Workplaces employ real-time tracking to support vaccine mandates

Early education provider Affinity Education has implemented SAP SuccessFactors’ Employee Central vaccination portlet to achieve compliance with mandatory state-based COVID-19 vaccination requirements and offer support to its network of childcare workers, parents and families. Having implemented human experience management solution SAP SuccessFactors in 2013 and the employee self-service modules in 2017, adding the vaccination portlet was a seamless next step for Affinity Education.

Uptake of the vaccine portlet was fast and straightforward, with the majority of employees using the SAP SuccessFactors mobile app to add their vaccine certificates. In a few weeks, Affinity Education achieved 100% compliance with vaccination requirements in NSW’s ‘LGAs of concern’. Use of the portlet was also rapid among Affinity Education’s Victorian employees, with 70% of workers across the state uploading their vaccination certificates within two weeks of the portlet being made available. Affinity Education has also achieved 100% compliance by each Public Health Directive due date.

Linda Carroll, Chief People Officer for Affinity Education, said the company is doing all it can to provide its community of educators, workers, parents and families with as much support as possible during a stressful time, with fast access to real-time vaccine tracking information. “When we moved our HR system to SAP SuccessFactors several years ago, we immediately experienced the benefits of an automated system freeing up staff to spend more time with children. As a result, everyone from the CEO to our educators is very comfortable with the SAP SuccessFactors platform, and implementing the vaccination portlet was an easy way to help employees manage their health information,” Carroll said.

Tailoring the SAP SuccessFactors vaccine portlet to the needs of individual employees was another key benefit. Affinity Education added each type of vaccine to the ‘pick list’ option ahead of going live, thereby enabling each employee to add their respective vaccine to their profile — AstraZeneca, Pfizer or Moderna. The portlet also featured an attachment field so employees could upload their vaccine certificates to comply with public health orders. Damien Bueno, President and Managing Director of SAP Australia and New Zealand, said providing Affinity Education with a connected HR platform has facilitated a safe transition back to individuals’ place of work, making it as seamless as possible for employees. “At the same time, we’re helping Affinity Education manage government vaccination requirements, which is especially important in the childcare sector, and critical in building confidence among the communities in which it operates,” Bueno said.

The rollout of the SAP SuccessFactors Employee Central vaccine portlet has enabled Affinity Education to achieve compliance with government vaccine mandates and support a safe return to the workplace. Affinity Education plans to add the Onboarding and Recruiting modules to its SuccessFactors platform, to ensure consistency from hiring to onboarding and lighten the load on its HR team.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/pickup