“By unburdening customers, we make digital HR transformations smooth, within budget and fun”
HR technology is really fun, but you have to think carefully in advance about how and why you are using it, as Bas Eggelaar knows all too well. As there was not yet a company that could provide proper support to organizations in this regard, they founded SuccessDay, and in doing so they really caused a stir in the HRIT consultancy market. The demand for independent and pragmatic advice turned out to be great: SuccessDay now employs over one hundred people worldwide. But there is no time to relax: with their spin-off DayConnect, the two aim to revolutionize the world of HRIT implementation. Furthermore, the very first independent HR Technology Awards will soon be presented.
The SuccessDay story begins in April 2019. Bas decides – after falling into just about every conceivable pitfall before, during and after an HRIT implementation – that he wants to save other organizations from making the same mistakes. The company grows rapidly: it now has over 75 professionals on the payroll, employs around 30 associates and has clients in the Benelux, the DACH region and the Nordics.
“If you create a good company with a constant focus on customer and employee satisfaction, the ball will just start rolling on its own”
The two entrepreneurs never thought that such rapid growth was possible. “It really is a rollercoaster”, explains Bas. “At first I thought that we would mainly be successful in change management, because user adoption often goes wrong with HRIT implementations. But we are now doing much more, balancing between advisory and configuration support.”
SuccessDay bridges the gap between HR and IT. The consultants working there have knowledge of both Human Resources and technology, with a focus on tier 1 HCM systems. These are the big names, including Workday, Oracle HCM, Ceridian Dayforce and SAP SuccessFactors. “The need for our services in the market is enormous. We initially said to each other that there would probably only be enough market demand for a group of 20 people. That quickly shifted to 30 professionals. But look where we are now!”
Recruit where the talent is
Despite the current scarcity on the labor market, the two say they have no problem at all filling their vacancies. And that’s not only because they pay well. “If you create a good company with a constant focus on customer and employee satisfaction, the ball will just start rolling on its own. Of course, it goes without saying that you must practice what you preach. You can generate fantastic employer branding, but if someone walks through the front door on their first day and things are poorly organized, you will lose them again in no time”, Bas says.
It’s mainly about how you treat your people and what kind of team culture you create. The SuccessDay values are based on honesty, transparency, entrepreneurship, family feeling and work hard, play hard. “We always help each other here, you are given a lot of freedom and responsibility, our culture is based on trust and we always focus on growth and development.”
SuccessDay has an international client base and looks further than the Netherlands when recruiting. Bas: “We hire talent wherever it is. This could be anywhere in Europe, or even further afield. Around half of our employees live in the Netherlands, but we also have people working for us in the UK, Belgium and Germany, Norway, Denmark, Spain, Hungary, Poland, Romania and even in the Philippines.”
Greatest challenges
Its rapid growth turned out to be one of the biggest challenges for SuccessDay. Bas: “In that respect, we are not that different from other young, fast-growing companies. In the beginning you are always just one step behind. By the time you think: I need a management team, a recruiter or a CRM system, you should really have taken that step six months earlier.” In 2021 the two entrepreneurs decided to invest heavily to prepare the company for its next phase.
Various new IT systems have now been purchased and rolled-out and the systems have been streamlined and standardized. The company’s own traineeship program has been established to transform young professionals into fully-fledged junior consultants with knowledge of consultancy, HR and technology. The management team has been strengthened and internal positions have also been filled to provide support services.
“Of course, HRIT is really our thing, but we are perhaps even more focused on the people than on the processes”
Another tough challenge when you are growing so fast, is monitoring the company culture. “You have to stay on top of things all the time and ask each other: are we still who we want to be? How do we distinguish ourselves from the rest? Do the people we want to hire fit in with our DNA? And if that is not the case, you have to have the courage to intervene and make adjustments. The fact that we are open and transparent is a good thing: we provide a safe working environment, so that everyone has the courage to say what they think.”
