Working for the Future: Digital Personnel Files at REMONDIS Maintenance Services

REMONDIS customer case study

REMONDIS Maintenance & Services, together with its subsidiaries, is part of the REMONDIS Group, one of the leading providers of recycling, service, and water solutions with branches and holdings in more than 30 countries worldwide.

Under the umbrella of REMONDIS Maintenance & Services GmbH & Co. KG, the subsidiaries BUCHEN and XERVON, with around 10,000 employees in total, provide comprehensive industrial services for national and international companies. From its headquarters in Cologne, the company handles coordination tasks as well as service and consulting for the operational divisions of BUCHEN and XERVON. Not only for reasons of sustainability, but also because it is up to date and offers clear practical benefits, the HR department at REMONDIS Maintenance & Services has now moved to digital personnel files.

REMONDIS Maintenance & Services: Introducing the Digital Personnel File​

To ensure smooth operations in such a large company, a well-structured HR department is needed, one that is future-oriented and able to work quickly and efficiently despite a heavy workload. Especially in a company with many employees, HR must stay focused on all personnel matters, maintain an overview even with very large data volumes, and organize long-term archiving. HR is responsible not only for personnel data management, but also for recruiting and personnel development. It is also the main point of contact for employees in all HR-related matters. Good HR management therefore requires a modern filing system and, ideally, a modern digital personnel file such as the one currently in use at REMONDIS Maintenance & Services.

Benefits of a Digital Personnel File​

  • Better overview of all personnel data
  • Faster access, including mobile access for employees with appropriate permissions
  • Documents can be submitted easily in digital form
  • Data protection requirements are automatically supported
  • Administrative work can be organized and distributed more efficiently
  • Documents, emails, and attachments are standardized and stored in the personnel file
  • Documents and emails can be added conveniently via drag and drop
  • Automated intake processes are also possible
  • Reduced paper usage

webPDF Completes the Digital Personnel File at REMONDIS Maintenance & Services in Cologne​

To describe the use of webPDF in more detail, we spoke with users from the HR department who work with the software every day. Bianca Koellen, HR contact at REMONDIS Maintenance & Services in Cologne, described the use of webPDF from SoftVision Development as follows:

"We have been using webPDF as part of our digital personnel file since the beginning of the year. All documents are stored uniformly in PDF/A format. The digital personnel file was implemented with support from the IT department, which explicitly recommended webPDF because it had already had very good experience with this functionality in the past. Above all, the software solution had to be able to standardize all formats and work quickly and reliably."

How Is the Personnel File Structured at REMONDIS Maintenance & Services?​

Bianca Koellen summarizes it as follows:

"The digital personnel file contains all organizational data relating to employees. In addition to pure personnel data, this includes official documents, contracts, information about compensation and bonuses, social insurance and taxes, certificates of all kinds, data on assignments abroad, references and evaluations, training and qualifications, and company pension plans. The HR team can now organize all these documents digitally, which saves a considerable amount of time."

She adds:

"webPDF is currently in use at two locations and by around 35 users. From my perspective, the application saves a significant amount of time in everyday work. For example, documents can easily be added to the file via drag and drop, moved within the file, and converted automatically. The conversion process runs unnoticed in the background. In addition, all documents are available in a very clear and consistent format. For example, all documents are standardized to 300 dpi resolution and displayed in black and white."

SAP Expert XFT from Walldorf Implemented the Digital Personnel File with webPDF​

The work of the HR department brings together the important areas of accounting, materials management, controlling, and human resources. These are very often organized with SAP software. To adapt SAP to the needs of companies, it can be extended by external SAP partners so that the SAP application platform can be used in the best possible way. One of these partners is XFT GmbH based in Walldorf.

XFT is especially experienced in the use of digital personnel files for SAP systems. XFT implements webPDF in such a way that the conversion of many different document types into a standardized format, PDF/A, is ensured. In this context, webPDF complements XFT's own software solution. XFT has already been using webPDF successfully for seven years in projects involving the rollout of digital personnel files, and the advantages are clear:

  • The tool supports the conversion of hundreds of file formats
  • Documents can be split or merged
  • Individual pages can be rotated or deleted
  • Digital signing and certification can be applied
  • Security settings for PDF documents can be set or removed

XFT also supported REMONDIS Maintenance & Services in implementing webPDF. The software extends SAP with useful functions that help in daily work. Together with the add-ons from XFT, webPDF makes work in the HR department more efficient in particular because documents are stored clearly and securely in one place. It does not matter whether SAP ERP Human Capital Management, SAP S/4HANA, or SAP SuccessFactors is being used.