Navigating Change: A Case Study in HRIS Partnership and Optimisation

Explore the journey of a leading company as it transitions its HRIS support partnership, emphasising collaboration with a new provider and a comprehensive system evaluation. Learn how a tailored support approach, guided by an in-depth adoption overview, led to strategic enhancements, empowering the organisation for present and future needs.

Seasons of Change

Build-A-Bear Workshop UK Ltd has been working with an incumbent Sage People partner to provide ongoing support for their HRIS since they adopted the system back in late 2020. Build-A-Bear, on recommendation from Sage People, has decided to work with Tugela People as their HRIS support partner going forward.

Developing a new partnership

Traditionally, Build-A-Bear has relied on bundled support and continues this collaborative approach with Tugela People. Tugela People offers a diverse array of managed services, encompassing both retained and bundled support, which seamlessly aligns with Build-A-Bear's specific needs.

Exploring opportunities

As part of our onboarding process, Tugela People advises all new clients to undertake an ‘adoption overview’. This comprehensive review allows our technical support consultants to evaluate the client's entire Sage People system. This provides a detailed understanding of the system features the client is using, identifies any gaps and enables us to make recommendations on how the system can be improved.

Build-A-Bear embraced this service as they were keen to explore opportunities to expand their HRIS to its full potential and if there were any features or functionality that they could adopt to enhance their system utilisation.

Matt Payne, Director of HR (UK) at Build-A-Bear Workshop UK, said, “I was pleasantly surprised by the high level of detail that the HRIS consultants at Tugela People went into when undertaking the technical adoption overview. It was not quite at all what I was expecting, but I loved it! Their analysis was beyond my expectations and got me excited about the possibilities. It has made us consider the potential of adopting new features and enhancing specific areas, such as reporting, to enhance our use of the HRIS.”

Moving forwards

As part of their transition process, Build-A-Bear has opted for the Tugela People silver bundle support package, which offers a fixed number of support hours over the course of the contract. This service is particularly useful for clients like Build-A-Bear, who are who have a strong working knowledge of the system but may require occasional assistance. Furthermore, our dedicated HRIS support consultants will collaborate with the HR team at Build-A-Bear to address areas of the system that require further development, as identified in the technical adoption overview. The result? An enhanced HR system that satisfies the company’s current and future requirements.

Jamie Wilkins, Head of  Client Services and Technology at Tugela People, said, “The HR team at Build-A-Bear are extremely knowledgeable about the HR system and were very engaged with us. This added to the successful outcome of the adoption overview we conducted. We are excited to continue working with the team and foster a mutually beneficial relationship going forward”.

ABOUT BUILD-A-BEAR®

Build-A-Bear is a multi-generational global brand focused on its mission to "add a little more heart to life" appealing to a wide array of consumer groups who enjoy the personal expression in making their own "furry friends" to celebrate and commemorate life moments. Nearly 500 interactive brick-and-mortar experience locations operated through a variety of formats provide guests of all ages a hands-on entertaining experience, which often fosters a lasting and emotional brand connection. The company also offers engaging e-commerce/digital purchasing experiences on buildabear.com and its age-gated, adult-focused "Bear Cave". In addition, extending its brand power beyond retail, Build-A-Bear Entertainment, a subsidiary of Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc., is dedicated to creating engaging content for kids and adults that fulfils the company's mission.

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