewed and in some cases aligned. Some employees have been getting paid weekly, others monthly; some clock in, whereas others use time sheets. Other differences include some employees being entitled to advance holiday payment and variations in shift payments and overtime entitlements. All these discrepancies needed to be reviewed.

ROC Solution

Risk mitigation and maintaining ‘business as usual’ were important considerations when Premier Foods selected ROC to work on the SAP HCM element of the Fusion programme. ROC’s considerable experience in large scale SAP HCM implementations was one of the main reasons it was chosen, along with its Best Practice HR accelerated solution, which the consultancy developed in conjunction with SAP. The best practice approach meant the project was based on proven processes, so configuration time could be kept to a minimum and the time taken to test the system could be maximised to ensure successful delivery.

Phase one of the project dealt with the original Premier Foods business and 3500 employees and 10 payrolls spread across nine different sites. The back office solution focused on centralising SAP payroll and time management, in addition to an HR agency labour solution that would give Premier Foods a much better insight into its use of temporary staff.

The next two phases, which are still underway, involve rolling out the same functionality across another 40 sites and five business units. The end result will be that the entire organisation of around 18,000 employees will be migrated onto SAP payroll, time management and HR, as well as a new clocking system. A significant change management programme is in place to educate the staff about the new policies and systems and to deal with the resulting organisational change.

Benefits

When the programme reaches its conclusion in 2009, Premier Foods will have the transparency it needs in its HR operations to get a view of organisational management that didn’t previously exist.

For example, one of the key benefits has been the Daily Cost of Labour Report, which enables senior management to get an accurate picture of how many hours have been worked and the costs incurred, critical in helping to control overtime and temporary labour costs.

ROC’s Best Practice HR Solution has ensured that the design of the system and delivery of the project is of extremely high quality, which in turn means that it is a much safer option for Premier Foods, as any risks to the business are mitigated.

As Mark Vickery concludes, “It is extremely difficult to put a value on the SAP HCM programme and ROC’s contribution in terms of ROI, but the return has been significant. It’s not all about cost reduction – there are lots of other intrinsic benefits. The project has had positive repercussions supporting other organisational initiatives.”

ROC ANZ launches into Asia Pacific market

Vicky Burr — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000

ROC, the leading global SAP HCM consultancy, today announced that Azenkai, a leading SAP Service Partner in Australia and New Zealand, will become part of the ROC Group, forming a strategic element of ROC’s global business.

Les Hayman, chairman of ROC and ex-CEO of SAP Asia Pacific, championed the deal: “Our partnership with Azenkai and the Asia Pacific initiatives is an exciting move for ROC and for our customers. Asia Pacific is a crucial market for many of our clients and this will give them access to a full complement of SAP services from one, stable, global provider. Azenkai was the right fit for ROC, given its culture, the depth of experience of the executive team and local and regional knowledge”.

This announcement is one of several this year, following ROC’s expansion across South Africa, France and Benelux.

ROC Global CEO, Jerry Chilvers, said, “This exciting deal is a natural progression of our business strategy and reinforces our commitment to become the largest global SAP HCM consultancy by the end of 2008. Azenkai shares both the ROC dedication to HCM and the approach to exceeding customer expectations.”

ROC now operates in all the major geographies around the world, employing over 300 HCM Business Transformation and SAP HCM experts.

ROC appoints Markus Bucher to the board of directors

Olivia Farry — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0000

ROC, a leading SAP HCM specialist consultancy, announced that Markus Bucher has joined its board of directors, adding to its existing strength of SAP HR experts from across the globe. Markus’ appointment plays a critical role in ROC’s ambitious, long-term development strategy.

Markus is the founder and managing director of SWICON, a member of the ROC Group and has over 30 years of international management experience in multi-national groups all over the world, concentrating on major re-engineering, restructurings and change management.

His responsibilities to the board will include running the African and Middle Eastern divisions, defining and implementing ROC’s Asia Pacific Strategy. Markus will also be key in developing ROC’s Payroll Support Solutions and rolling these out across ROC’s global operations.

