Identifying a HR Document Management Solution for Médecins Sans Frontières

The Challenge

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international humanitarian medical NGO, and the German section of the organisation was looking for a future-proof approach to HR document management. With doctors and other professionals being sent on missions across the globe, MSF needed a solution that was legally compliant, capable of efficiently generating contracts and other client-specific templates, and able to manage large amounts of existing versions. The organisation was preparing the implementation process for a new Cloud Human Capital Management (HCM) system and an accompanying document management solution was critical to the new system’s success.

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Supporting MSF staff around the world requires a sophisticated approach to HR document management, particularly due to the number of compliance requirements and legally binding contracts that need to be issued. Since document management was not an out of the box functionality of the system they had purchased, BCG Platinion was called upon to identify a solution that would complement and synergise with the existing one.

Due to the tight implementation timeline of the new Cloud HCM system, the client needed rapid support from BCG Platinion to identify the right solution. This ultimately left us with just a six-week timeframe to complete the process of assessing vendors and determining the right option to cover all specific requirements.

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The Approach

To begin the process, we reviewed and amended MSF’s set of criteria and requirements so as to identify the most relevant HR document managements solutions.

Using this as a basis, we identified twelve vendors that provided high quality options. After reviewing the offers from each vendor and conducting numerous calls and demonstrations, we were able to narrow the group down to a shortlist of four.

Due to the six-week timeframe we had to work with, the team needed to accelerate certain steps within this extensive and detailed process. To do this, we leveraged a dynamic top-down approach, and our specialist experience of working with vendors in this market segment.

Our unique level of expertise and the approach we took enabled us to avoid the lengthy, formal RFP process, and instead take rapid, pragmatic steps forward.

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A Dynamic Team of Experts

Our team was critical to the success of this project, the members of which brought a range of vital skills and experience to the table. This enabled us to operate swiftly and effectively to achieve the desired outcome. We effectively leveraged the insights and expertise of BCG Platinion colleagues who had already been involved in the selection and implementation of the client’s overarching HR system, which helped us to define a tailored approach to solving the problem.

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It was extremely valuable to work with team members who specialised in the business side of HR, and those with deep experience in HR systems. This combination of practical and technical expertise was of vital importance, equipping us to intimately understand MSF’s needs and the implementation process. Our team also included specialists in enterprise systems, large-scale transformation programs, and vendor experts.

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The Impact

As a result of our collaborative and expert-led approach, we were able to identify the right tool for the client in time. The solution complimented the overarching system, and we supported them with the mapping of next steps for integration, migration and implementation to enable our client for a head start. In addition to sourcing the tool and safeguarding the overall HR system implementation timeline, we also provided added guidance to support their use of the new tool in concert with the wider management system.

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The direction we provided was highly detailed, and equipped the client to understand how much of the process they wanted to handle internally, and which elements they wanted to outsource.

With the right solution effectively integrated, the client will be able to generate a wide range of templates easily and efficiently, including critical legal documents.

This will transform the organisation’s ability to issue and handle the significant documentation required when conducting international NGO work, enhancing operational efficiency and legal compliance.

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Looking Into the Future

In case of catastrophe and distress, it’s crucial that support can arrive quickly. Therefore, speeding up internal operations is a relevant enabler for MSF’s missions. The new solution is set to save MSF and their mission staff significant manual effort going forward. It will strongly increase efficiency and compliance, both in terms of document generation and handling.

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This will allow the time of skilled professionals to be allocated to more valuable tasks, enhancing the overall operations of the NGO and its positive impact on the world.

Also going digital will further drive positive perception internally as well as externally and increase its attractiveness.

Significant effort on MSF’s behalf was also prevented by the team’s detailed implementation guidance, enabling the organisation to get up and running as quickly as possible.