For Milliken & Company, sustainability is at the center of everything it does. As a global manufacturing leader, it is committed to reducing its overall carbon footprint and ensuring a better future for all. With more than 40 manufacturing locations in 15 countries, Milliken produces more than 11,000 products, including those for the textile, chemical, floor covering, and healthcare industries. To stay at the forefront of innovation, Milliken employs more than 8,000 people across the world. For Milliken, sustainability goes far beyond supporting the environment – it is about supporting its communities and its people.
Milliken was relying on an outdated, on-premise human capital management (HCM) system that struggled to keep up with the changing demands of its workforce. A poor user experience led to limited adoption and a slew of frustrations for admins and users alike. In addition, obtaining accurate reports was nearly impossible due to the number of disparate HR processes in use around the globe. It was clear that a new approach was needed. To fully support its workers, Milliken decided that it was time to move to the cloud.
Taking a phased approach, Milliken began by implementing cloud solutions to support its recruiting, succession planning, performance management, and analytics processes. By leveraging SAP SuccessFactors Recruiting, it was able to offer mobile-friendly job applications in a number of languages and to create a more accessible and user-friendly experience for applicants. In addition, an expanded presence across more than 40 job sites helped Milliken make significant strides towards creating a diversified talent pool with quality candidates. Within one year, applicant volume increased by more than 300%. To further align its recruiting and succession processes with business diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) goals, Milliken leveraged advanced analytics to capture data on headcount, turnover, and hiring. Comprehensive graphs and reporting capabilities enabled Milliken to visualize data across the workforce, from compensation and benefit trends to key diversity metrics.
Building upon its initial successes, Milliken began to transition its core HR processes from on premise to the cloud. To improve data quality and overall transparency, it leveraged SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central to manage employee and organizational data across the globe. Moving towards a single platform has helped better support HR compliance and allowed Milliken to respond more proactively to legal and regulatory changes. Mobile capabilities were deployed to deskless associates, supporting the company’s sustainability goal to reduce paper consumption.
Looking forward, Milliken intends to continue its cloud transformation by moving benefits and compensation administration processes to the cloud. Improving the access and overall experience of key HR functions is an integral part of Milliken’s mission to support its people and ultimately create a sustainable workforce. With less time spent on operational tactics, Milliken’s associates can focus on delivering positive outcomes for their customers and communities.
Learn more about moving HR processes from on premise to the cloud.
Jeff Glauber is global solution marketing lead for SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central at SAP.