Formerly President of the Swiss Business Council in South Africa, Markus started his career with nine years at Bally Worldwide, becoming Chief Financial Officer (United States). He then moved to Holcim (formerly Holderbank) as Executive Director and Chairman of their holding, management and consulting arm. In 2000, Marcus founded SWICON South Africa (Pty) Ltd and remains as their Chairman and Group Managing Director.

Les Hayman, ROC Chairman and SAP AG Ambassador, said, “We are delighted to welcome Markus to ROC, further strengthening our board of SAP HR industry leaders from around the world. Markus will bring a fresh perspective along with first-rate local expertise from the African and Middle Eastern marketplace.”

ROC are Premier Sponsors of HR2008

Olivia Farry — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

As part of the Premier sponsorship, seven speakers from ROC will feature in the conference line-up, including a keynote address from Les Hayman, Chairman of ROC. ROC will also host an evening reception for delegates on the 6th of November.

Les will deliver a speech entitled “The future of HR — can it survive in your organisation?” The address, given on Wednesday 5th November, will cover numerous important challenges facing the modern HR organisation including: the global war for talent and the importance of tackling business issues through HR. He will also look at the other critical business challenges keeping the world's CEOs awake at night.

Alongside ROC, one of its most valued customers, Hampshire County Council will also speak about its own implementation of SAP Talent Visualisation (powered by Nakisa).

Trevor Stabb, of Hampshire County Council (HCC), will present a case study of the solution at the authority. The presentation will focus on the collection, management and organisation of HR-related data at HCC, the solution that was implemented, and how it was wielded to greatest effect. Trevor will also look at the how the visualisation and customisation of HCC's systems made the implementation even more rewarding.

Damian Williams, UK Managing Director of ROC, expressed his excitement about the event: "This is a really important time for ROC, which has seen very rapid growth over the last 12 months. This event is a great opportunity to share some of our experiences with the HR community, whilst looking at some of our clients' great SAP successes. We are really proud of our close relationship with SAP and being the Premier sponsor of HR 2008 only helps strengthen these ties."

Several ROC consultants are also presenting and hosting sessions at HR2008. Tom Hallewell, Solution Architect, is delivering several conference breakout sessions on Talent Management as well as hosting a discussion forum on E-Recruitment. Richard Honnor, Practice Manager, is presenting 'An introduction to the SAP Workforce Planning and Optimisation solution. Stephen Burr, Solution Architect and Simon Humphreys, Practice Manager, are delivering Talent Visualisation and Talent Management presentations respectively. A member of ROC Nordic, the Norwegian arm of ROC, Jens Ejsing is also hosting a session for delegates, focusing on strategic design and delivery of a global deployment of SAP HCM.

ROC Announces 10th Anniversary Celebrations

Olivia Farry — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000

ROC, a leading global SAP HCM specialist, has announced plans for its 10th anniversary with a day of celebration for all its employees around the world. The event, comprising speeches, team building and other motivational activities, will take place at The Grand Hotel in Brighton on the 2nd of October.

The celebration will be an opportunity for all staff to take stock of their achievements over the last ten years and contribute to, ROC’s strategic future. The event will be punctuated with speeches from ROC Chairman Les Hayman and SAP Ambasador, ROC Global CEO Jerry Chilvers and a motivational speaker. Staff will also participate in team building exercises, a gala dinner and a staff ball to end the event.

Jerry Chilvers, ROC Global CEO, commented, “ROC’s recent growth has been like a whirlwind, so it’s been a really exciting time for the company, especially over the last few years. Our staff numbers have grown from 40 to over 150 in under a year so we thought our 10th birthday would be a great opportunity to stop for a moment and consider the future of ROC as the global business it has become.

As HR professionals, we know how important it is to keep employees invested in the present and future of the company and that’s what this event is about. We couldn’t have got where we are today without them and we need their help to keep pushing ROC forward and to make it the success it deserves to be.”

