Issue

Now that iCertis Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) solution is being rolled out for enterprise-wide contract management, focusing on other areas within Syensqo (Sales, Procurement and Legal), the HR team have identified an opportunity to better manage their contract lifecycle processes on the HR contracts.

Syensqo identified that the current process is bringing some pain points within communication with Site HR, as it is not efficient nor effective, leading to operational inefficiencies. With the recent change to bring iCertis as a CLM solution as part of the ERP rebuild program, streamlining contract creation-to-execution and seamlessly integrating with CRM and ERP systems for efficient operational execution (sales, procurement and legal contracts), HR could also benefit from this change.

After an in-depth review of the iCertis capability for HR Contracts, it appears to be equally competent in the HR contract area compared to Sales, Procurement and Legal Contract areas.

Our key design question is Should Syensqo move HR Contract Management from OpenText to Icertis, now that Icertis is being implemented enterprise-wide?

Today we are bringing 3 options to define what could be our strategy going forward:

1. Keep current solution using OpenText
2. Hybrid approach, using iCertis together with OpenText
3. Make iCertis the global solution for HR Contracts

Recommendation

Work in progress - Being reviewed by People Services

We recommend to follow with Option b), hybrid approach. This would bring additional value with minimal disruption, keeping OpenText for HR contracts storage, while developing iCertis for HR contracts lifecycle management - contract creation, negotiation, approval (dynamic workflows), and signature.

Although long-term best practice would be to shift into iCertis, our recommendation is that we adopt a mid-term solution for a phased transition. This approach would support:

• Promote collaboration among contract stakeholders and improve productivity
• Assist in managing the contract lifecycle effectively from creation to expiration.
• Unlock scalability with advanced analytics and AI technology to support better contract generation.

(...)

Background & Context

Assumptions

Work in progress - Being reviewed by Sol. Architect

• The decision to review and analyze the validity of the iCertis tool for HR Contracts is based on the decision by Sales, Purchasing and Legal teams to use the same tool. The scope of this KDD is focused on the validity of iCertis as an integrated enterprise CLM solution aligned with Syensqo's overall HR needs
• SAP SuccessFactors will serve as core for HRIS (SF Employee Central).
• Recruitment and Onboarding/Offboarding processes will be conducted within SAP SuccessFactors.Some actions can be done within existing external platforms
• For the R1 Timeframe, no additional costs are expected with HR Contracts, as the Contract with Icertis is user-based (There is a light user access and a full user access) and it has been sealed already considering potential HR usage as well. Licenses are as follows:
• From 1 June 2025 to 31 Dec 2025: 126 Full Users, 126 Light Users
• From 1 Jan 2026 to 30 June 2026: 180 Full Users, 180 Light Users
• From 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2028: 264 Full Users, 264 Light Users
• From 1 July 2028 to 31 May 2030 (end of contract): 500 Full Users, 500 Light Users
• Integration from SuccessFactors to Icertis and from Icertis to OpenText require ownership of SyWay Integrations Team
• HR Contract Trigger points from SuccessFactors require collaboration from Recruiting, Onboarding and Employee Central technical teams
• The detail in this KDD is aligned with the detail required for the conceptual design phase. This will provide directional alignment on the money, effort and time that will be needed to implement and deploy such a solution. The subsequent detail design phase will revisit all the activities , scenarios and nuances that are required by Syensqo in the HR Contract solution.

Constraints

Work in progress - Being reviewed by Sol. Architect

Integration efforts (including data migration efforts if option C is preferred) and timelines are subject to SyWay Project availability or new team to be allocated or supporting the project

Impacts

Work in progress - Being reviewed by Sol. Architect

• Gaining buy-in from stakeholders who may be see the existing solution as adequate.
• Effective governance is essential for implementing standard contract templates across GBU's and the relevant ownership will be required to support this governance
• Detail design sessions required to fully map Syensqo’s HR Documents needs and the detailed integration between SuccessFactors, iCertis and OpenText.

