Case Study: Siemens Becomes One

Siemens at a Glance

COMPANY:
Siemens Corporation manages the operations of 30 companies that design, develop and manufacture electrical and electronic systems

INDUSTRIES:
Multiple, including: Electronics Manufacturing, Medical, Power Generation, Telecom, Transportation & Lighting

HEADQUARTERS: New York, NY

EMPLOYEES: 70,000

GOAL:
Streamline and centralize the hiring process among a diverse group of operating companies without eliminating individual or unique workflows

THE SOLUTION:
Peopleclick® RMS

KEY BENEFITS:

Improved productivity & lower hiring costs
Flexible web-based architecture
accommodates a variety of workflows
Significant improvement in day-to-day staffing management
Immediate reduction in
time-to-fill rates

Peopleclick streamlines and centralizes hiring

Business Overview
Siemens Corporation, the U.S. holding company for the German electronics and electrical engineering group Siemens AG, develops solutions that improve the way people live, travel, manufacture, communicate and care for each other.

Through a diverse set of operating companies, Siemens focuses on generating unmatched value for its customers and shareholders. Over 70,000 employees work together to energize whole enterprises across multiple industries including healthcare, transportation, telecommunications, power generation and electronics.

Standardizing Recruiting for a “Company of Companies”
A “company of companies,” Siemens grew through multiple acquisitions of organizations that were allowed to operate independently. However, to reach business objectives in tougher economic times, Siemens adopted a new unified, “One Siemens” approach. Siemens is working to strengthen its U.S. operating companies by optimizing internal business processes to increase efficiency and reduce costs. By using technology to streamline and standardize its hiring process, the company’s human resources function is leading the way.

“Our HR function is continually looking for ways to add value and impact our company’s bottom line,” said Tom Ruddy, director of organizational development and human resources for Siemens Corporation. “We looked at all of our internal HR processes and focused on standardizing recruiting because it was something that could immediately improve the productivity of our operating companies.”

To do this, the company faced a unique challenge – just how do you bring
multiple HR groups from multiple industries with individualized approaches to hiring and specialized recruiting needs together?

Flexibility is Key
After an extensive evaluation period, during which Siemens looked at multiple vendors, it turned to Peopleclick’s market-leading recruitment management system – Peopleclick RMS. “We looked at many companies and selected Peopleclick because their web-based recruitment solution delivered the advanced functionality our staffing groups required,” said Chris Colbert, the human resources technology project manager for Siemens.

“Siemens is one of the more complex matrix organizations with a large number of unique businesses,” added Ruddy. “Peopleclick helps us achieve our goal of acting as ‘One Siemens.’ That is, by standardizing certain processes across our different operating units, we can achieve greater economies of scale while still providing our various businesses the flexibility to meet their unique hiring needs.”

With Peopleclick, Siemens is improving recruiter productivity and lowering talent acquisition costs across all its operating companies. “Our application’s flexibility is a real competitive advantage when solving the business problems of large organizations,” says Erik Morse, vice president of product strategy for Peopleclick.

The flexible technology of Peopleclick RMS allows Siemens to centralize recruiting without disrupting the unique hiring practices of its operating units. “The application’s architecture provided essential flexibility in accommodating various processes and workflows that are critical to the individual operating companies,” added Colbert.

One Complete Solution
For the first 18 to 24 months that Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation (SWPC), based in Orlando, Fla., began using RMS, recruiters managed an average of 40 to 50 requisitions per recruiter. The recruiting team experienced a significant improvement in managing their day-to-day staffing and reporting activities and immediately reduced its time-to-fill rate.

With six main locations, 30 satellite offices worldwide, and hiring managers who travel extensively, the ability to access RMS from anywhere at anytime through a standard web browser is a definite plus.

“Not only is Peopleclick easy to use, but it breaks down the barriers of location and time. We have experienced higher levels of satisfaction from our hiring managers due to the fact that Peopleclick actively engages them in the staffing process via the hiring manager portal,” says Nancy Breen, the director of organization effectiveness for Siemens.

Siemens was impressed by Peopleclick not only because it provided one complete solution that has standardized the recruiting and hiring process of a huge multi-business unit organization, but also by the scope of the technology’s functionality. Siemens has found that the application can address other business problems including applicant tracking from an EEO compliance standpoint.

A Global Leader
Peopleclick’s process-driven approach, world-class client services, and commitment to developing best practices make it a market leader – attributes the organization shares with leading global companies like Siemens. The company’s technology has been designed to integrate with a customer’s existing business systems, HRIS application or ERP. With this flexibility and Software-as-a-Service model, Peopleclick’s talent acquisition technology can be quickly implemented and does not over-tax a company’s internal IT assets.

About Peopleclick
Peopleclick provides software and services that empower companies around the world to find, attract and hire quality people—in less time, with less risk. Peopleclick’s technology, consulting expertise and support give companies the vision and flexibility to strategically manage all of their talent resources—whether they are salaried, hourly or contingent. Founded in 1997, the privately-held company currently serves 1,800 clients in 192 countries, including 54 of the Fortune 100. Peopleclick products support users in organizations ranging in size from large, multi-national corporations to small and medium-sized businesses.

For more information on Peopleclick and its market-leading talent acquisition technology, visit www.peopleclick.com.