Managing a Modern Workforce Effectively

DB Sterlin is an engineering consultancy firm based out of Chicago using Deltek Human Capital Management (HCM). They've been fully utilizing the tool since early 2020. When looking at a talent solution they struggled with time consuming and manual paper Human Resources (HR) processes. While they implemented Deltek HCM before Covid-19 forced people to work from home, it allowed them to stay engaged with their distributed workforce. Deltek HCM enabled them to keep everything in the same Deltek ecosphere, make acquisitions easier and more transparent, allowed for continuous feedback, and improved the engagement of their distributed workforce.

Staying in the Deltek Ecosphere

One of the requirements for DB Sterlin was having a talent solution that connects with Vision and eventually Vantagepoint Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Having Deltek HCM integrated with their ERP eliminated duplicate entry while maintaining accurate data. Florence Sterlin, President of DB Sterlin, said that the reason why she chose Deltek was because of the solution was in their ecosphere. So employees are going to be used to the interface and wouldn't feel like ‘Oh, I have to learn a new system.’ They were able to use a system they knew and easily moved away from a manual process that was no longer functional for their growing business. In implementing Deltek HCM they were able to save around 20 hours a week, which allowed them to focus on more strategic tasks.

Visibility into the Acquisition Process

Like many firms, DB Sterlin was using a more manual process for requisitions before implementing Deltek HCM. There was little visibility into the decision making process than what was ideal. After implementing Deltek HCM, they were able to efficiently manage and track the entire process for every job and candidate which allows for greater transparency overall. Florence expressed that before the implementation of Deltek HCM, the requisition process for new talent didn’t exist. Hiring managers would say ‘I've got this person I want to hire’ with no information on why they decided to go with that person over someone else. Once Deltek HCM was in place they were able to collect all the data they needed, including deciding factors on why they picked a certain person over another.

Continuous Feedback

One of the biggest reasons DB Sterlin switched to Deltek HCM was because of the performance module. With Deltek HCM, DB Sterlin was able to provide ongoing, interactive feedback coupled with clear development. They are able to utilize continuous goal management to drive employee growth and productivity. Florence said that it's been great because, if she’s having a challenge with one of her team members, instead of, sending emails or messages on teams, she goes into talent and updates the continuous feedback section and adds notes. This open communication has led to greater performance and allows for everyone to see the growth that they’ve made.

Staying Engaged

Engagement is important to DB Sterlin, especially once everyone moved to working from home due to Covid-19. Since they implemented Deltek HCM right before working from home it allowed them to engage with people that they wouldn't normally engage with. They were able to get some great feedback, like one employee said that he was feeling disengaged from other employees and that he wanted to work on finding ways to be more engaged. He made it a goal to reach out to somebody that he didn't know in the company regularly. Florence said that it really worked because in this disconnected work environment, you need ways to encourage employees. Deltek HCM allowed for DB Sterlin to foster a more connected workforce when everyone is working remotely. Learn more about how DB Sterlin is engaging their remote team members in this podcast.