Business Rules

Work in progress - Being reviewed by Sol. Architect

Proposed business rules include:

• All new HR Contracts must be triggered from SuccessFactors and issued from iCertis, to ensure consistency and compliance
• Known exceptions for Italy or China, as well as any other exceptions must be reviewed from a Legal point of view.
• Process for HR Sites where volume of hires is small (rule must be defined), must be discussed
• Syensqo Legal is responsible for maintaining and updating the library of contract clauses and templates.
• Automated workflows will be reviewed and adjusted to adhere to Syensqo’s objectives, ensuring proper authorization and approval processes

Options considered

Option A: Keep existing HR Contract solution, using PowerDocs, OpenText and DocuSign

Objective: This solution means that SyWay will not be doing any changes to the current HR Contract Management solution. Few changes within SuccessFactors may still be accommodated and must be discussed within the Workshops.

Key Advantages:

• Maintains continuity by keeping existing processes in place
• No change management or operational impacts.
• Avoids costs and disruptions associated with system changes or integration efforts

Key Challenges:

• More complex landscape and less consistency between different countries.
• Data fragmentation between different systems can increase risk of inconsistent informacion and increases operational inefficiency.
• Limited ability to enforce legal standards, regulations and corporate policies and track contractual obligations and volume commitments.
• Unable to leverage advanced analytics and AI technology to address new challenges and capitalize on emerging opportunities
• No alignment with ERP Rebuild program objectives to standardize & simplify the process and infrastructure, potentially leading to strategic misalignment and missed opportunities for synergies

Option B: Keep existing HR Contract tools OpenText and DocuSign, implementing iCertis into HR Contract Management as well

Objective: This option promotes the implementation of the iCertis Contract Management HR capabilities, integrating it with SuccessFactors and OpenText to enhance cross-functional collaboration, information accuracy, greater compliance and enhanced operational efficiency. This is considered to be a short-term hybrid approach to minimize disruption and accelerate value, bringing potential scalability in long-term. OpenText is kept for HR Document archives while Icertis would be added for HR contracts generation

Key Advantages

• Leading Practice: Hybrid is a widely accepted transition model in large enterprises. HR contracts can stay archived in OpenText though generated and managed via Icertis.
• Solution Architecture: Mature approach. You keep robust archiving and intelligent CLM, especially if you integrate Icertis → OpenText post-signature. Keeps file retention policies intact
• Costs: Lower incremental cost: No need to fully re-engineer HR storage; avoid migrating all legacy contracts to Icertis.
• Implementation Effort: Less disruptive. Continue using OpenText for simple storage while gradually standing up Icertis for HR workflows.
• Security & Privacy: OpenText is SAP-integrated and well-proven for HR file security. If roles and access are cleanly defined across both systems, hybrid can be secure.

Key Challenges:

• Leading Practice: Hybrid is often transitional, not a long-term ideal. You may end up with dual sources of truth if governance isn't tight.
• Solution Architecture: Risk of fragmentation: Contracts "live" in Icertis but also stored in OpenText. Needs clean API-based sync or middleware.
• Costs: Maintaining two systems may incur ongoing support, integration, and compliance costs — even if capex is lower now.
• Implementation Effort: Requires effort for discussions to ensure cross country alignment (HR and IT) and to build and test integrations between Icertis, OpenText, and SuccessFactors
• Security & Privacy: More systems = more complexity in managing access rights, audits, and data handling policies. Risk of duplication or inconsistent controls.

Option C: Replace existing HR Contract solution by iCertis for Contract Lifecycle Management

This option promotes the implementation of the iCertis Contract Management HR capabilities for end-to-end HR contract lifecycle. It integrates it with SuccessFactors and DocuSign for eSignature, aiming to standardize all contract workflows in iCertis. OpenText is decommissioned in a phased-out approach. This is considered to be a medium to long-term approach.

