Northparkes Mines Transforming Recruitment With SAP SuccessFactors

A prominent copper and gold mine in central NSW, Australia, Northparkes Mines’ unwavering commitment to responsible mining practices is paramount, but the high value it places on its workforce and recognition that people are at the heart of its success is what sets it apart.

People at the heart of success

Renee Piddington, Superintendent HR, Training & OD for Northparkes Mines, explained, “The resources sector is highly specialised and very competitive, so we need to be equipped to bring the best people into the business to achieve our organisational goals. We know candidate experience is critical, with their initial perception of the work environment vital for the company’s image and attractiveness. The business sets high expectations around recruitment support, so I’ve been advocating for a candidate management system to improve our capability and agility to source, engage, and hire top talent. The team must be equipped with tools to provide a best-practice recruitment service to the business.”

A trusted partner for rapid implementation

As part of its strategy and continued investment in HR, Northparkes Mines partnered with NTT DATA to implement SAP SuccessFactors, with the project slated for go-live in just nine weeks. Having supported the organisation for several years, notably around SAP functionality, Northparkes Mines capitalised on the trusted and familiar advisor relationship with NTT DATA.

Based on best-practice business processes and pre-configured SAP SuccessFactors modules, NTT DATA’s ready2run® process was also fundamental to the decision. It minimises typical challenges faced with HR implementations, such as limited budgets, tight timelines, stretched internal resources, and increasing business complexity. The guiding principles behind ready2run® focus on standard processes, clear roles and responsibilities, consistent definitions, compliance, minimal hand-offs, verifications only where necessary, data captured close to the source, and user self-service.

SAP SuccessFactors: elevating talent acquisition

SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting will allow Northparkes Mines to more intelligently manage the entire talent acquisition lifecycle through results-oriented recruiting practices, embedded engagement, and automation. This includes proactive recruitment of passive talent, cloud-based technology for high-volume recruiting, embedded intelligent technologies to guide the recruitment process, and an applicant tracking system (ATS). Both the HR team and functional business leads will use the solution, with automation, shared visibility and efficient tracking, augmentation, and reporting of recruitment information, improving the entire process.

The solution offers a strong foundation for future HR initiatives, with candidate marketing functionality ensuring Northparkes Mines puts its best foot forward in the market. Current spreadsheets, Seek, and other manual processes mean teams practically start from scratch each time a new resourcing requirement arises. The new solution will increase team capability and agility – automating tasks, freeing time to focus on other aspects and continually improving employee engagement and experience.

Streamlining recruitment for the future

Optimistic about the future, Piddington understands the functionality will significantly improve the team’s capacity and speed to create robust candidate pools and hire for special projects. “Knowing we’ll have a fully functional candidate management solution in just nine weeks was beneficial, then we can access ongoing support. We can plan to begin 2024 with a new tool to support recruitment. The decision to move forward is also driving up my team’s morale since it demonstrates the business has an appetite to work with these kinds of tools.”

Moreover, the implementation opens opportunities to leverage other SAP SuccessFactors functionality. Piddington continued, “We are thrilled to work with NTT DATA as a long-term service provider. They took the time initially to understand what the business needs, then helped us sell that to management with flexible proposals that met our resourcing and other needs. It’s great to know NTT DATA will support us now and in the future.”

Piddington concluded, “No matter your function in business, automation is key. I’m not a system or technology expert; I’m a people person. NTT DATA has been amazing right from the start when I ask what may be basic questions to understand the technology or approach. The team are patient and kind in addressing all my requests.”

Northparkes Mines will continue refining the solution to make the HR function more agile and effective. This journey demonstrates its solid commitment to innovation, efficiency, and fostering a bright future for its workforce.