Labour Hire Management Strategic Evaluation

Client

A Government Agency responsible for delivering health and social services to the Australian public. The agency is committed to operational modernisation through the "Innovative Ways of Working" (IWOW) program, focusing on data-driven decision-making, improved user experiences, and streamlined back-office operations.

The Challenge

As part of its commitment to operational modernisation, the Agency is undertaking a comprehensive digital transformation known as the Innovative Ways of Working (IWOW) Program. Central to this agenda is the brownfield migration of its core Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system from SAP ECC6.0 to SAP S/4HANA.

While the migration provided a roadmap for core finance functions, the Agency needed to define its direction regarding Labour Hire Management, particularly as it relies heavily on a contingent workforce to meet fluctuating service demands. Four critical operational friction points were identified:

Process Fragmentation: Siloed workflows across requisition, approval, onboarding, and time-capture led to data duplication and visibility gaps.
Administrative Burden: Reliance on manual interventions and paper-based approvals created significant overhead for hiring managers and finance teams.
Compliance & Risk: Fragmentation made it difficult to strictly monitor tenure limits, security clearances, and adherence to Government Procurement Rules.
Stakeholder Friction: The inconsistent user experience for managers, vendors, and contractors led to delays in readiness.

The Agency required an evidence-based assessment to choose between three potential pathways: leveraging native SAP S/4HANA capabilities, implementing SAP Fieldglass, or utilising ServiceNow.

The Solution

FinXL partnered with Strategic Project Partners (SPP) to design a fixed-price, 8-week engagement structured to move from data gathering to a definitive recommendation. The approach evaluated options against functional capability, technical architecture, strategic alignment, and business value.

The solution was delivered through three distinct phases:

Phase 1: Desktop Research & Framework Design: A deep dive into functional capabilities and the development of a Structured Assessment Framework derived from the Agency’s specific pain points.
Phase 2: Comparative Evaluation: A gap analysis involving solution vendor engagement, peer organisation benchmarking, and implementation complexity modelling.
Phase 3: Business Case Input Development: The delivery of a robust report including financial modelling (TCO and ROI), risk analysis, and a high-level implementation plan.

The Results

The engagement provided the Agency with the clarity and evidence required to make a high-value investment decision with confidence.

Key impacts included:

Strategic Clarity: The final report served as the foundational document for securing internal investment approval
Operational Efficiency: Positioned the Agency to reduce administrative overhead through automation of data entry and invoice reconciliation.
Risk Mitigation: Future-state models ensure audit readiness through automated tracking of Government Procurement Rules.
Value for Money: The fixed-price model ($196k) provided budget certainty, while the accelerated 8-week timeline ensured the assessment did not delay the broader S/4HANA program.