The Company
NORRIQ A/S is a top provider of 360° business, finance and infrastructure solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics™ NAV & C5, Microsoft CRM and SharePoint as well as HP Datacenter and Hosting solutions. NORRIQ A/S has offices in Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands and Iceland – with more than 400 employees. The company’s Danish activities, where Mindkey are implemented, are based on the acquisition of four distinct market leaders within their specialties, Munk IT, Conzern, Senseit and NetPartner, employs approximately 250 people in Copenhagen, Odense, Kolding, Silkeborg and Aalborg.
As companies across the country continue grow in complexity, NORRIQ specializes in delivering IT solutions that simplify processes and optimize productivity to help its customers gain advantages amid tougher-than-ever competition. In addition to its leadership in finance and business systems based on the Microsoft Dynamics platform, NORRIQ also offers high-quality infrastructure and system integration services.
MindKey recently sat with Jakob Schou Meding, Managing Director, and Ida Roed Rasmussen, HR Consultant at NORRIQ, to discuss the company's plans and progress toward implementing MindKey™ HCM as the human capital management tool it will use to achieve the same high standards of excellence in its HR practices as it already demonstrates in so many other areas of its business.
The Situation
“NORRIQ A/S is a relatively new to the Danish marketplace, and was formed by joining five offices from three separate businesses into one larger enterprise,” starts Jakob Schou Meding, “With offices spread around the country, and a strong desire to use HR to further improve our competitiveness, it was crucial that we align HR policies and procedures at all of our locations.”
Among the four pillars of NORRIQ’s overall business strategy, it has set its sights on achieving the much coveted “Denmark’s Best Workplace” award by 2012. This recognition is granted by the Great Place To Work Institute Europe, and will require long-term, focused efforts and continuous leadership development on the part of NORRIQ management team, and the right tools to communicate and promote this initiative throughout all levels of the organization.
The Solution
“We had several reasons for choosing MindKey HCM, but the one that stands out the most in my mind is that it fits in well with NORRIQ’s overall IT strategy, which is based on a Microsoft platform” says Jakob. “We know that for years MindKey Software developed HR applications for Microsoft as an original equipment manufacturer, and that went a long way toward assuring us of the product’s quality.”
“Happy employees are more engaged and more productive,” Jakob explains. “We want to sustain positive work environments at all of our offices, and continue to grow as a respected solution provider. To do this, we want to make our strategy even clearer to our managers and employees, so that they understand exactly what we want them working toward out there, and what performance measures we’re applying. ”
Not all managers are created equally in terms of communicating with and guiding employees. Though expert in their business area, they aren’t necessarily experts in ‘softer’ leadership skills, such as shaping employee development plans or conducting and documenting performance reviews. Ida chimes in, “Also, there hasn’t been much of a tradition for ongoing leadership development at NORRIQ, but we’re committed to changing that and we’re starting with NORRIQ Denmark. One important aspect of this effort will be to ensure that our managers are offered training that will help them be more successful as leaders. We believe that MindKey HCM’s strong link between employee discussions and appraisal-based competency profiles will give managers the overview they need.”
Ida continues, “We’re looking to establish a standard routine for employee discussions. As Jakob says, we want to use ‘systems and technology to encourage specific behavior,’ and we expect that the system will help us create a steadier rhythm for HR activities through the year.” Ida explains, “We surveyed our employees to learn their opinions about whether they believed that employee discussions were a good thing. Not only were we impressed by how many people took the time to respond, but also that over 70% of them were strongly in favor of them.”
“By rolling out MindKey HCM throughout our organization we’re sending a clear signal to our managers and employees that we mean business, that we’re committed to this and that we will provide strategic support throughout the process,” Jakob concludes.
Benefits Summary
NORRIQ fully expects to achieve the following benefits through MindKey HCM::
- Influence business behavior through technology
- Systemize routines for discussions between employees and managers
- Improve people management “soft skills”
- Move the strategy to the front lines of the organization
