Success_Story_H&M
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SUCCESS STORY HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AT H&M – UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION ACROSS THE GLOBE! The roughly 50,000 employees all have the same motto. H&M has expanded immensely in recent years; there are now a total of 1,244 stores in 22 countries. Germany is the company’s biggest market, followed by Sweden and the UK. This year will almost certainly see further growth and development. At the H&M (Hennes & Mauritz AB) headquarters in Stockholm, managers have been concerned with how to improve a personnel- and sales planning system. In 2003 a determined search began for a centralized, multilingual and truly flexible system that could present and compare data conveniently and comprehensibly. Looking for the ideal solution At the CeBIT 2003 (Hannover, Germany) a number of different providers and solutions were closely examined. However, it soon became clear that only an individually customized product would work for H&M. A commission made up of employees from a range of company positions in different countries outlined the necessary functions in a requirements catalog, which was then used as the basis of discussion with those providers that came closest to the profile. After a preparation phase granted to the providers, the various systems were installed and tested according to the requirements catalog. The members of the commission team were then able to test the systems or watch presentations to get an idea of how the software works and is used. After a final presentation before the decision-making board in Stockholm, the choice was made for the Adicom® Software Suite. Realizing and implementing the project A team made up of users, shop controllers and managers elaborated the technical and operative requirements. Developers and project managers complemented the team. Together, the basic working processes, data content, the structures, and necessary reports, the system architecture and technologies were all discussed and compiled into a first planning document. Five weeks later, the master application was already presented and tested for compatibility with the company’s philosophy. This process was then continued over a four-month period with testing cycles of three to four weeks, allowing the team to root out undesired functionality in the early project stages.

The different hardware used throughout the branches also had to be checked for technical deficiencies, and more than 1,700 system texts had to translated into 16 additional language versions. Yet as soon as these obstacles were overcome, the rollout process was carried out very rapidly – in less than two months – for educating the Country/Area controllers. For educating all 1,200 shops, by looking at the total roll-out period, educating the controllers and the shops, took approximately six month. Rapid successes… The project turned out to be a huge success. Employees embraced the system and...