HRIT implementations: more than technology alone
SuccessDay offers clients more than technological support for HRIT implementations. “Technology is really our thing, but we are perhaps even more focused on the people than on the process. We help organizations set up their employee journeys and Target Operating Model prior to implementation. Only then does the HRIT system come into play. This approach works because your new system then fits in with how you want to position yourself as an employer and everyone also understands why and how you will organize your services after go-live”, explains Bas.
SuccessDay also stands out by working together with the client. “There is still a lot of hot air being sold in the consultancy world. Mountains of gold are promised, but in the end it all comes down to an hourly rate on the invoice. We are platform-agnostic and are honest and pragmatic. We really care about our customers. We tell you the real story. What you see is what you get”, says Bas.
The company can fully support clients in their HRIT journey. From the selection process to the preparatory phase of the implementation. SuccessDay can provide support for all roles on the customer side. Project and Change management, for example. Data and Test Leads or Functional & Technical Leads. SuccessDay also offers assistance during the implementation process and ensure that it is followed by a Smooth Landing. After the go-live, the company also offers technical support (AMS).
Client satisfaction comes first
“We are the only party worldwide that measures customer satisfaction externally using the certified XLA method. Our most recent score was 8.6 on the scale of 10. That’s something we are really proud of, and rightly so. Our rates are also far below those of the big four and we have a very different way of treating our clients. No less than 98% of the projects we support are completed according to plan and within budget”, says Bas.
We will soon launch SuccessDay Interim. “And that’s something else we do differently than the rest. We are a service provider, we don’t just deliver 5 or 6 CVs so that we can send another invoice without having something to say about the quality. We propose 1 or 2 people who are a really good fit and have been screened. They must work according to our methods, so that quality is guaranteed. We have quality assurance in place to check this. This is fundamentally different that the existing interim agencies. There is a lot of chaff among the wheat.”
SuccessDay is growing so fast and has such ambitious strategic plans that it is now even ready for its own HRIT implementation process. Despite the fact that Bas knows all the HCM packages inside out, as well as all the pitfalls that go with them, they also use their selection methodology in their own company. A fully-fledged selection team has been set up. Bas: “I make a conscious effort not to get involved in deciding which package it will be. It needs to be a well-considered choice, that best suits our organization and HR strategy.”
Future plans
Bas aims to further expand SuccessDay to employ 150 to 200 people. Bas: “If we want to make the organization ready for the next phase, it means we have to take a step back. We can’t keep interfering in everything.” The ultimate goal is that they can both go on holiday for three months next year, and that SuccessDay will continue to run as usual. “No problem. SuccessDay is not Bas. SuccessDay is what we’re all doing here together.”
“Entrepreneurship must stay in the company. People should have the courage to make choices that may feel uncomfortable.”
Bas also wants to disrupt this market. Most system implementers deliberately maintain a narrow scope. “If it becomes clear during the process what the client actually needs, it is time to pull on the purse strings and submit another change request. We do things differently. We make sure that the client knows exactly what they want in advance and what is needed to achieve this. So they know exactly what they’re saying yes to. We are not a standard supplier of system implementations and configurations, but a service implementer. Again, it is all about the added value the systems bring to HR and the organization.”
Entrepreneurship must stay
His ideas about how to manage organizations on a daily basis are very difficult to capture in text or agreements. “In our eyes, the delivery team can sometimes think a little more creatively when it comes to planning resources. That was much easier when we were small than it is now. Processes must be streamlined, methods standardized, but at the same time you want entrepreneurship to stay in the organization. So that people have the courage to make choices that may feel uncomfortable.”
More proof that Bas is an entrepreneur through and through, comes from the fact that they have organized the HR Technology Awards on 19 September. This has already become THE annual networking event for the software and HR world, if you look at the number of registrations. For the very first time, independent prizes will be awarded for the best HR technology transformation and the best HRIT product innovation. Bas: “It looks like it’s going to be a huge success, with a hell of a jury, top sponsors and 70 CHROs who have already registered. It’s so great to see that if something is missing in the market and you fix it yourself, it immediately becomes a resounding success.”
