HR & Payroll Transformation
The client is a global food company and one of the world’s largest producers of chicken, beef, pork, and prepared foods. With annual revenues exceeding $50 billion and more than 130,000 employees, the company serves customers and consumers worldwide through a diverse portfolio of leading food brands and foodservice products. Its large-scale operations rely on integrated technology and processes to support its workforce, production, and supply chain.
130,000
Employees
75+
Processing Plants
Full 22 States
Transformation Footprint
1000+
HR, Benefits & Payroll Users
AT A GLANCE
CLIENT
CHALLENGE
APPROACH
RESULTS
A leading global food company undertook a major SAP HR transformation to modernize HR and Payroll operations and better support future growth. ChangeStaffing delivered full-cycle organizational change management - aligning leadership, engaging stakeholders, and preparing a geographically dispersed workforce for new technology, processes, and ways of working — helping enable a smooth transition.
The client faced a complex HR and Payroll transformation spanning more than 75 processing plants across 22 states. More than 1,000 HR, Benefits, and Payroll users would be impacted, many with limited computer experience, creating significant challenges for adoption and training. At the same time, aging HR and Payroll systems were increasingly unreliable, costly to maintain, and unable to provide the flexibility and scalability needed to support evolving business requirements and future growth.
ChangeStaffing began by assessing organizational readiness through end-user surveys and focus groups to understand workforce needs, identify potential adoption barriers, and determine the most effective approaches for engagement, communications, and training. A cascading sponsorship network was established across the organization, connecting the Executive Steering Committee, HR, Benefits and Payroll leadership, and project leaders at each processing location to reinforce ownership and support throughout the transformation.
The team developed and executed a phased, multi-channel communication strategy designed to build awareness, understanding, and commitment as the transformation progressed. Communications included newsletters, a dedicated project website, workshops, sponsor communications, videos, and company-wide conference calls. ChangeStaffing also conducted a detailed job impact analysis to understand how the new technology and business processes would affect roles and responsibilities, using those insights to shape targeted communications and training.
To prepare employees for the new SAP environment, ChangeStaffing assessed skill requirements and user capabilities and developed role-based training and performance support tools designed to accelerate proficiency and adoption. Readiness measures and ongoing workforce feedback were used throughout the transformation to monitor adoption, identify areas of resistance, and direct additional change support where it was needed most.
The transformation achieved its strategic objective of giving the client greater flexibility to respond to evolving business needs and support future growth. More than 1,000 employees were successfully transitioned to the new SAP environment, with users trained in PC literacy, SAP functionality, and the extensive process changes required to operate effectively in the new environment.
Strong executive sponsorship and leadership alignment were maintained throughout the program, while ongoing end-user engagement helped accelerate readiness and adoption across the business. This combination of leadership support, targeted change activities, and workforce involvement contributed to a smooth transition and helped employees successfully integrate new processes and workflows into their day-to-day responsibilities.
Beyond the immediate transformation, the program strengthened organizational decision-making through more effectively integrated processes and workflows and established a sustainable change capability that could support future digital transformation initiatives.