The announcement marks an important milestone for ROC which has seen rapid growth to become one of the worlds leading SAP HCM specialists. ROC is now a truly global company with bases in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australasia and North America.

ROC’s growth has continued this year, with a joint venture with Benelux-based Quintysis, creating ROC France to serve the French and Swiss markets. ROC has also partnered with South Africa-based SAP HCM consultancy, SWICON in order to penetrate the sub-Saharan Africa market.

Prior to these announcements, ROC welcomed Les Hayman to the team as Chairman. Les was previously the Vice President for SAP in the EMEA and south-Asia regions and still works as an ambassador to SAP. The addition of Les to the team has provided ROC with extensive strategic knowledge and experience of the HR world, whilst strengthening its already firm relationship with SAP.

SWICON to Spearhead ROC Africa

Olivia Farry — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000

London: leading SAP HCM specialist ROC, has today announced that South Africa-based SAP HCM consultancy, SWICON has joined forces with ROC Group to lead ROC’s African business initiative. The objective of the two companies is to jointly penetrate the sub-Saharan Africa market.

The African venture means that SWICON will trade as “SWICON, Member of the ROC Group” and at a later stage, will be fully integrated into the ROC fold. This announcement follows hot on the heels of the news of ROC France and an initiative where ROC has partnered with Quintisys in Benelux.

The African drive and partnership with SWICON is another significant step towards ROC’s business objective of becoming the largest global SAP HCM consultancy by the end of 2008. The partnership will prove hugely beneficial to ROC and SWICON’s clients and partners, as it enables both companies to provide a fuller complement of SAP services and expands the workforce, making the combined organisation a larger and more stable entity. It also underpins both companies’ commitment to SAP HCM technology.

Les Hayman, chairman of ROC and ex CEO of SAP EMEA championed the deal: “This partnership with SWICON and the African initiative is a hugely exciting move for ROC. Africa is a crucially important market for many of our clients and in order to position ourselves as a truly global partner, it is imperative to establish a presence there. In terms of a partner for this region, SWICON was the right fit for ROC, given its culture, the depth of experience of the executive team and local knowledge”.

Markus Bucher, managing director of SWICON and board member of ROC commented: “SWICON is delighted to be partnering with ROC Group in Africa. Being part of a global organisation brings significant benefits to our people, partners and clients. Together, we look forward to getting significant traction in the sub-Saharan African market. It is also important to note that this deal will in now way affect SWICON’s status as a level 1 B-BBEE (broad-based black economic empowerment) contributor.”

ROC Partners with Quintisys to Establish ROC France

Olivia Farry — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000

London: leading SAP HCM specialist ROC, has today announced a joint venture (JV) with Benelux-based SAP HR consultancy Quintisys to establish a business for the French and Swiss markets. The jointly owned company will be known as ROC France.

ROC France will incorporate an operation that has already been established in Paris by Quintisys. The combined force of the JV will aim to penetrate the French and Swiss markets to help organisations in the region implement the full range of SAP’s HCM suite. ROC France is a major step towards ROC’s business objective of becoming the largest global SAP HCM specialist by the end of 2008.

In addition to the French initiative, ROC and Quintisys have signed a cooperation agreement denoting their partnership, where Quintisys leads projects conducted in the Benelux region and ROC is the prominent brand for projects in other international locations. The partnership will prove hugely beneficial to ROC and Quintisys clients and partners, as it allows the companies to deepen their specialisation in SAP HCM, provide a broader spectrum of services and have a larger workforce to resource collaborative projects.

Les Hayman, chairman of ROC and ex CEO of SAP EMEA commented: “ROC France is a hugely positive move for ROC in its bid to become the largest global SAP HCM specialist. ROC France underlines our commitment to SAP. Partnering with Quintisys has given ROC a springboard into the French market – having on the ground teams, with the local knowledge, language and culture is imperative in making this a success. The two companies are very closely aligned in terms of approach – entrepreneurial, creative and above all passionate about HCM".