Key Advantages:

• Leading Practice: Aligns with modern enterprise CLM best practices: one platform to manage all contracts across functions, including HR.
• Solution Architecture: Cleaner, centralized architecture. Easier to maintain workflows, version control, and contract intelligence under one system.
• Costs: Since Icertis is already being deployed, and proper licensing has been accommodated, no incremental cost is expected for now. You eliminate OpenText-related license, support, and integration costs for HR.
• Implementation Effort: Initial lift is heavier (especially for legacy contract migration), but long-term simplifies maintenance and user training.
• Security & Privacy: Single platform means tighter access controls, easier audit trails, and centralized policy enforcement (e.g., data retention, GDPR/CCPA compliance).

Key Challenges:

• Leading Practice: Some conservative orgs may prefer OpenText for HR docs due to familiarity, especially for employee file storage (non-contractual).
• Solution Architecture: You may need to replicate some archival/document management functions from OpenText into Icertis.
• Costs: May involve upfront migration costs, particularly to move historical HR contracts from OpenText into Icertis.
• Implementation Effort: Migrating templates, legacy contracts, and workflows is non-trivial, especially if HR processes are highly customized.

Security & Privacy: Icertis must be tightly configured to meet HR-specific privacy requirements (PII, role-based access, etc.) — but this is achievable.

Evaluation

	Option A: Keep current solution using OpenText	Option B: Hybrid approach, using Icertis together with OpenText	Option C:Make iCertis the global solution for HR Contracts
Solution Architecture Leading Practice	Legacy practice, not ideal. More complex landscape and less consistency between different countries. Data fragmentation between different systems can increase risk of inconsistent information and increases operational inefficiency	Practical short-to-mid-term approach. Keeps some complexity, although already making use of a CLM platform. There is still risk of some operational inefficency. Key employee data from SuccessFactors can be synchronized with Icertis, ensuring that contract data is always up-to-date	Practical short-to-mid-term approach. Keeps some complexity, although already making use of a CLM platform. There is still risk of some operational inefficency. Key employee data from SuccessFactors can be synchronized with Icertis, ensuring that contract data is always up-to-date
Scalability & Future-Proofing	Limited scalability and adaptability to future needs	With Icertis already in place, it brings much possible scalability towards option C. We could already benefit of generation of other HR documents such as Offer Letters or NDAs	Using Advanced Analytics and AI technology adds contract management potential and mitigate risks.
Implementation & Maintenance Efforts	No additional effort.  No migration needed	There will be efforts on architecture design and Icertis implementation and integration with SuccessFactors, OpenText and DocuSign. Still some systems to maintain. No migration needed as contracts are stored in OpenText	Heavier lift but simplified in future as there is only one enterprise-wide system to maintain. Contract migration to Icertis must be considered
User Adoption and Experience	No additional effort	Less change management required. Integration with SuccessFactors allow for automatic triggers from Onboarding, Offboarding or EC events	Significant changes management and training effort needed as users must adapt to new platform HR can track in-prog, pending, and executed contracts across ELC with dashboards — not just files in folders
Costs	No costs	No impact for ramp-up timing.  Potential impacts if additional licenses are required in the future (HR, or any other area). Licenses are by volume of licenses, independent of the area. Potential additional costs for maintenance.	No impact for ramp-up timing.  Potential impacts if additional licenses are required (HR, or any other area). Licenses are by volume of licenses, independent of the area. Potential additional costs for maintenance. Potential additional costs for document storage volume Cost saving as PowerDocs and OpenText would be decommissioned
Security, Legal & Compliance	Lack of robust audit trail and version control	Could already take advantage of Icertis capabilities, such as Role-based access control, but would not cover the entire process.  Solid, but more touchpoints to manage	Role-based access control Integrated regulatory compliance framework, with risk policies and real-time reporting. More centralized and auditable. Data consistency and automatic contract updates, reduces the potential for legal disputes or compliance issue

See also

Change log