David Goodman, founding director of Quintisys enthused: “This cooperation agreement is a great boost to Quintisys. We look forward to the benefits that global capacity will bring to our people, clients and partners. Together, ROC and Quintisys have made a commitment to further develop the French, Swiss and Benelux markets and the combined force is sure to make the enterprise a successful one".

ROC launches SAP HCM Internship

Olivia Farry — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 +0000

ROC is pleased to launch its SAP HCM Internship, providing opportunities for candidates with an HR background and experience working in a SAP HCM project team. By joining ROC's SAP HCM Internship you can:

Become a SAP HCM consulting expert
Join a world class specialist SAP HCM consultancy
Train up in the latest SAP HCM technology
Learn how to configure SAP HCM modules
Experience the SAP HCM project lifecycle
Be mentored by one of the world's most experienced SAP HCM consultants

At the end of the program you will be given the opportunity to specialise in a SAP HCM module. If you are an enthusiastic hard worker who is keen to take your career to the next stage then contact us at careers@roc-group.com.

ROC provides enhanced SAP HCM demonstration capability

Olivia Farry — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 00:00:00 +0000

ROC has recently fully integrated its demonstration capabilities such that existing and potential customers can now view the full suite of SAP’s Human Capital Management (HCM) functionality on a single environment. Not only that, but this capability is also portable which allows ROC to bring all this functionality to life at your premises.

The demonstration scenarios follow a candidate through their application to the company via e Recruitment, their subsequent induction as an employee, and then follow them through the first year within the organisation including on-line appraisal reviews and performance based remuneration. Key Performance Indicators are reported to managers using SAP’s Business Warehouse.

The functionality is made available to users predominantly via SAP’s Self Service applications – Manager Self Service, Employee Self Service and the newly introduced HR Administrator Self Service delivered through an Internet Explorer Portal.

If your organisation is considering the implementation of an integrated HCM software application, then email us at enquiries@roc-group.com or telephone +44 (0)1932 268512.

Public Sector Qualifications Body Christmas Payroll delivered safely by ROC

Olivia Farry — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 00:00:00 +0000

A National Public Sector Body responsible for the development, accreditation, assessment and certification of qualifications can look forward to a festive Christmas thanks to ROC. The customer had confidence in ROC to deliver the project safely and on time at a very sensitive time of the year for employee’s pay packets.

ROC awarded ISO 9001 Quality Certification

Olivia Farry — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0000

ROC Systems Consulting Ltd has recently been awarded the ISO 9001:2000 certificate for quality assurance. This international certification lets ROC clients know that the Company is dedicated to delivering service that meets their expectations and has the management structures in place to ensure that a high quality of service is continually maintained.

The successful award of the certificate is the result of both an external audit of ROC’s quality management systems and the immediate implementation of its results. The importance that ROC places on the delivery of quality services can be seen by its choosing to submit itself to ISO 9001:2000 auditing.

ROC is now able to use the ISO 9001:2000 logo on all stationery, websites and indeed any promotional matter. The logo indicates to clients and prospective clients that ROC is committed to the continual improvement of its services for the benefit of its customers.

However, the ISO 9001:2000 certification is more than just a one-off award. It is dependent on ROC’s quality management systems being reviewed every quarter as well as being externally audited on a twice yearly basis. The review and audit process is an essential element of the certification which ensures that ROC continually looks to improve its service.

Peter Appleton, Business Development Director of ISO Quality Services Ltd, the company that carried out the certification process says “I am delighted to have been involved with ROC Systems Consulting during the implementation of the ISO 9001 Certification. I have been able to advise the company on how it can best structure its systems to deliver quality services. This ultimately benefits the customer as well as the business itself.”

Jerry Chilvers, Managing Director of ROC Systems Consulting Ltd says, “We are committed to offering a quality service from the start and we have already built in systems to maintain a high standard of customer service. All the team at ROC have worked really hard to achieve this certification which is an indication of how important quality is to us as a company.”